Feature
- Neuroscience
Jessica Cantlon seeks the origins of numerical thinking
Cognitive neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon wants to find out how humans understand numbers and where that understanding comes from.
- Materials Science
Qian Chen makes matter come alive
Materials scientist Qian Chen is coaxing nanomaterials to self-assemble in new and unexpected ways.
By Meghan Rosen - Humans
Lawrence David’s gut check gets personal
Computational biologist Lawrence David regularly opens himself to new scientific challenges, including tracking his own microbiome.
- Astronomy
Anna Frebel digs a young universe
Astronomer Anna Frebel has discovered record-breaking stars, including the most pristine in the galaxy.
- Neuroscience
Jeremy Freeman seeks to simplify complex brain science
As a group leader at the Janelia Research Campus, Jeremy Freeman is equal parts neuroscientist, computer coder and data visualization whiz.
- Computing
Shayan Oveis Gharan finds the shortest route to success
Theoretical computer scientist Shayan Oveis Gharan has identified connections between unrelated fields to tackle the traveling salesman problem.
- Oceans
Melissa Omand’s clever tech follows the fate of ocean carbon
Drawn to the water early, oceanographer Melissa Omand now leads research cruises studying how carbon and nutrients move through the seas.
- Physics
Tenio Popmintchev fits X-ray laser on a tabletop
Laser physicist Tenio Popmintchev has created a Swiss-army-knife tool made of light.
- Oceans
Fish escapes from marine farms raise concerns about wildlife
Farmed salmon, sea bass and other fish frequently escape from sea cages into the ocean. Will these runaways harm native wildlife?
By Roberta Kwok - Microbes
Microbial matter comes out of the dark
Undiscovered bacteria challenge what scientists know about microbial life.
By Laura Beil - Life
CRISPR inspires new tricks to edit genes
CRISPR/Cas9 has been a rockstar gene-editing tool for just four years and it’s already being tweaked to do more things better.
- Neuroscience
What Donkey Kong can tell us about how to study the brain
Neuroscience tools failed to reveal much about a simple microprocessor. What can they really tell us about the brain?