Cover Story
Perineuronal Nets: A Mechanism to Control Brain Plasticity
Daniela Carulli | Apr 1, 2018
The neuronal coverings that mediate synaptic changes are involved in everything from memory to psychiatric disorders, affecting autism, Alzheimer’s, and addiction.
Features
Researchers Getting Smarter About Pairing Cancer Treatments
Anna Azvolinsky | Apr 1, 2018
Multidrug combinations lead to better results for cancer patients, but efficiently identifying them is proving difficult.
Macrophages Play a Double Role in Cancer
Amanda B. Keener | Apr 1, 2018
Macrophages play numerous roles within tumors, leaving cancer researchers with a choice: eliminate the cells or recruit them.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the April 2018 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Metastatic Knowledge
Metastatic Knowledge
The research enterprise surrounding cancer spreads and changes as it explores multiple facets of the complex disease.
Speaking of Science
Ten-Minute Sabbatical
Ten-Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.
Freeze Frame
Caught on Camera
Caught on Camera
Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com
Notebook
Ocean Sunfish Could Offer Clues to the “Rise of Slime”
Ocean Sunfish Could Offer Clues to the “Rise of Slime”
A controversial hypothesis suggests that jellyfish may one day rule the oceans, and Mola mola may tell us if we are approaching a tipping point.
Researchers Develop Sperm-Robot Hybrids to Deliver Drugs, Assist Fertilization
Researchers Develop Sperm-Robot Hybrids to Deliver Drugs, Assist Fertilization
The artificially motorized cells may one day help fight cancers in the female reproductive tract.
Infected Ants Chemically Attract Workers to Destroy Them
Infected Ants Chemically Attract Workers to Destroy Them
Social insects kill infected individuals for the benefit of the colony—and now a study has shown how they know who’s sick.
Genetic Screens Provide Clues About Prognosis, Risk of Second Cancer
Genetic Screens Provide Clues About Prognosis, Risk of Second Cancer
Mutations in the TP53 gene appear to influence the prognosis and likelihood of future cancers in pediatric leukemia patients.
Thought Experiment
Opinion: We Must Make Data More Accessible for Bioinformatics Training
Opinion: We Must Make Data More Accessible for Bioinformatics Training
In addition to programs geared towards transforming biologists into bioinformaticians, students need more raw material available for their education.
Modus Operandi
Extracting Exosomes to Detect Signs of Cancer in Urine
Extracting Exosomes to Detect Signs of Cancer in Urine
A new device uses anchored nanowires to capture extracellular vesicles from pee for microRNA analysis.
The Literature
Chromosomal Instability Drives Cancer Metastasis
Chromosomal Instability Drives Cancer Metastasis
In the presence of cytosolic DNA, cancer cells activate antiviral pathways that disguise them as immune cells.
Mutant RAS Proteins Team Up for Oncogenicity
Mutant RAS Proteins Team Up for Oncogenicity
Mice with cancer whose KRAS proteins couldn’t link together had much better survival outcomes than those whose oncogenic mutant paired with wild-type KRAS.
Boosting Immunotherapy Treatments in Mouse Colon Cancer
Boosting Immunotherapy Treatments in Mouse Colon Cancer
Mice treated with an immunostimulant had better outcomes when researchers blocked the expression of TNFR2, a compound that helps tumors evade immune attack.
Profile
Cancer Evolutionist: A Profile of Charles Swanton
Cancer Evolutionist: A Profile of Charles Swanton
Motivated by his father’s cancer diagnosis, the Francis Crick Institute cancer geneticist has been revealing the ways tumors evolve and why they are so difficult to treat.
Scientist to Watch
Ilana Chefetz Confronts Ovarian Cancer
Ilana Chefetz Confronts Ovarian Cancer
The University of Minnesota researcher is on the front lines in the fight against the disease.
Lab Tools
Of Mice and Metastasis
Of Mice and Metastasis
Tools for studying how cancer spreads
Bio Business
PARP Inhibitors Are Improving the Outlook of Hard-to-Treat Cancers
PARP Inhibitors Are Improving the Outlook of Hard-to-Treat Cancers
With three recent FDA approvals, and a number of Phase 3 trials ongoing, the drugs are seeing a surge in interest.
Reading Frames
A Neuroscientist’s Journey Through Madness
A Neuroscientist’s Journey Through Madness
After I was diagnosed with brain cancer and started to lose my mental health, the importance of my job came into clear focus.
Foundations
A Radical Intervention, 1894
A Radical Intervention, 1894
William Halsted’s approach to mastectomy took the medical world by storm at the turn of the last century.