Issue | June 2013 | Factoring in Face Time

Cover Story

Adam Kucharski | Jun 1, 2013 | 10+ min read

How the study of human social interactions is helping researchers understand the spread of diseases like influenza and HIV

Features

It Takes a Village

Beth Marie Mole | Jun 1, 2013 | 10+ min read

Scientists working in developing countries find that giving back to local communities enriches their own research.

Best Places to Work Industry 2013

The Scientist | Jun 1, 2013 | 6 min read

Our final survey of the life-science industry workplace highlights the companies—small and large, domestic and international—that are making their researchers feel valued and at home.

Contributors

Meet some of the people featured in the June 2013 issue of The Scientist.

Editorial

The Next Big One

As new infections surface and spread, science meets the challenges with ingenuity and adaptation.

Speaking of Science

June 2013's selection of notable quotes

Notebook

Evolution Takes a Road Trip

Highways and byways are among the man-made environmental alterations driving the evolution of animals on contemporary timescales, with implications for ecology.

Oral History

Researchers use DNA from ancient tooth tartar to chart changes in the bacterial communities that have lived in human mouths for 8,000 years.

Mobile Microscopes

Turning cell phones into basic research tools can improve health care in the developing world.

Croakus Interruptus

During frogs’ hectic mass breedings, females often die. But one species appears to have found a work-around: males harvest and fertilize their partners' eggs after her death.

Critic at Large

Misconduct Around the Globe

Research misconduct is not limited to the developed world, but few countries anywhere are responding adequately.

Defending Against Plagiarism

Publishers need to be proactive about detecting and deterring copied text.

Modus Operandi

Dead or Alive?

Scientists create nontoxic pH nanosensors to assess viability of transplanted therapeutic cells.

The Literature

Loss of Potential

In the fruit fly, the ability of neural stem cells to make the full repertoire of neurons is regulated by the movement of key genes to the nuclear periphery.

Protein Zippers

Matching up positive and negative charges on two of its subunits may allow the TatA membrane transporter to penetrate the lipid bilayer.

Bird Bullies

Regular supplies of food for scavenger birds in Spain may not be the most effective conservation strategy, as smaller birds are bullied away.

Profiles

In Evolution's Garden

Raising one evolutionary question after another, Brandon Gaut has harvested a crop of novel findings about how plant genomes evolve.

Scientist to Watch

Mary O’Connor: Warming Up

Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia. Age: 34

Lab Tools

Resolving Separation Anxiety

Continuing innovations in liquid chromatography column technology are improving the speed and separation efficiency of HPLC.

Piece by Piece

A guide to fragment-based drug discovery

Special Section

Decoding DNA: New Twists and Turns

Highlights from a series of three webinars on the future of genome research, held by The Scientist to celebrate 60 years of the DNA double helix

Reading Frames

Calling All Thinkers

Encouraging different thought processes, even those typically classified as “abnormal,” can be a great boon to the research enterprise.

Capsule Reviews

The Book of Woe, Ungifted, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and Brainwashed

Foundations

The Elixir Tragedy, 1937

A mass poisoning of 105 patients treated with an untested medication spurred Congress to empower the US Food and Drug Administration to monitor drug safety.