News & Opinion

Covering the life sciences inside and out

Almost half of all patents relating to the genes of marine organisms belong to one large international corporation, BASF, a new study reveals.  

Researchers find that conserving marsupials on a predator-free island dampens their avoidance behaviors, which could mean trouble for their reintroduction to mainland Australia.

Drugs approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis block cytokines, the molecules responsible for severe side effects from the immunotherapy, and reduce symptoms in mice.

The first human experiment with neural precursor cells implanted to treat chronic spinal cord injury suggests the procedure is safe, and hints at a small benefit.  

The Nutshell

Daily News Roundup

A security researcher found the email addresses and encrypted passwords of more than 92 million users of the genealogy site on a private server outside the company.

They may be a prospective source for an influenza pandemic, researchers warn.  

The results suggest the virus could severely alter brain development in infants infected after birth, but blocking a signaling protein early on might ease certain symptoms.

Compared with their urban counterparts, babies and toddlers in rural Nigeria have gut microbiota that more closely resembles that of adults in their community.

Current Issue

June 2018

Issue Cover: Microbial Treasure

Identification of new archaea species elucidates the domain’s unique biology and sheds light on its relationship to eukaryotes.

The functions of the cellular invaginations identified more than half a century ago are now beginning to be understood in detail.

A step-by-step study of diseases that jump species gives subtle clues about future epidemics.

The IoT can link up many facets of research—from laboratory equipment to ideas—but scientists must be ready for the questions its implementation could raise.

Multimedia

Video, Slideshows, Infographics

Blast off into orbit, where researchers on the International Space Station are growing plants in systems that may one day sustain astronauts traveling far across the solar system and beyond.

The discovery of copious new archaeal species is shedding light on the tree of life and revealing some unique cellular biology.

The Marketplace

Sponsored Product Updates

Advanced Instruments—a leading developer of scientific and analytical instruments for the clinical, biopharmaceutical, and food-and-beverage industries—will feature the distinguished Dr. Robert Jerris at ASM Microbe 2018 on Sunday, June 10, 2018 at 10:30am in booth 1610.

Limerick, PA. April 18, 2018 – Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. announced today that Chief Science Officer, Dr. Carl Ascoli testified at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s third of six public session on Reproducibility and Replicability in Science on April 18th.

Learn about standardized processing techniques along with proficiency testing protocols used to construct NGS libraries with this eBook from The Scientist, sponsored by LGC Biosearch Technologies!

A mass spectrometer analyzes molecules by determining the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The ionization process requires careful consideration to ensure proper molecular separation without disintegration. Picking the right ionization option greatly extends the capabilities of mass spectrometry analysis and detection.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb), a global leader of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, today announced the launch of a range of anti-idiotypic antibodies targeting the immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs: pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo). 

In this original eBook, learn about the evolution and importance immunocytochemistry for protein visualization and quantification, how to adapt ICC for live-cell analysis to study protein dynamics in real-time, and the value of ICC-determined protein kinetics for disease research!

Popular Now

  1. The world's densest bones
  2. New Liquid Biopsy Detects Cancer at Earlier Stages Than Currently Possible
  3. How Bacteria Eat Penicillin
    The Scientist How Bacteria Eat Penicillin

    Scientists work out the specific genes and biochemical steps required for digesting the very drugs designed to kill microbes.

  4. Wolf-like Animal Baffles Montana Scientists

Featured Comment

I remember watching GATTACA with some other grad students in the 90's, we liked it but laughed at the 'impossible' fast sequencing done to validate people's identities. Now we do seven impossible things before breakfast, so to speak.

Allison Mackay, commenting on The Scientist's story about a new, hand-held sequencer that can reportedly decode the entire human genome.

Pocket-Size Nanopore Device Sequences Entire Human Genome