The Scientist - USA (2021-02)

VOL. 35 ISSUE 2 | THE SCIENTIST 5

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Department Contents

COURTESY OF KATHERINE RAINES; © MELANIE LEE; DAVID SLIPHER, UC DAVIS COLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

11 FROM THE EDITOR

Feeling the Foundation

This year has started out in a fashion that is sadly similar to the way 2020 unspooled.

But the steady pace of scientific discovery helps maintain our sense of hope.

BY BOB GRANT

14 CRITIC AT LARGE

May I Speak to a Manager?

Rethinking professional expectations for professors and graduate students

BY ANGELA E. BOAG & NATHALIE ISABELLE CHARDON

18 NOTEBOOKS

Insects might be more sensitive to radiation than thought; specialized leaves

keep this plant’s fruit warm

42 THE LITERATURE

A petunia’s waxy cuticle regulates the plant’s sweet smell; invertebrate

density influences plant flowering; retrons help bacteria defend

against phages

45 SCIENTIST TO WATCH

Siobhán Brady: Root Detective

BY SHAWNA WILLIAMS

46 BIOBIZ

Going Dutch

Amsterdam is growing into a central

hub of life sciences and health R&D,

as evidenced by the recent relocation

of the European Medicines Agency

to the city.

BY JEF AKST

49 READING FRAMES

Europe Is Sinking Biotech—Again

Scientifically groundless regulations

could undercut the potential of gene-

edited crops, much as they have

with GMOs.

BY ROBERT PAARLBERG

52 FOUNDATIONS

Viral Discoveries, 1929

BY MAX KOZLOV

IN EVERY ISSUE

9 CONTRIBUTORS

12 SPEAKING OF SCIENCE

FEBRUARY 2021

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42

45

PINOAK WIZARD

YOM QX I

RES I N TEST I NG

I EEA AE

TMJ STROB I LUS

EO I AU T

BRA I NSTEM

SCTTOP

TRANSMUTE NPR

AN LRAO

SAVANNA F I RST

IIE LCO

SALMON HYPHEN

CORRECTIONS:

In “Rewilding with Teeth” from the November 2020 issue, pumas

were misidentified as Felis concolor, instead of Puma concolor, and an

elk species described as Cervus elaphus, instead of Cervus canadensis.

The “Top 10 Innovations of 2020” story from the December 2020

issue stated that GigaGen’s Surge platform captured antibodies from

samples that came from plasma donors. They were, in fact, blood

donors. The story also misstated the title of AbCellara’s Maia Smith and

the nature of Celium and collaborations surrounding the tool.

The Scientist regrets the errors.

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