Features
Long noncoding RNAs and Microproteins Can Spark Cancer—or Sometimes Squelch It
Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 1, 2023 | 10+ min read
Noncoding RNAs and microproteins, once considered genomic noise, are turning out to be critical to the progression of some types of cancer.
Jumping Genes’ Role in Cancer
Diana Kwon | Mar 1, 2023 | 8 min read
Transposons may be key players in how tumors develop and spread, but they also keep cancer at bay in some circumstances.
Speaking of Science
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse
Critic at Large
Opinion: New Diabetes Drug Signals Shift to Preventing Autoimmunity
Opinion: New Diabetes Drug Signals Shift to Preventing Autoimmunity
A therapy for type 1 diabetes is the first to treat patients before symptoms appear, paving the way toward preventing this and other autoimmune diseases.
The Literature
How Tadpoles Garner the Energy to Regenerate Their Tails
How Tadpoles Garner the Energy to Regenerate Their Tails
A metabolic pathway used for tail regrowth may be critical for tissue regeneration in some cells, a study suggests.
Notebook
Researchers Watch Fish Rot, for Science
Researchers Watch Fish Rot, for Science
Recording the pH within decaying organs for the first time, researchers come closer to understanding why some soft tissues are more likely to be preserved as fossils than others.
Ecologists Use Museum Specimens to Dig into the Parasitic Past
Ecologists Use Museum Specimens to Dig into the Parasitic Past
New techniques to quantify what lived in and on preserved animals throw light on how parasite abundance has changed over time.
Scientist to Watch
Alex Muir Explores Cancer Cells’ Menu
Alex Muir Explores Cancer Cells’ Menu
The University of Chicago cell biologist is studying how the nutrients available to cancers influence their growth.
Careers
How Do Scientists Decide a Species Has Gone Extinct?
How Do Scientists Decide a Species Has Gone Extinct?
Getting it wrong can harm the very creatures that scientists are trying to protect.
Reading Frames
The Skin Battery
The Skin Battery
The “wound current” has intrigued scientists for more than a century. It could turn out to be the key to healing catastrophic injuries.
Foundations
Bathing Through the Ages: 1300–1848
Bathing Through the Ages: 1300–1848
Public bathing, ubiquitous around the world and through the ages, plays an often-unappreciated role in public health.
Infographics
Infographic: Transposable elements in cancer
Infographic: Transposable elements in cancer
Jumping genes are let loose in cancerous cells, with multiple effects on cell health.
Infographic: How Tadpoles Use Glucose to Fuel Tail Regrowth
Infographic: How Tadpoles Use Glucose to Fuel Tail Regrowth
Unlike other fast-growing cells, regenerating tadpole cells fuel growth using the pentose phosphate pathway rather than glycolysis, a study indicates.