
Summer 2023
Divvying Up Duties
Bacteria cooperate to benefit the collective, but cheaters can rig the system
Features
Modus Operandi

Scents and Sense-Abilities: Using Bug Brainpower to Smell Cancer
Scientists use locust brains as living biosensors to perform cancer cell breath tests.

New Insight into Brain Inflammation Inspires New Hope for Epilepsy Treatment
Clinicians and researchers teamed up to investigate how inappropriate proinflammatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of drug-refractory epilepsy.
Foundations

Cellular Competence: Making Recombinant DNA Accessible
Coaxing bacteria into taking up recombinant DNA was arduous until Douglas Hanahan took action.

A Not-So-Simple Idea
A moonlit drive inspired the theory behind PCR. What did it take to make that wild idea reality?

How Restriction Enzymes Changed Biology
Endonuclease R changed Richard Roberts’ career trajectory and created an industry.
Scientist to Watch

Time Traveling Mini-Brains on a Mission to Conquer Space
Alysson Muotri launched brain organoids into outer space and found that microgravity enriches our understanding of brain development and disease.

Combating Mosquito-Borne Diseases with CRISPR
As alternatives to insecticides, Omar Akbari uses sophisticated genetic engineering methods to solve the world’s mosquito problems.

A Genetic Predisposition to Vitamin D Deficiency Contributes to Severe COVID-19
Ana Teresa Freitas discussed how individual variation in vitamin D synthesis and metabolism influences susceptibility to upper respiratory viruses.
Infographics

Infographic: Scents and Sense-Abilities
Scientists hack the locust brain to identify the unique odor signatures of oral cancers.

Infographic: Curbing the Cheaters
From spatial structuring to policing, cooperative bacteria have a wide toolkit to contain the spread of cheaters.

Infographic: Capturing a More Complete Picture of Expression
CITE-seq draws upon the unbiased nature of single-cell RNA sequencing to gather new insights about protein and gene expression within the same cell.

Infographic: Stages of Biofilm Formation
Free-swimming bacteria settle on a surface to cooperate and form a protective biofilm.
The Literature

Vaccines: Sex Matters
Male patients who recover from mild COVID-19 have baseline immune states primed to mount stronger responses to future challenges than female patients.

Mouse Brain Cells Activate When They Witness a Fight
A subset of hypothalamic neurons mirrors aggression in mice, challenging previous views on the location and functional role of these cells.
Speaking of Science

Ten Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse
Notebook

Garbage to Guts: The Slow-Churn of Plastic Waste
The winding trail of environmental microplastics leads researchers to the human digestive ecosystem.

Self Sufficient Cells?
Animal cells cannot produce 9 of the 20 amino acids they need to function. Some researchers are looking to change that.

Waves of Macromolecule Production During the Cell Cycle
In individual yeast cells, essential biosynthetic processes peak at different times in the cell cycle, revealing a temporal dynamic once thought limited to DNA synthesis.

Fishermen and Hobbyists Provide Scientists with Invaluable Data
In Los Cabos, Mexico, a panga boat captain and a deep sea fishing enthusiast support researchers working to explain declines in Pacific fish populations.