Fall 2022 Cover

Fall 2022

Rethinking Neuroscience

From the cerebellum to neurodegenerative disease, researchers are giving old science a fresh look

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Features

Landscape illustration

Horizontal Gene Transfer Happens More Often Than Anyone Thought

Amyloid plaques on axons of neurons

The Misunderstood Proteins of Neurodegeneration

The brain's cerebellum

The Cerebellum’s Functions in Cognition, Emotion, and More

Illustration showing a puzzle piece of DNA being removed

Large Scientific Collaborations Aim to Complete Human Genome

Critic at Large

Tiny diverse scientists are studying the covid-19 virus under a giant microscope. Vaccine development concept

Opinion: Many Clinical Trials Fail to Navigate the Literature

Why gut health matters. Your digestion are important. Horizontal poster. Medical infographic. Stomach function. Editable vector illustration in modern style. Healthcare and scientific concept

Opinion: Splashing Cold Water on Poop Transplants for Weight Loss

Foundations

Person in a black, beaked robe (left) and man in a black tunic (right), flanking a red coat of arms

Masking Up, 1619 to Present

Photo of Makio Murayama

Handmade Hemoglobin, 1912-2012

The Literature

red ants coming out of dirt hole

Bull Ant Venom Evolved to Make Bites More Painful to Mammals

A colored microscope image of a cross section of a human artery filled with fatty plaques

Protein-Recycling Process Protective Against Arterial Plaques

Newborn baby rats lie in a basket

Mother’s Circadian Rhythms Mirrored in Fetal Rat Brains

A California coyote above Santa Monica beach

Human Gut Bacteria Show Up in Urban Wildlife

Neurons and muscle tissue

A Novel Player at the Neuromuscular Junction

Infographics

Illustration of a DNA virus sneaking genetic material into a host’s nucleus

Infographic: Possible Mechanisms of Gene Transfer in Eukaryotes

Infographic showing how neurodegenerative diseases have long been associated with aggregations of apparently toxic proteins

Infographic: Secret Lives of Neurodegeneration-Linked Proteins

To flag neurons that have experienced genotoxic stress, researchers developed an in vivo sensor using an adeno-associated viral vector, called PRISM. Because a cell’s DNA damage response (DDR)—which activates in response to stressors such as environmental toxins or the buildup of misfolded proteins—also responds to invading pathogens, PRISM has an easier time transfecting cells whose damage response mechanisms are preoccupied with existing DNA damage. Once inside, the virus hijacks the neuron’s DNA replication machinery, which reverts an engineered frameshift mutation in the virus and thereby prompts the production of a fluorescent protein that can be observed via microscopy.

Infographic: DNA Damage Viewed with Unprecedented Clarity

Illustration of the cerebellum 

Infographic: The Cerebellum’s Many Roles Beyond Motor Control

Illustration showing assembly Versus Alignment

Infographic: The Sequencing and Assembly of the Human Genome

Genetic knockout experiments reveal a role for the protein in forming and maintaining synapses between motor neurons and muscle fibers in mice.

Infographic: Vangl2 in Muscles Keeps Neuromuscular Junctions Organized

Illustration of RNAs

Infographic: Noncoding RNA in the Brain

Reading Frames

Photo of several diet foods

Opinion: Why We Fall for Fad Diets

Cover of When Animals Dream: A colourful illustration of an octopus.<br><br>

Opinion: Animal Dreaming Should Give Us Ethical Pause

Careers

Three luminous liquids in test tubes

What If Scientists Shared Their Reagents for Free?

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How to Fix Science's Code Problem

Notebook

Male common fruit fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) - about 2 mm long - sitting on a blade of grass with green foliage background

The Sex Appeal of Symmetric Songs

Magical fairytale forest. Coniferous forest covered of green moss. Mystic atmosphere.

Why Does Geosmin Smell?

Ferns bounced back much faster than other plants after the meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished?

Oysters&rsquo; shells were made into concrete and other materials used in construction during the Industrial Revolution.

Scientists Use Sound to Attract Baby Oysters Back to the Reef

Scientist to Watch

Photograph of Humsa Venkatesh

Humsa Venkatesh Probes Cancer’s Grip on the Brain

LAKSAMEE CAVE

Clinton Cave Investigates How Brain Cells Communicate

Modus Operandi

Broken DNA

DNA Damage Viewed with Unprecedented Clarity

Editorial

Nebula

Wonders Without, Wonders Within

Speaking of Science

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Notable Science Quotes

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.

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Faster Fluid Measurements for Formulation Development

Meet Honeybun and Breeze Through Viscometry in Formulation Development

Unchained Labs
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

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

PFAS: The Forever Chemicals

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Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

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

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Zymo Research Launches Research Grant to Empower Mapping the RNome