Features
Do-It-Yourself Medicine
Jef Akst | Mar 1, 2013 | 10+ min read
Patients are sidestepping clinical research and using themselves as guinea pigs to test new treatments for fatal diseases. Will they hurt themselves, or science?
Bedeviled by Dengue
Beth Marie Mole | Mar 1, 2013 | 10+ min read
The global spread of dengue virus has immunologists and public-health experts debating the best way to curb infection.
Instant Messaging
Savraj S. Grewal | Mar 1, 2013 | 9 min read
During development, communication between organs determines their relative final size.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the March 2013 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
The Rebirth of DIYbio
The Rebirth of DIYbio
Do-it-yourself science is likely as old as science itself, driven by an inherent curiosity about the world around us.
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
March 2013's selection of notable quotes
Notebook
Sea Change
Sea Change
A normally land-based microbiologist sets sail to find the building blocks of novel antibiotics in marine bacteria.
Bacterial Buddies
Bacterial Buddies
A chance encounter with a crab apple tree leads to the discovery of a new bacterial species and clues to the evolution of insect endosymbionts.
Coral Clocks
Coral Clocks
Uranium dating of coral tools used by the earliest settlers of the South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga offers unprecedented precision in reconstructing their history.
Teenage Drug Hunter
Teenage Drug Hunter
An Oregon teenager spent a summer in a New York biochemistry lab helping to discover a novel molecule that could become the next commercial nonaddictive painkiller.
Critic at Large
DIYbio: Low Risk, High Potential
DIYbio: Low Risk, High Potential
Citizen scientists can inspire innovation and advance science education—and they are proving adept at self-policing.
Regulating Amateurs
Regulating Amateurs
How should the government ensure the safety and responsibility of do-it-yourself biologists?
Modus Operandi
Sticky Lithography
Sticky Lithography
Scotch tape and a scalpel provide a MacGyver-esque approach to microfabrication.
The Literature
Crack Control
Crack Control
Nanoscale cracks in bone dissipate energy to protect against fracture, a process that appears to be regulated by the interaction of two proteins.
Antibiotic Bouncer
Antibiotic Bouncer
Contrary to previous assumptions that macrolide antibiotics completely block the exit tunnel of ribosomes, new evidence shows that some peptides are allowed to pass.
Sleep Protection
Sleep Protection
Inducing certain brain patterns extends non-REM sleep in mice.
Profile
Tough Bugger
Tough Bugger
Fearless cockroach hunter Coby Schal investigates how insects communicate via chemical cues, then subverts those signals for pest control.
Scientist to Watch
Emily Scott: Enzyme Explorer
Emily Scott: Enzyme Explorer
Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas. Age: 43
Lab Tools
Set It and Forget It
Set It and Forget It
A tour of three systems for automating cell culture
Buying Cell-Culture Products
Buying Cell-Culture Products
A survey of The Scientist readers reveals who buys cell-growth products from whom,
and why.
and why.
DIY in the Lab
DIY in the Lab
Things break in the lab. Here’s how to protect your equipment, and what to do when it stops working.
Bio Business
Biology Hacklabs
Biology Hacklabs
Fueled by donations, sweat, and occasional dumpster diving, community laboratories for DIY biologists are cropping up around the country.
Reading Frames
CSI: Ancient Alexandria
CSI: Ancient Alexandria
A reexamination of the facts surrounding the death of Cleopatra VII reveals that the Egyptian queen was murdered—and not by an asp.
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
The Undead, Frankenstein's Cat, The Universe Within, and Physics in Mind
Foundations
A Sea Dragon Revealed, 1823
A Sea Dragon Revealed, 1823
A sharp-eyed fossil prospector and self-taught paleontologist, Mary Anning discovered several extraordinary Mesozoic marine reptiles.