Cover Story
Crowd Control
Cristina Luiggi | Jul 1, 2013
Molecules, cells, or vertebrates—when individuals move and act as a single unit, surprisingly complex behaviors arise that hint at the origins of multicellularity.
Features
An Ocean of Viruses
Joshua S. Weitz and Steven W. Wilhelm | Jul 1, 2013
Viruses abound in the world’s oceans, yet researchers are only beginning to understand how they affect life and chemistry from the water’s surface to the sea floor.
Worried Sick
Megan Scudellari | Jul 1, 2013
Expectations can make you ill. Fear can make you fragile. Understanding the nocebo effect may help prevent this painful phenomenon.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the July 2013 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Beach Reading
Beach Reading
A vacation from your lab doesn’t have to mean a break from fascinating developments on the life science front.
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
July 2013's selection of notable quotes
Notebook
Science on Lockdown
Science on Lockdown
A forest ecologist comes down from the canopy to bring science to the masses, forming a series of improbable collaborations with prisoners.
The Turtle That Never Was
The Turtle That Never Was
A species of freshwater turtle deemed to be extinct may never have existed in the first place.
The Long View
The Long View
In the era of Big Data, research projects that focus on phenomena that unfold across decades have distinct benefits—and some drawbacks.
Sticking Power
Sticking Power
An adhesive inspired by a parasitic worm could help better affix skin grafts in burn patients.
Critic at Large
Debating Bioethics Openly
Debating Bioethics Openly
Researchers and bioethicists need to take advantage of events such as the recent publication of the HeLa genome to engage the public on topics of privacy, biobank regulation, and more.
Opinion: On Patenting Genes
Opinion: On Patenting Genes
The scientific community and the impact of the Myriad Genetics Supreme Court decision
Modus Operandi
Narrow Straits
Narrow Straits
Transfecting molecules into cells is as easy as one, two, squeeze.
The Literature
Groovy Color
Groovy Color
To control their color displays, squid fine-tune the optical properties of light-reflecting cells by rapidly expelling and imbibing water across a tightly pleated membrane
Cool Genes
Cool Genes
A thermosensitive ion channel helps C. elegans live longer at cold temperatures.
Transport Breakdown
Transport Breakdown
Deficiencies in a cellular motor that carries a serotonin receptor are associated with anxiety in mice.
Profile
Master of Fate
Master of Fate
While tracing the tricky and sometimes surprising paths of multipotent cells in the skin, mammary gland, and heart, Cédric Blanpain has repeatedly turned the stem cell field on its head.
Scientist to Watch
Peter Cornish: Ribosome Cowboy
Peter Cornish: Ribosome Cowboy
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry, University of Missouri. Age: 35
Lab Tools
Transcriptomics for the Animal Kingdom
Transcriptomics for the Animal Kingdom
Using RNA-seq to study nonmodel organisms
Name That Metabolite!
Name That Metabolite!
A guided tour through the metabolome
Bio Business
Innovation Nation
Innovation Nation
Already a world leader in high-tech entrepreneurship, Israel is now flexing its biotech muscles.
Reading Frames
Widening the Fertile Window
Widening the Fertile Window
Women may be able to store viable sperm for longer than a week, thus contributing to apparent variability in pregnancy lengths.
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Denial, Probably Approximately Correct, Permanent Present Tense, and Against Their Will
Foundations
