The_Scientist_-_December_2018

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12.2018 | THE SCIENTIST 11

FROM THE EDITOR

Looking back at a year filled with discoveries
and challenges

BY BOB GRANT

Hindsight


W


ell, it certainly was an eventful 2018 here at The
Scientist. Our talented editorial staff has done
a superb job of bringing you all the latest news,
discoveries, and controversies in life science. We have tried
our best to bring you not just the pearls of wisdom and cre-
ativity that the research enterprise cultures and secretes,
but the warts as well.
As with any other sizeable human endeavor, science is
a multifaceted pursuit. It harbors stories of triumph and
progress in almost equal measure with tales of deception
and ruin. As a news organization seeking to communicate
the issues, developments, and ideas important to our life-
scientist readers, The Scientist strives for both realism and
equilibrium in its coverage. For example, in addition to
reporting the awarding of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physi-
ology or Medicine to two researchers who pioneered the
study and development of cancer immunotherapy, we wrote
about notable deaths during the year and the rising tide of
sexual harassment allegations made against high-level aca-
demics and even a former government administrator.
While it’s not necessarily enjoyable to publish stories
from the darker side of science, in my view, it is vital to our
mission of chronicling the state of our readers’ community.
If we only reported on scientific advancements and discov-
eries, we would become mere cheerleaders for life science,
which would be a disservice not only to the researchers who
read our articles, but also to the science enthusiasts who
follow The Scientist.
That said, our final issue of 2018 is a chance for us
to celebrate the brighter side of life science. As in every
year’s December issue, you’ll find the article announc-
ing the winners of our annual Top 10 Innovations con-
test (page 44), chosen by a panel of independent expert
judges. The victorious companies’ products range from new
enzymes that facilitate better CRISPR-based genome edit-
ing to single-cell technologies and tools that update and
supercharge laboratory stalwarts such as mass spectro-
metry. While our judges’ top picks differed, all judges
declared that the batch of products they had to choose
from truly represented potential game changers. A couple
of judges even commented that they could see themselves
employing the new products in their own labs—high praise,
to be sure.
This issue also contains stories that result from the use
of such innovative tools. The two other feature articles tell

of scientists exploring the biology of membraneless organ-
elles (page 28) and of bacterial microcompartments (page
36)—two cellular components that lay just out of the reach
of current laboratory technologies until relatively recently.
As science churns on, The Scientist vows to continue
conveying a holistic picture of the quest for new knowl-
edge. We will be there for 2019’s triumphs and tragedies,
always with the goal of keeping you informed, entertained,
and empowered to make the best choices for your career.
Thanks, as ever, for reading and engaging with our work,
and we’ll see you all in the New Year.g

Editor-in-Chief
ANDRZEJ KRAUZE [email protected]

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