Cover Story
Noncoding RNAs Not So Noncoding
Ruth Williams | Jun 1, 2016 | 10+ min read
Bits of the transcriptome once believed to function as RNA molecules are in fact translated into small proteins.
Features
Toward Targeted Therapies for Autoimmune Disorders
Lawrence Steinman | Jun 1, 2016 | 10 min read
Training the immune system to cease fire on native tissues could improve outcomes for autoimmune patients, but clinical progress has been slow.
Synthetic Biology Comes into Its Own
Richard A. Muscat | Jun 1, 2016 | 10 min read
Researchers create novel genetic circuits that give insight into, and are inspired by, nature.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the June 2016 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Research at Micro- and Nanoscales
Research at Micro- and Nanoscales
From whole cells to genes, closer examination continues to surprise.
Speaking of Science
Notable Science Quotes
Notable Science Quotes
14-day-old embryos, prioritizing biodiversity, and more
Notebook
Zebra Finches Aid Neurodegeneration Research
Zebra Finches Aid Neurodegeneration Research
Bird brains might tell us a lot about how human brains malfunction in diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Students Study Their Own Microbiomes
Students Study Their Own Microbiomes
Pooping into a petri dish is becoming standard practice as part of some college biology courses.
Saving Reefs One Polyp at a Time
Saving Reefs One Polyp at a Time
Researchers have discovered how to study coral organisms in unprecedented detail by mounting them in specially designed microscope slides.
Meet An Artist With No Hands
Meet An Artist With No Hands
The brain can compensate for missing body parts, allowing some people, such as Matthias Buchinger, to function at a very high level despite their disabilities.
Modus Operandi
Gut Bacteria for Insect RNAi
Gut Bacteria for Insect RNAi
Lacing insect food with microbes encoding double-stranded RNAs can suppress insect gene expression.
The Literature
In Failing Hearts, Cardiomyocytes Alter Metabolism
In Failing Hearts, Cardiomyocytes Alter Metabolism
While the heart cells normally burn fatty acids, when things go wrong ketones become the preferred fuel source.
Generating Cardiac Precursor Cells
Generating Cardiac Precursor Cells
Researchers derive cardiac precursors to form cardiac muscle, endothelial, and smooth muscle cells in mice.
Questions Over C. elegans Life Span Factors
Questions Over C. elegans Life Span Factors
A recent paper challenges earlier findings that germline factors expressed in normal body cells influence life span in C. elegans.
Profiles
Carolyn Bertozzi: Glycan Chemist
Carolyn Bertozzi: Glycan Chemist
Bertozzi opens visual windows onto complex sugars on and inside living cells.
Scientist to Watch
Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti: Immersed in Immunology
Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti: Immersed in Immunology
Member, Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Age: 43
Lab Tools
Making Micromotors Biocompatible
Making Micromotors Biocompatible
Researchers are developing potent ways to fuel and control the movement of micromotor devices.
Enhancing Vaccine Development
Enhancing Vaccine Development
Using proteomics methods to inform antigen selection
Screening with CRISPR
Screening with CRISPR
Ever-improving CRISPR-based tools are already ripe for large-scale genetic screens.
Bio Business
Do Patents Promote or Stall Innovation?
Do Patents Promote or Stall Innovation?
A petition recently filed with the Supreme Court triggers renewed debate about the role of patents in the diagnostics sector.
Reading Frames
Start Making Sense
Start Making Sense
Scientific progress is only achieved when humans' innate sense of understanding is validated by objective reality.
Capsule Reviews
Hot Off the Presses
Hot Off the Presses
Beyond Biocentrism, The Sting of the Wild, The Birth of Anthropocene, and Ordinarily Well
Foundations
The Rabies Vaccine Backstory
The Rabies Vaccine Backstory
Louis Pasteur’s trepidation at injecting a child with the first rabies vaccine might have reflected his private knowledge of its lack of prior animal testing.