Cover Story
The Genetics of Society
Claire Asher and Seirian Sumner | Jan 1, 2015
Researchers aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms by which a single genotype gives rise to diverse castes in eusocial organisms.
Features
Stress Fractures
Daniel Cossins | Jan 1, 2015
Social adversity shapes humans’ immune systems—and probably their susceptibility to disease—by altering the expression of large groups of genes.
A Movable Defense
Eugene V. Koonin and Mart Krupovic | Jan 1, 2015
In the evolutionary arms race between pathogens and hosts, genetic elements known as transposons are regularly recruited as assault weapons for cellular defense.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the January 2015 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Performance Art
Performance Art
Regulation of genome expression orchestrates the behavior of insect castes and the human response to social stress.
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
January 2015's selection of notable quotes
Freeze Frame
Caught on Camera
Caught on Camera
Selected Images of the Day from www.the-scientist.com
Notebook
May the Best Rodent Win
May the Best Rodent Win
Are mice, considered by some to be the less intelligent rodent, edging out rats as laboratory models of decision making?
There’s CRISPR in Your Yogurt
There’s CRISPR in Your Yogurt
We’ve all been eating food enhanced by the genome-editing tool for years.
Micro Master
Micro Master
Thomas Deerinck has been at the helm of a microscope for more than four decades. And he’s got lots to show for it, including a half a dozen placements in the Nikon Small World competition.
Taming Bushmeat
Taming Bushmeat
Chinese farmers’ efforts at rearing wild animals may benefit conservation and reduce human health risks.
Critic at Large
Assessing Research Productivity
Assessing Research Productivity
A new way of evaluating academics’ research output using easily obtained data
Online First
Funding Research in Africa
Funding Research in Africa
The ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa is drawing more money to study the virus, but what about funding for African science in general?
Modus Operandi
Grab ’n’ Glow
Grab ’n’ Glow
Engineered proteins can tether multiple fluorescent molecules to give a brighter signal—and that’s not all.
The Literature
Straighten Out
Straighten Out
Forces from bidirectional growth plates mechanically realign broken bones in infant mice.
Tangle Trigger
Tangle Trigger
An enzyme that cleaves tau protein in acidic cellular conditions may trigger early events in Alzheimer’s disease.
Fertility Treatment Fallout
Fertility Treatment Fallout
Mouse offspring conceived by in vitro fertilization are metabolically different from naturally conceived mice.
Profile
Why, Oh Y?
Why, Oh Y?
A toothpick and a bit of chance shaped David Page’s career, which he has dedicated to understanding the mammalian Y chromosome and fetal germ cell development.
Scientist to Watch
Doris Bachtrog: Sex Chromosome Wrangler
Doris Bachtrog: Sex Chromosome Wrangler
Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley. Age: 39
Lab Tools
Eye on the Fly
Eye on the Fly
Automating Drosophila behavior screens gives researchers a break from tedious observation, and enables higher-throughput, more-quantitative experiments than ever before.
Picturing Infection
Picturing Infection
Whole-animal, light-based imaging of infected small mammals
Careers
Know Your PIO
Know Your PIO
Scientists and public information officers share several common goals. Here’s how to collaborate effectively.
Reading Frames
Innovation Renovation
Innovation Renovation
Is the fear of funding and doing fundamental, risky research killing our ability to make breakthroughs?
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Does Altruism Exist?, Ancestors in Our Genome, Fred Sanger—Double Nobel Laureate, and Stiffs, Skulls & Skeletons
Foundations
