Resolving Chronic Pain
The body’s own mechanism for dispersing the inflammatory reaction might lead to new treatments for chronic pain.
By Claudia Sommer and Frank BirkleinJanuary 2012
Table of Contents
Cover Story
Features
Animal Mind Control
By Jef AkstExamples 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.
Top Ten Innovations 2011
By The Scientist StaffOur list of the best and brightest products that 2011 had to offer the life scientist
Departments
Editorial
In with the New
By Mary Beth AberlinThere is definitely no shortage of technological innovation in the life sciences.
Notebook
Hallowed Landfill
By Jef AkstOn the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, wildlife biologists reminisce about the role they played in the recovery of human remains.
Lost Colony DNA
By Kerry GrensGenotyping could answer a centuries-old mystery about a vanished group of British settlers.
Bat Luck
By Cristina LuiggiAn intrepid researcher and her team battle the elements and bouts of misfortune to explore the biodiversity of a brand new African country.
Cat Cravings
By Jef AkstA mutated feline receptor for sweet tastes explains why cats don’t love sugar but do dig mushrooms.
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
January 2012′s selection of notable quotes
Thought Experiment
Pitch Perfect
By Josephine JohnstonAcademic detailing has the potential to significantly improve clinical practice.
Modus Operandi
It’s Easy Being Green
By Richard P. GrantNow RNA can glow in the cell, as only proteins could in the past.
Critic At Large
An Evolving Science for an Evolving Time
By Colin D. ButlerTwenty-first century challenges to the public health of all the world’s populations require forward-looking commitments from epidemiologists.
The Literature
Pits Stopped
By Ruth WilliamsEditor’s choice in cell biology
Prion Protectors
By Edyta ZielinskaEditor’s choice in immunology
Motor Lock
By Edyta ZielinskaEditor’s choice in structural biology
Reading Frames
Anthropomorphism: A Peculiar Institution
By Marlene ZukShould we rethink the parallel drawn between “slave-making” ants and human slavery, and other such oversimplifications of animal behavior?
Profile
High-Tech Choir Master
By Karen HopkinElaine Mardis can make DNA sequencers sing, generating genome data that shed light on evolution and disease.
Scientist to Watch
Lynne-Marie Postovit: Cancer Modeler
By Sabrina RichardsAssistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario. Age: 34
Lab Tools
No Mo’ Slow Flow
By Jeffrey M. PerkelTools and tricks for high-throughput flow cytometry
Bio Business
Bioterrorist Battles
By Fran HawthorneA Swiss-based firm may have a back-door way to thwart a bioterrorist attack—by fighting the flu.
Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
By Richard P. GrantOur Dying Planet, Here Be Dragons, Rat Island, Harnessed
Foundations
Before the Genes Jumped, 1930s
By Sabrina RichardsHow Nobel Laureate Barbara McClintock nearly gave up genetics for meteorology
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the January 2012 issue of The Scientist.
Multimedia
Bat Hunt
By Cristina LuiggiFor the past four years, Bucknell University mammalogist DeeAnn Reeder has been raising nets high into the darkened forest canopies of…
2011′s Best and Brightest
By The Scientist StaffIn its brief, 4-year history, The Scientist’s annual Top 10 Innovations contest has become a showcase of the coolest life…
Roanoke Revisited
By Kerry GrensIn July 1587, a British colonist named John White accompanied 117 people to settle a small island sheltered within the…
Inflammation, Pain, and Resolvins
By Claudia Sommer and Frank BirkleinNot all inflammation leads to pain. Despite widespread infection followed by fever, colds rarely cause pain. But when some cytokines…
