Features
Sex Differences in Immune Responses to Viral Infection
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Stronger interferon production, greater T cell activation, and increased susceptibility to autoimmunity are just some of the ways that females seem to differ from males.
Free Fallin’: How Scientists Study Unrestrained Insects
Amanda Heidt | Mar 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Researchers are pulling from video games, sports broadcasting, meteorology, and even missile guidance technology to better investigate how insects have mastered flight.
Editorial
Democratized Discovery
Democratized Discovery
In a triumph for science, COVID-19 statistics are finally trending favorably in the US. We must make sure the rest of the world is not left behind.
Speaking of Science
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.
Critic at Large
Opinion: Toward Better Data Sharing
Opinion: Toward Better Data Sharing
The network effect can improve the ways that biomedical researchers collaborate.
Notebook
Researchers Propose Automating the Naming of Novel Microbes
Researchers Propose Automating the Naming of Novel Microbes
With modern technologies unearthing novel bacterial and archaeal species by the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands, manually naming them all is no longer practical, scientists say.
Deep-Sea Jelly Reignites Debate on Remote Species Identification
Deep-Sea Jelly Reignites Debate on Remote Species Identification
Researchers say they have discovered a novel species of comb jelly using video footage, but they couldn’t recover a physical specimen. Is that enough?
Scientist to Watch
Derek Applewhite’s Actin Research Inspires the Next Generation
Derek Applewhite’s Actin Research Inspires the Next Generation
The biologist’s undergraduate-centered lab allows students to play a meaningful role in research.
The Literature
Macrophages of the Human Eye Come into Focus
Macrophages of the Human Eye Come into Focus
Imaged in real time in living people, immune cells at the surface of the retina could serve as biomarkers to detect retinal and possibly neurological diseases and track their progression.
Neurons for Taste Loosely Distributed in Mouse Gustatory Cortex
Neurons for Taste Loosely Distributed in Mouse Gustatory Cortex
Neurological representations of different tastes—like those of different smells but unlike those of sight, hearing, and touch—do not cluster in distinct spots within a murine brain region, a study shows.
Long-Lived Trees’ Epigenetic Mutations Serve as a Molecular Clock
Long-Lived Trees’ Epigenetic Mutations Serve as a Molecular Clock
Cells found in different branches of a tree have different patterns of DNA methylation, changes in which accumulate over time.
Careers
Science with Borders: Researchers Navigate Red Tape
Science with Borders: Researchers Navigate Red Tape
Scientists who work with foreign biological specimens face a patchwork of permits that threaten to block their projects, with potentially harmful consequences for the ecosystems they study.
Reading Frames
Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds
Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds
An unsung group of South American falcons yields clues to the prehistory of a continent, and hints at secrets of the avian brain.
Foundations
Identity Crisis, 1906
Identity Crisis, 1906
A famous account of multiple personality disorder in the early 20th century foreshadowed a century of controversial diagnoses and debate among psychiatrists.
Infographics
Infographic: Envisioning Macrophages
Infographic: Envisioning Macrophages
Researchers find different distributions of the immune cells in young, older, and diseased eyes.
Infographic: How SARS-CoV-2 Immune Responses May Differ by Sex
Infographic: How SARS-CoV-2 Immune Responses May Differ by Sex
Males and females show differences in gene expression, cell activation, and antibody production in response to some viral infections, but whether these influence COVID-19 outcomes is still unclear.
Infographic: VR, Radar, and Other Tricks for Studying Insects
Infographic: VR, Radar, and Other Tricks for Studying Insects
Researchers are getting creative to understand flight behavior in the fast-moving and tiny animals.