Features
Could Tolerating Disease Be Better than Fighting It?
Ashley Yeager | Jun 1, 2019 | 10+ min read
Quieting immune attacks against pathogens and even providing nutrients to the invaders could improve health, according to a new line of research.
Do Commensal Microbes Stoke the Fire of Autoimmunity?
Amanda B. Keener | Jun 1, 2019 | 10+ min read
Molecules produced by resident bacteria and their hosts may signal immune cells to attack the body’s own tissues.
Quantum Biology May Help Solve Some of Life’s Greatest Mysteries
Catherine Offord | Jun 1, 2019 | 10+ min read
From the remarkable speed of enzyme-catalyzed reactions to the workings of the human brain, numerous biological puzzles are now being explored for evidence of quantum effects.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the June 2019 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Belief in the Unseen
Belief in the Unseen
Science doesn’t require faith, but fostering trust in its practitioners can help the public move past unfounded doubts.
Speaking of Science
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.
Notebook
In a Warming Climate, Seaweed’s Microbiome May Mediate Disease
In a Warming Climate, Seaweed’s Microbiome May Mediate Disease
Kelp in warm, acidified waters develop blistered fronds—and the composition of microbial communities could help explain why, a study suggests.
Browsing Deer Affect How A Forest Sounds
Browsing Deer Affect How A Forest Sounds
Changes in the auditory environment as a result of herbivory could influence how animals communicate, and may have implications for sound-based monitoring of species.
Could Manipulating the Microbiome of Artworks Prevent Their Decay?
Could Manipulating the Microbiome of Artworks Prevent Their Decay?
Treating the microbial community residing on a painting with probiotics may offer a way to stave off biodegradation, a study suggests.
The Hunt for Electrically Active Microbes
The Hunt for Electrically Active Microbes
A new portable instrument could help to lure useful bugs in from the wild.
Modus Operandi
Intracellular Magnetic Manipulations
Intracellular Magnetic Manipulations
Optimized tweezers enable precise 3-D manipulations of a cell’s organelles.
Critic at Large
Opinion: New Repository Will Hold the World’s Microbial Riches
Opinion: New Repository Will Hold the World’s Microbial Riches
The Microbiota Vault takes a holistic approach to preserving Earth’s microscopic diversity.
The Literature
How Bacteria “Walk” Across a Surface
How Bacteria “Walk” Across a Surface
Scientists identify the coordinated sequence of pili movements that Pseudomonas aeruginosa use to move.
Fruit Flies Hide Their Eggs in Plain View
Fruit Flies Hide Their Eggs in Plain View
Chemical cues help Drosophila mask their eggs from predators.
Mouse Diets Affect How Gut Bacteria Interact with T Cells
Mouse Diets Affect How Gut Bacteria Interact with T Cells
An experiment delves into how the microbiome shapes immunity.
Profile
Microbe Miner: A Profile of Rob Knight
Microbe Miner: A Profile of Rob Knight
Developing computational tools to analyze the reams of microbial sequencing data his lab generates, the UC San Diego microbiologist is a pioneer of microbiome research.
Scientist to Watch
Otto Cordero Studies Bacteria in the Wild
Otto Cordero Studies Bacteria in the Wild
The MIT associate professor wants to understand microbial communities in their ecological context.
Lab Tools
Drug Discovery Techniques Open the Door to RNA-targeted Drugs
Drug Discovery Techniques Open the Door to RNA-targeted Drugs
New ways to search for druggable RNAs and matching small molecules
Careers
Making STEM Education More Welcoming to Underrepresented Minorities
Making STEM Education More Welcoming to Underrepresented Minorities
Diversity programs are shifting their focus from just providing academic support to creating a learning environment that is more inclusive of people of different backgrounds.
Reading Frames
Making Sense of Magnetic Navigation
Making Sense of Magnetic Navigation
A new book about remarkable feats of migration by animals explores the front lines of research into how they do it.
Foundations
Bovine Inoculations, circa 1870s
Bovine Inoculations, circa 1870s
Lymph from cattle proved more effective at inducing immunity to smallpox than the older, person-to-person method.
Infographics
Infographic: Immunity Isn’t the Body’s Only Defense System
Infographic: Immunity Isn’t the Body’s Only Defense System
Symbiotic bacteria, metabolism, and stress pathways can all help animals tolerate, rather than succumb, to disease.
Infographic: Commensal Mimicry in Autoimmune Disease
Infographic: Commensal Mimicry in Autoimmune Disease
Antigens originating from the microbiome may trigger an autoimmune response.
Infographic: Quantum Explanations for Biological Phenomena
Infographic: Quantum Explanations for Biological Phenomena
Weird effects on the scale of subatomic particles may play roles in enzyme catalysis, photosynthesis, and avian magnetoreception.
Infographic: High Precision Magnetic Tweezers
Infographic: High Precision Magnetic Tweezers
Microscope-mounted magnets with computerized feedback control allow precision manipulations of intracellular objects.
Infographic: Microbial Moves
Infographic: Microbial Moves
Bacteria coordinate a pilus's movement based on touch.