Feature Writing
Breeding Nemo, Maine lab flourishes
Boston Globe
Soren Hansen’s first marine lab was in the closet of an apartment in Orono, Maine. Years later, his company, Sea & Reef, was one of only a few whose tropical saltwater fish are grown from eggs produced in captivity.
Gene Therapy’s Road to Redemption
Pediatrics Nationwide magazine
Fifteen years ago, gene therapy suffered a highly visible fatality, leaving the field in shambles. Now, one team’s efforts at gene therapy for muscular dystrophy suggest the field may finally be on track to deliver on its initial promise.
Angry Brains
Sarah Lawrence Magazine
People fight because of how they feel, whether angry, afraid, or threatened. Can understanding what’s happening in our brains help us control destructive emotions?
Crowning Glory
Compass Magazine
Once the keystone species–that upon which all the others depend–in the largest single-tree-dominated ecosystem in the United States, longleaf pine now occupies just under 3 million acres, less than 5 percent of its original territory.
The Long Farewell
MIT Technology Review magazine
A humble man from West Virginia known for his honesty and integrity, Charles M. Vest has led MIT for the last 14 years. On the brink of his departure, he reflects on his presidency and some of the pivotal decisions that have altered the course of the Institute.
A knowledge gap
Pediatrics Nationwide magazine
Many pediatricians don’t feel competent to treat patients with genetic disorders, according to a new study that raises questions about how to better prepare physicians for these cases.
Cellular Makeup
Paradigm magazine
What do you do when you need to examine gene and protein function in thousands of living cells all at once, in real time…and there’s no technology that makes that possible? If you’re David Sabatini, you make something where there once was nothing.
The “Y” Files
Paradigm magazine
The Y chromosome has been called the Rodney Dangerfield of the genomic world. New studies suggest it’s time to give the chromosome a little respect.
Baby steps
Pediatrics Nationwide magazine
Necrotizing enterocolitis affects about 2,000 to 4,000 infants each year, making it the most common gastrointestinal illness in neonatal intensive care units. A multicenter consortium studying the disease may be closer to understanding it.
Viruses, Vaccines and the “Unstoppable” Ralph Tripp
UGA Research Magazine
Colleagues describe UGA’s Ralph Tripp as “unstoppable.” And he’s set his sites on finding a cure for respiratory syncytial virus, to which virtually every American child is exposed by the age of 2.
Journey to Killian Court
MIT Technology Review magazine
As the new president of MIT, Susan Hockfield will face her share of challenges. But after six years as a Yale University administrator, she’s used to that.
Striving for Perfection
American Archaeology Magazine
The Shakers are one of America’s best-known utopian societies. An investigation of Pleasant Hill, one of their former communities in Kentucky, reveals how their emphasis on order, work, and religious devotion, and their penchant for innovations, were an attempt at perfecting their lives.
Drivers of Discovery
Paradigm magazine
A national report says postdoctoral researchers are “indispensable” to the advancement of science, a fact often overlooked by institutions and funding agencies. Now, postdocs are pushing for change. And people are listening.