News in a nutshell

Postdoc protests; cell phone disturbs brain; Japanese university unrest

By Jef Akst

Capsule reviews

A selection of top-notch science books

By Bob Grant

The forum

Dip into The Scientist's mailbag to see what readers are saying about recent stories

By The Scientist Staff

NMR for dummies

Check out this step-by-step poster that describes how nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy helped determine the structure of integral membrane proteins

By Cathryn Denney

Mad science?

A documentary about the research of neuroscientist Robert White goes beyond his macabre head-transplant experiments to highlight his contributions to science

By Hannah Waters

Puzzle me this

Why are placebos so mysterious?

By Graeme Stemp-Morlock

The evolution of credibility

A new book on the practice of science explores the winding path of discovery, and much more

By Frederick Grinnell

Fungus fights malaria?

A genetically modified fungus that targets not mosquitoes, but the malaria parasites inside, could be a powerful tool for malaria eradication

By Hannah Waters

Supplemental or detrimental?

Journals debate the value of supplemental materials

By Michele Solis

Down but not out

Cells on standby are surprisingly busy

By Richard P. Grant

Opinion: When to hunt the rare

Hunting can generate revenue to boost conservation efforts, but when should it be allowed for endangered populations?

By Gary Luck

Multicellular evolution not linear

New genetic analyses show that multicellularity was gained -- and lost -- several times in the blue-green algae

By Carrie Arnold

Rewards of risk

Secrets to scoring big money grants for innovative, out-of-the-box research

By Megan Scudellari