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Close-up shot of sea surface with small waves
The Constellation of Creatures Inhabiting the Ocean Surface
The myriad species floating atop the world’s seas, called neuston, are mysterious and understudied, complicating efforts to clean up plastic pollution.
The Constellation of Creatures Inhabiting the Ocean Surface
The Constellation of Creatures Inhabiting the Ocean Surface

The myriad species floating atop the world’s seas, called neuston, are mysterious and understudied, complicating efforts to clean up plastic pollution.

The myriad species floating atop the world’s seas, called neuston, are mysterious and understudied, complicating efforts to clean up plastic pollution.

Features

2022 Top 10 Innovations 
2022 Top 10 Innovations
The Scientist | Dec 12, 2022 | 10+ min read
This year’s crop of winning products features many with a clinical focus and others that represent significant advances in sequencing, single-cell analysis, and more.
Cross section of an organic cell with intracellular organelles
How Intracellular Bacteria Hijack Your Cells
Catherine Offord | Dec 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
Scientists studying pathogens such as Chlamydia, Legionella, and Listeria get a master class in how to control the internal workings of mammalian cells.
Illustration of pregnancy and the immune system
Modulating Immunity to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes
Tobias R. Kollmann, Arnaud Marchant, and Sing Sing Way | Nov 14, 2022 | 10+ min read
Aberrant immune activation, the main cause of prematurity and stillbirths, could be preventable through interventions such as maternal vaccination. 
Cellular DNA and epigenetics
Do Epigenetic Changes Influence Evolution?
Katarina Zimmer | Nov 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
Evidence is mounting that epigenetic marks on DNA can influence future generations in a variety of ways. But how such phenomena might affect large-scale evolutionary processes is hotly debated.
The structure of a biological cell (macro)
The Long and Winding Road to Eukaryotic Cells
Amanda Heidt | Oct 17, 2022 | 10+ min read
Despite recent advances in the study of eukaryogenesis, much remains unresolved about the origin and evolution of the most complex domain of life.
Hawaiian Bobtail squid
Symbiotic Organs: Extreme Intimacy with the Microbial World
Catherine Offord | Oct 3, 2022 | 10+ min read
All multicellular creatures interact with bacteria, but some have taken the relationship to another level with highly specialized structures that house, feed, and exploit the tiny organisms.
Conceptual image showing molecules making up a brain shape
The Noncoding Regulators of the Brain
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Sep 12, 2022 | 10+ min read
Noncoding RNAs are proving to be critical players in the evolution of brain anatomy and cognitive complexity.
Illustration showing a puzzle piece of DNA being removed
Large Scientific Collaborations Aim to Complete Human Genome
Brianna Chrisman and Jordan Eizenga | Sep 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
Thirty years out from the start of the Human Genome Project, researchers have finally finished sequencing the full 3 billion bases of a person’s genetic code. But even a complete reference genome has its shortcomings.
The brain's cerebellum
The Cerebellum’s Functions in Cognition, Emotion, and More
Diana Kwon | Aug 15, 2022 | 10+ min read
Once thought of as a mere motor coordination center, the “little brain” is now appreciated as participating in higher neurological processes.
Amyloid plaques on axons of neurons
The Misunderstood Proteins of Neurodegeneration
Catherine Offord | Aug 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
The normal functions of peptides that aggregate in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s have been largely overlooked by scientists, but some argue that they are critical for understanding the development of disease.
Dinosaur Fossil (Tyrannosaurus Rex) Found by Archaeologists
Are We in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction?
Katarina Zimmer | Jul 18, 2022 | 10+ min read
Today’s extinction rates are sky-high. But scientists debate if that’s sufficient evidence to conclude that Earth is undergoing a mass extinction event—or whether that’s even a helpful designation.
Landscape illustration
Horizontal Gene Transfer Happens More Often Than Anyone Thought
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jul 5, 2022 | 10+ min read
DNA passed to and from all kinds of organisms, even across kingdoms, has helped shape the tree of life, to a large and undisputed degree in microbes and also unexpectedly in multicellular fungi, plants, and animals.
Illustration of a syringe with a person falling out of a bottle of pills
Opioid Vaccines as a Tool to Stem Overdose Deaths
Tori Rodriguez | Jun 13, 2022 | 10+ min read
Researchers are turning to the immune system for help in treating addiction and preventing overdose.
A pair of zebra finches in a cage
Animal Divorce: When and Why Pairs Break Up
Catherine Offord | Jun 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
Many species of birds and other vertebrates form pair bonds and mate with just one other individual for much of their lives. But the unions don’t always work out. Scientists want to know the underlying factors.
Conceptual image of coronavirus, SARS?Cov?2 infects a human cell
Viruses Target Super-Short Protein Motifs to Disrupt Host Biology
Conchita Fraguas Bringas and Jakob Nilsson | May 16, 2022 | 10+ min read
Only recently appreciated as critical components of cellular functions, unstructured stretches of amino acids called SLiMs are key to viral-host interactions.
Composite image of earliest humans and wooly mammoths
New Evidence Complicates the Story of the Peopling of the Americas
Emma Yasinski | May 2, 2022 | 10+ min read
New techniques have shown that people reached the New World far earlier than the long-standing estimate of 13,000 years ago, but scientists still debate exactly when humans arrived on the continent—and how.
Conceptual image of a person's brain with a cluster of cells inside
Is the Immune System to Blame for Schizophrenia?
Diana Kwon | Apr 18, 2022 | 10+ min read
Several lines of evidence suggest that targeting the body’s defense pathways might help treat a subset of people with the psychiatric disorder. But many open questions remain.
Illustration showing two hands join, father or mother with child
Does Human Epigenetic Inheritance Deserve a Closer Look?
Catherine Offord | Apr 4, 2022 | 10+ min read
The concept of epigenetic inheritance has long been controversial. Some researchers hope that new data on cross-generational effects of environmental exposures will help settle the debate.
Tumor microbiome composite
Could Cancer’s Microbiome Help Diagnose and Treat the Disease?
Jef Akst | Mar 14, 2022 | 10+ min read
A growing appreciation of the bacterial assemblages that live within tumors has researchers striving to understand and capitalize on their role.
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