The Scientist Magazine Issue | June 2026 | Regulatory Gaps Plague At-Home Microbiome Tests

Features

An aerial view of a glacier, which houses millions of microbes within its icy interior.

The Ice is Alive: Uncovering the Vanishing World of Glacial Microbes

By Sahana Sitaraman, PhD | | 8 min read

The photo shows Kiana Aran, after she just got out of her darkness retreat and opened her eyes, smiling. An EEG sensor is attached to her forehead.

A Researcher’s Dark-Cave Experiment Sheds Light on the Science of “Sensory Deprivation”

By Meenakshi Prabhune, PhD | | 8 min read

Conceptual photo of various pharmaceutical products, like a bottle of pills, needle and syringe, and thermometer, on a blue background. At the top of the image is a futuristic looking icon with dialogue boxes and healthcare-related imagery.

New FDA Policies for Faster Drug Reviews Met with Mixed Reactions

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 6 min read

Hands holding a medical kit for the sampling of feces signify microbiome tests. A caution board signifies the regulatory gaps that plague at-home microbiome tests.

Regulatory Gaps Plague At-Home Microbiome Tests

By Sneha Khedkar | | 9 min read

Opinion

A flower has seven pick petals and just one white one, indicating a rare mutant. It represents the rare patient population.

What Rare Disease Research Teaches Us About the Future of Precision Medicine

Rare disease researchers have long known that viewing each patient as a source of insight rather than a single data point is critical to developing the most effective treatments.

The Literature

Photograph of Prakash’s low-cost, AI-powered self-driving microscope sitting on a wooden desk beside a laptop opened to show images from a slide that was recently scanned. The microscope looks like a black box with a slot near the top where a movable arm comes out to receive a glass slide. The lens extends from the top of box like a tower. On the right of the microscope, a black device with toggles and a hand held controller sits to allow workers to move the microscope around the slide and control its functions.

A Low-Cost, Self-Driving Microscope Could Speed Up Infection Diagnostics

Engineer Manu Prakash helped develop a malaria-finding microscope that works in low-resource settings, improving access to sensitive infectious disease diagnostics.

Rosie, a black dog, rests with her head on a pillow.

ChatGPT and AlphaFold Help Design Personalized Vaccine for Dog with Cancer

When his beloved dog was given months to live, an Australian man harnessed the power of machine learning and mRNA technology to develop a cure.

A person holding two placards, one with a green tick and one with a red cross mark, signifying the decisions researchers have to make daily that straddle the line of questionable research practices.

Over 90 Percent of Scientists Admit to Questionable Research Behaviors

From selective citations to post hoc hypotheses, a majority of 1,500 Portuguese researchers admitted to dubious “Grey Zone” ethical research practices, highlighting a widespread integrity crisis.

Profiles

Photograph of Avi Flamholz standing in a field wearing a long black shirt and a large pack on his shoulders attached to a device in his hands used for collecting environmental samples.

A Microbiologist Mines Bacterial Metabolism to Tackle Climate Change

Avi Flamholz leverages computational tools and microbial biochemistry to improve climate models and provide novel engineering solutions to address climate change.

Foundations

A blue-gloved hand holds a DNA sample tube in front of a computer screen that shows massively parallel sequencing data.

Massively Parallel Sequencing Technology Allows Forensic Biologists to Tackle Cold Cases

Advances in DNA sequencing technology help forensic biologists identify suspects where traditional DNA profiling has failed, including decades-old unsolved crimes.