Dynamic Brains

Director of Radiochemistry, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School. Age: 35

Glial cells were once considered neurons’ supporting actors, but new methods and model organisms are revealing their true importance in brain function.

Published genomes are chock-full of contamination. But as awareness of the problem grows, so do methods to help combat it.

A common tissue fixation method distorts the true neuronal landscape.

Researchers uncover the first light-controlled negative-ion channels in algae, and they are fast.

Glucose activates sleep-promoting neurons in the mouse hypothalamus.

Researchers with disabilities are making their fields more accessible.

The melding of mind and machine uncovers mysteries harbored in the brain.

Neurons in new brains and old

October 2015's selection of notable quotes

Researchers are struggling to understand shifts in the migratory patterns of penguins in the Southwest Atlantic.

The long-sought genetic link between handedness and language lateralization patterns in the brain is turning out to be illusory.

Data on the links between ALS and the chemical have been contradictory, but the latest study suggests undertakers are at risk.

Communication based on whistles offers a “natural experiment” for studying how the brain processes language.

Eve Marder’s quest to understand neurotransmitter signaling is more than 40 years old and still going strong.

Scientists engineer a feedback loop to fine-tune neuron activity with optogenetics.

Camillo Golgi’s black reaction revealed, for the first time, the fine structures of intact neurons, which he captured with ink and paper.

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2015 issue of The Scientist.

Online scientific journals are sacrificing the quality of research articles to make a buck.