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Maria and Peter HOey

The Enigmatic Membrane

By Muriel Mari, Sharon A. Tooze, and Fulvio Reggiori | February 1, 2012

Despite years of research, the longstanding mystery of where the autophagosome gets its double lipid bilayers is not much clearer.

istockphoto, alxpin

Casting a Wide Eye

By Cristina Luiggi | February 1, 2012

Scientists study a variety of large-scale biological phenomena from the vantage point of space.

Corbis, Robin Bartholick

The War Within

By Ole H. Petersen, Oleg V. Gerasimenko, and Julia V. Gerasimenko | February 1, 2012

Unraveling the molecular causes of acute pancreatitis—a potentially deadly disease in which the pancreas essentially digests itself—is yielding clues to how it might be treated.

istockphoto.com, Denis Kartavenko

Resolving Chronic Pain

By Claudia Sommer and Frank Birklein | January 1, 2012

The body’s own mechanism for dispersing the inflammatory reaction might lead to new treatments for chronic pain.

Scott Youtsey/Miracle studios

Animal Mind Control

By Jef Akst | January 1, 2012

Examples of parasites that manipulate the behavior of their hosts are not hard to come by, but scientists have only recently begun to understand how they induce such dramatic changes.

istockphoto.com, Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi

Top Ten Innovations 2011

By The Scientist Staff | January 1, 2012

Our list of the best and brightest products that 2011 had to offer the life scientist

Digital Vision/  gettyimages

Sensing Fat

By Beverly J. Tepper and Kathleen L. Keller | December 1, 2011

Are genes that alter the perception of fat making us fat?

SalarySurvey2011_3

Life Sciences Salary Survey 2011

By Jef Akst and Edyta Zielinska | December 1, 2011

US salaries are starting to recover after last year’s survey recorded the first-ever drop.

Shift Foto / Corbis

Matters of Taste

By Thomas E. Finger and Sue C. Kinnamon | December 1, 2011

Compounds we perceive as sweet or bitter in the mouth trigger similar receptors and signaling pathways elsewhere in the body, helping to regulate digestion, respiration, and other systems.

gettyimages, Todd Davidson

Looking Back, Looking Forward

By Walter F. Bodmer | October 1, 2011

In celebration of major conceptual advances in biology and the revolutions just over the horizon