Think Big, Go Small

Meet some of the people featured in the August 2014 issue of The Scientist.

When proverbs come true

August 2014's selection of notable quotes

Can seed banks adequately prepare for the future if wild plant populations are already lagging behind in adapting to rapid climate change?

Researchers have installed an advanced genomics lab facility aboard a boat to create a floating molecular testing facility for marine life sciences

The body of a supercentenarian expands science’s appreciation for the physiological limits of aging.

Scientists aim to remotely monitor Parkinson’s through voice recordings.

Erroneous characterization of nanomaterials can misinform the study of a new medicine’s safety and efficacy.

Two labs have produced FRET-based systems for real-time analysis of a plant stress hormone.

From bioimaging to drug delivery and therapeutics, nanotechnology is poised to change the way doctors practice medicine.

The speed of water flowing around coralline algae, a critical member of coral reef and coastal seaweed communities, affects their response to ocean acidification.

Reef fish, once thought to be unable to see red wavelengths, not only fluoresce deep red, but males of some species react to seeing their own bioluminescent pattern.

Bacterial populations’ differing strategies for responding to their environment can set genetic routes to speciation.

Extending her initial studies of social wasps, Mary Jane West-Eberhard has spent her career probing the evolutionary relationship between social behavior and developmental flexibility.

Core Member, Broad Institute; Investigator, McGovern Institute; Assistant Professor, MIT. Age: 32

A tour of the newest software and strategies for analyzing microbial and viral communities

Computational tools can streamline the development of targeted proteomics experiments.
 

Contests that challenge young scientists to explain their research without jargon are turning science communication into a competitive sport.

In praise of weird science at the edge of life

The Myth of Mirror Neurons, Curious, Shadow Medicine, and Doctored

Zoologist John Gould undertook a financially risky expedition to document the birds of Australia—and found some unique mammals in a perilous situation.