November 2011

A poet finds artistic inspiration in her work as a scientist and new perceptions in the lines and linkages of her art.

Editor’s Choice in Neuroscience

Editor’s choice in Cell Biology

Editor’s choice in immunology

Genomicist Mark Stoeckle and three high school students have taken do-it-yourself science to a new level. 

Cut off a newt’s tail or a leg, or remove a lens from its eye, and it grows back. However, whether newts can continue to do this throughout their lives, or lose the ability as they get older, has remained a mystery. 

In February 2009, a bottlenose dolphin named Nari swam up to the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island off Australia’s Queensland. 

A 19th century geologist and minister investigates a prehistoric cave full of hyena bones in his native England.

Meet some of the people featured in the November/December 2011 issue of The Scientist.

After a roller-coaster of an October, The Scientist resumes publication under new ownership.

Full Professor and Senior Research Group Leader, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Age: 42

On hearing the news in early October that The Scientist would cease publication, our readers voiced their dismay. In mid-October, we were resurrected, and our readers came out again to express their relief.

Through a series of sustained collaborations, Joshua Sanes has deciphered the molecular synergy that guides synapse formation.

Tagging antibodies with rare earth metals instead of fluorescent molecules turns a veteran technique into a high-throughput powerhouse.

The unique taste bud patterning in people who have super-charged senses of taste

The tongue may be the epicenter of taste sensation, but taste receptors are scattered throughout the digestive and respiratory tracts.

Researchers are close to finding a receptor directly triggered by fatty acids.

Federal agencies offer interesting opportunities for researchers looking to do more than bench work.