April 2022, Issue 1 Table of Contents
AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
This Issue
April 2022, Issue 1
Whispers of the Past
Debate continues over the existence of epigenetic inheritance in humans
Feature
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.
Speaking of Science
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Ten Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse
Critic at Large
Opinion: Climate Change Is Dangerous to Your Health
Opinion: Climate Change Is Dangerous to Your Health
In addition to causing more frequent natural disasters, global warming can have long-term health effects, which range from heat stress to mosquito-borne disease.
Notebook
Dwarf Mongooses Shun Bullies to Manage Conflict: Study
Dwarf Mongooses Shun Bullies to Manage Conflict: Study
These social animals keep tabs on aggressive members of the group and groom them less after fights to punish them.
Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.
Infographics
Infographic: Questions Linger About Epigenetic Inheritance
Infographic: Questions Linger About Epigenetic Inheritance
Some studies suggest that associations between the health of children and the experiences of their parents or grandparents may be due to epigenetic mechanisms, but confounding factors challenge this interpretation.
The Literature
SARS-CoV-2 Can Spread Via Cell-to-Cell Transmission
SARS-CoV-2 Can Spread Via Cell-to-Cell Transmission
The virus’s ability to slip directly from one cell to another may help it avoid some of the body’s immune responses.
Distracted Brains Better at Parsing Unfamiliar Languages: Study
Distracted Brains Better at Parsing Unfamiliar Languages: Study
People who had cognitive functions depleted by noninvasive brain stimulation or a mentally demanding task could subconsciously recognize individual words in a made-up language more easily than controls, researchers find.
Foundations
Reimagining Ecology, 1939
Reimagining Ecology, 1939
Edward Ricketts built his laboratory just onshore from the swirling tidepools of Monterey Bay, California, an ideal backdrop against which he developed a new system for studying the ecology of any given habitat.