December 2021 Cover

December 2021

Return of the worms

Researchers are carefully considering the therapeutic potential of helminths

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Features

3D illustration of a tapeworm infestation in a human intestine

Return of the Worms

Top 10 Innovations 2021

2021 Top 10 Innovations

The Literature

False color image of two Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms; blue on a black background

Mitochondrial Stress Is Passed Between Generations

The man-of-war fish (Nomeus gronovii), a species of medusafish, near the tentacles of a siphonophore.

Medusafishes Are Grouped by Shared, Odd Traits: Study

An APP-knockout neuron (right) shows extended axonal and reduced dendritic growth compared with a normal mouse neuron (left). Scale bar 50 µm.

Amyloid Precursor Protein Linked to Brain Development Mechanisms

Infographics

How C. elegans Transmit Stress Signals to Offspring

Infographic: How C. elegans Transmit Stress Signals to Offspring

Infographic showing endogenous adenosine enzymes acting on RNA (ADARs) edit genetic material in the cell by attaching to naturally occurring double-stranded RNAs, including mRNAs, and switching out A bases with I bases (left). Therapeutic RNA editing platforms based on this mechanism fall into one of two categories: either they use engineered enzymes, which generally consist of the editing part of the ADAR enzyme attached to another protein such as Cas13 that boosts specificity, alongside a guide RNA that targets the enzyme to the desired location (middle); or they consist of a guide RNA alone, which recruits an endogenous ADAR to edit the target sequence (right).

Infographic: RNA Editing Approaches

December 2021 - Gut Guests - Infographic

Infographic: How Worms that Reside in the Gut Could Influence Health

Contributors

Photographs of the December 2021 issue's contributors

Contributors

Foundations

In one of the only known photos of Abraham Lincoln taken on the day of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln can be seen seated, hatless, just below and to the right of the flag. Lincoln began developing symptoms of smallpox on the train home to Washington, DC.

Presidential Pox, 1863

Scientist to Watch

Photo of Brooke Gardner

Brooke Gardner Probes the Cell’s Peroxisomes

Bio Business

DNA

In Editing RNA, Researchers See Endless Possibilities

Reading Frames

Great Minds Don't Think Alike

Opinion: Bridging the Intellectual Divide

Critic at Large

Illustration of an interview

Opinion: Using Data to Hire High-Impact Faculty

Notebook

MUSCLE CONTROL: Researchers pinpoint how C. elegans (pictured) manages to expel food from its mouth.

The Science Behind How Roundworms Spit

PATH TO TREATMENT: Marley, pictured here with her father, was diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Bachmann-Bupp syndrome a few years ago.

Doctors Treat Girl’s Genetic Disorder with Repurposed Drug

Editorial

New ideas and imagination Creativity and inspiration Technological innovation.

Innovations that Matter

Speaking of Science

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Ten Minute Sabbatical

July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

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Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

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An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

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Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

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Products

shiftbioscience

Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery

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BRANDTECH Scientific Launches New Website for VACUU·LAN® Lab Vacuum Systems

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Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

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Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series