Issue | April 2015 | Mouse Avatars | The Scientist Magazine®

Cover Story

Megan Scudellari | Apr 1, 2015 | 10+ min read

Personal drug regimens based on xenograft mice harboring a single patient’s tumor still need to prove their true utility in medicine.

Features

Resisting Cancer

George Klein | Apr 1, 2015 | 9 min read

If one out of three people develops cancer, that means two others don’t. Understanding why could lead to insights relevant to prevention and treatment.

From Many, One

Elena E. Giorgi | Apr 1, 2015 | 10+ min read

Diverse mammals, including humans, have been found to carry distinct genomes in their cells. What does such genetic chimerism mean for health and disease?

Contributors

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

Editorial

To Each His Own

Cancer treatment becomes more and more personal.

Speaking of Science

April 2015's selection of notable quotes

Notebook

Through a Spider’s Eyes

Deciphering how a jumping spider sees the world and processes visual information may yield insights into long-standing robotics problems.

Two-Faced RNAs

The same microRNAs can have opposing roles in cancer.

Cancer Kismet

Fate mapping allows researchers to follow cancer progression from its cell type of origin.

Mining the Outliers

Even when a clinical trial fails, some patients improve. What can researchers learn from these exceptional responders?

Critic at Large

The Challenges of Precision

Researchers face roadblocks to treating an individual patient’s cancer as a unique disease.

Control ALT, Delete Cancer

Treating cancer by shutting down the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway

Modus Operandi

Bursting Cancer’s Bubble

Scientists make oxygen-filled microbubbles designed to increase tumor sensitivity to radiation.

The Literature

Toggling Between Life and Death

In estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, the transcription factor IRF1 tips the balance between cellular suicide and survival through autophagy.

Signaling Resistance

Activating signaling pathways, rather than individual genes, reveals roles for both growth and dedifferentiation in establishing resistance to cancer treatments.

Manipulative Microbiomes

Gut bacteria control tumor growth via the mammalian immune system.

Profile

Professional Marksman

Charles Sawyers, who began his research career just as the genetic details of human oncogenes were emerging, codeveloped Gleevec, the quintessential targeted cancer therapy.

Scientist to Watch

Yvonne Saenger: Immunotherapy Pioneer

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Columbia University. Age: 41

Lab Tools

In Custody

Expert tips for isolating and culturing cancer stem cells

Getting Your Sugar Fix

A guide to glycan microarrays

Bio Business

The CAR T-Cell Race

Tumor-targeting T-cell therapies are generating remarkable remissions in hard-to-beat cancers—and attracting millions of dollars of investment along the way.

Reading Frames

Setbacks and Great Leaps

The tale of p53, a widely studied tumor suppressor gene, illustrates the inventiveness of researchers who turn mishaps into discoveries.

Capsule Reviews

Junk DNA, Cuckoo, Sapiens, and Cool

Foundations

Leukemia Under the Lens, 1845

Alfred Donné’s microscopic daguerreotypes described the cellular symptoms of leukemia for the first time.