Image of the October Cover of The Scientist

October 2021

Number Sense

Researchers debate how animals perceive quantities

Subscribe

Features

Conceptual image of numbers

Is Your Brain Wired for Numbers?

Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, known as Baker's or Brewer's yeast.

Yeast Models Provide New Insights into Neurodegenerative Diseases

Infographics

Illustration of a Macaque viewing patterns of dots on a screen

Infographic: Single-Cell Recordings Identify “Number Neurons”

An illustration of a yeast cell (right) and a human neuron (left) showing the processes/features that are similar in the two

Infographic: Modeling Neurodegenerative Diseases with Yeast

Photographs of animals

Numerosity Around the Animal Kingdom

Illustration showing how a mouse study identifies the brain regions and specific signaling factors that regulate the sneeze response.

Infographic: The Neural Pathway of Sneezing

Notebook

Power of thinking, abstract imagination, world, universe inside your mind, watercolor painting

The Link Between Wandering and Sleeping Minds

Photograph of a brown laboratory mouse

Experiment Gone Awry Suggests Novel Way to Combat Hypoxia

Bio Business

Brain cells with electrical firing. 3D rendering.

Microglia as Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative Diseases

The Literature

Photograph of a mouse covering his face with his paw.

Bless You: Mouse Model Reveals Molecular Pathway Behind Sneezing

Illustration of a brain on a clock with a figure of a man moving the clock arms

Human “Time Cells” Encode, Process Flow of Time

Image of nerve fibers shown in green and red

Neurons Simplify Visual Signals by Responding to Only One Retina

Scientist to Watch

A Black woman stands in profile with her head turned towards the camera, smiling

Bianca Jones Marlin Traces How Sensory Inputs Shape the Brain

Foundations

Photograph of a waterfall

Falling Water, Rising Rocks, 1834

Critic at Large

Illustration showing a laboratory scientist group studying the human brain and psychology

Opinion: Neuroscientists Need to Think about Sex (Bias)

Reading Frames

Problem plastic bottles and microplastics floating in the open ocean

Opinion: Plastic Pollution May Endanger Brains

Editorial

Watercolour illustration of a figure

Our Aching Brains

Speaking of Science

Crossword image for October's puzzle

Ten Minute Sabbatical

Contributors

Photographs of the October 2021 issue's contributors

Contributors

Image of a woman in a microbiology lab whose hair is caught on fire from a Bunsen burner.
April 1, 2025, Issue 1

Bunsen Burners and Bad Hair Days

Lab safety rules dictate that one must tie back long hair. Rosemarie Hansen learned the hard way when an open flame turned her locks into a lesson.

View this Issue
Conceptual image of biochemical laboratory sample preparation showing glassware and chemical formulas in the foreground and a scientist holding a pipette in the background.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Quality Control Standards

sartorius logo
An illustration of PFAS bubbles in front of a blue sky with clouds.

PFAS: The Forever Chemicals

sartorius logo
Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

dna-script-primarylogo-digital
Concept illustration of acoustic waves and ripples.

Comparing Analytical Solutions for High-Throughput Drug Discovery

sciex

Products

Green Cooling

Thermo Scientific™ Centrifuges with GreenCool Technology

Thermo Fisher Logo
Singleron Avatar

Singleron Biotechnologies and Hamilton Bonaduz AG Announce the Launch of Tensor to Advance Single Cell Sequencing Automation

Zymo Research Logo

Zymo Research Launches Research Grant to Empower Mapping the RNome

Magid Haddouchi, PhD, CCO

Cytosurge Appoints Magid Haddouchi as Chief Commercial Officer