Features
Breaking the Cancer-Obesity Link
Laura W. Bowers, Stephen D. Hursting, Ciara H. O’Flanagan | Nov 1, 2015
Obese people are at higher risk for developing cancer, have worse prognoses once diagnosed, and are often resistant to chemotherapy regimens. The question is, Why?
Obesogens
Kerry Grens | Nov 1, 2015
Low doses of environmental chemicals can make animals gain weight. Whether they do the same to humans is a thorny issue.
2015 Life Sciences Salary Survey
Amanda B. Keener, Karen Zusi | Nov 1, 2015
This year’s survey highlights dramatic regional, sector, and gender variations.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the November 2015 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Weight's the Matter?
Weight's the Matter?
The causes and consequences of obesity are more complicated than we thought.
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
November 2015's selection of notable quotes
Notebook
Heady Stuff
Heady Stuff
New research on how fat influences brain neuronal activity
Microbesity
Microbesity
Obesity appears linked to the gut microbiome. How and why is still a mystery—but scientists have plenty of ideas.
The 6,000-Calorie Diet
The 6,000-Calorie Diet
Overeating and inactivity lead to insulin resistance in just days—and oxidative stress is to blame.
A Weighty Anomaly
A Weighty Anomaly
Why do some obese people actually experience health benefits?
Critic at Large
The Changing Face of Obesity
The Changing Face of Obesity
Science tells us obesity is a chronic disease. Why does the outmoded and injurious notion that it is a problem of willpower persist?
Coming to Grips with Obesity
Coming to Grips with Obesity
Science is approaching a better understanding of the increasingly prevalent disease; the consequences of succeeding in this quest are great.
Modus Operandi
Bile Benefits
Bile Benefits
Diverting the bile duct around a long stretch of the small intestine could treat obesity without cutting out chunks of the digestive tract.
The Literature
Fanning the Flames
Fanning the Flames
Obesity triggers a fatty acid synthesis pathway, which in turn helps drive T cell differentiation and inflammation.
Fat Saps Muscle
Fat Saps Muscle
The accumulation of fat within skeletal muscle, as happens with obesity, diminishes muscle performance.
Adding Padding
Adding Padding
Adipogenesis in mice has alternating genetic requirements throughout the animals’ lives.
Profile
The Skinny on Fat Cells
The Skinny on Fat Cells
Bruce Spiegelman has spent his career at the forefront of adipocyte differentiation and metabolism.
Scientist to Watch
Shingo Kajimura: Fishing for Answers
Shingo Kajimura: Fishing for Answers
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California, San Francisco. Age: 39
Lab Tools
Cracking the Complex
Cracking the Complex
Using mass spec to study protein-protein interactions
Remote Mind Control
Remote Mind Control
Using chemogenetic tools to spur the brain into action
Bio Business
Battling the Bulge
Battling the Bulge
Weight-loss drugs that target newly characterized obesity-related receptors and pathways could finally offer truly effective fat control.
Reading Frames
Embracing the Unknown
Embracing the Unknown
Researchers are showing that ambiguity can be essential to brain development.
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
The Psychology of Overeating, The Hidden Half of Nature, The Death of Cancer, and The Secret of Our Success
Foundations
Deadly Bariatrics, 1960s and '70s
Deadly Bariatrics, 1960s and '70s
Resecting a majority of the small intestine—a popular weight-loss surgery half a century ago—led to severe malnutrition and eventual death.