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Conceptual image showing fragmented X chromosomes
How Chaos in Chromosomes Helps Drive Cancer Spread
A new link between inflammation and rampant chromosomal abnormalities reveals novel strategies to treat diverse malignancies.
How Chaos in Chromosomes Helps Drive Cancer Spread
How Chaos in Chromosomes Helps Drive Cancer Spread

A new link between inflammation and rampant chromosomal abnormalities reveals novel strategies to treat diverse malignancies.

A new link between inflammation and rampant chromosomal abnormalities reveals novel strategies to treat diverse malignancies.

Features

Conceptual illustration of coral
Environmental Memory: How Corals Are Adjusting to Warmer Waters
Amanda Heidt | Feb 14, 2022 | 10+ min read
Corals that previously experienced heat stress respond better the next time around. Researchers are trying to figure out how, and hope to one day take advantage of the phenomenon to improve coral restoration efforts. 
Image of an abstract fractal blue and green sea shell.
Cell Chirality Offers Clues to the Mystery of Body Asymmetry
Catherine Offord | Feb 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
Researchers explore the idea that molecular patterns in individual cells could underlie the development of a left and a right in animals.
Human DNA abstract dotwork vector illustration made of cloud of colored dots.
Adapting with a Little Help from Jumping Genes
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jan 17, 2022 | 10+ min read
Long lambasted as junk DNA or genomic parasites, transposable elements turn out to be contributors to adaptation.
Illustration of a targeted virus over a world map
The Hunt for a Pandemic’s Origins
Martha Nelson | Jan 4, 2022 | 10+ min read
Dozens of researchers, including myself, worked for years to uncover that swine flu had leapt to humans from a pig in Mexico in 2009. We learned a lot about influenza evolution, pig farming, and outbreak risk along the way.
3D illustration of a tapeworm infestation in a human intestine
Return of the Worms
Catherine Offord | Dec 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Immunologists and parasitologists are working to revive the idea that helminths, and more specifically the molecules they secrete, could help treat allergies and autoimmune disease.
Top 10 Innovations 2021
2021 Top 10 Innovations
The Scientist | Dec 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
The COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Biomedical innovation has rallied to address that pressing concern while continuing to tackle broader research challenges.
Conceptual image of gene expression in DNA
Enhancers: Conserved in Activity, Not in Sequence
Jack J. Lee | Nov 1, 2021 | 8 min read
Certain stretches of DNA that regulate gene expression have evolved differently from protein-coding genes.
Conceptual image of an embryo with sound waves
Embryonic Eavesdropping: How Animals Hear and Respond to Sound
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Recent findings buck the traditional idea that embryos are passive agents and instead suggest that by tuning into vibrations, organisms can better prepare to enter the outside world.
Conceptual image of numbers
Is Your Brain Wired for Numbers?
Catherine Offord | Oct 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Our perception of quantity, separate from counting or estimation of magnitude more generally, is foundational to human cognition, according to some neuroscientists.
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, known as Baker's or Brewer's yeast.
Yeast Models Provide New Insights into Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mahlon Collins | Oct 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
The single-celled fungus allows researchers to study Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and other brain diseases with unparalleled speed and scale.
An image depicting where covid affects the body
SARS-CoV-2’s Wide-Ranging Effects on the Body
Diana Kwon | Sep 1, 2021 | 8 min read
Researchers’ painstaking examinations have begun to reveal how the virus wreaks havoc in multiple organs and tissues.
Illustration of a person sick next to a calendar indicating they've had covid for a long time
Mechanisms of Long COVID Remain Unknown but Data Are Rolling In
Sruthi S. Balakrishnan | Sep 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
A year and a half into the pandemic, the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection are garnering more research attention as millions of long COVID patients emerge.
The Role of Mom’s Microbes During Pregnancy
Carolyn A. Thomson and Kathy D. McCoy | Aug 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Bacteria in the gut influence the production of antibodies and themselves secrete metabolites. In a pregnant woman, these compounds may influence immune development of her fetus.
An illustration of flowers in the shape of the female reproductive tract
Uterus Transplants Hit the Clinic
Jef Akst | Aug 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
With human research trials resulting in dozens of successful deliveries in the US and abroad, doctors move toward offering the surgery clinically, while working to learn all they can about uterine and transplant biology from the still-rare procedure.
An illustration of green bacteria floating above neutral-colored intestinal villi
The Inside Guide: The Gut Microbiome’s Role in Host Evolution
Catherine Offord | Jul 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.
False-colored micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Pandemic
Anthony King | Jul 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
This month marks the 100-year anniversary of BCG, still the only approved vaccine against the lethal pathogen. But there are new vaccines for this wily foe on the horizon.
A scanning electron micrograph of a coculture of E. coli and Acinetobacter baylyi. Nanotubes can be seen extending from the E. coli.
What’s the Deal with Bacterial Nanotubes?
Sruthi S. Balakrishnan | Jun 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Several labs have reported the formation of bacterial nanotubes under different, often contrasting conditions. What are these structures and why are they so hard to reproduce?
Clip art of a crane, car, and plane flying over a city outside the window of two people in bed not sleeping, with a starry night background
How Environmental Noise Harms the Cardiovascular System
Thomas Münzel and Omar Hahad | Jun 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Sound from cars, aircraft, trains, and other man-made machines is more than just annoying. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Can Single Cells Learn?
Catherine Offord | May 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
A controversial idea from the mid-20th century is attracting renewed attention from researchers developing theories for how cognition arises with or without a brain.
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