Healing with Hallucinogens the Therapeutic Benefits of Psychedelic Drugs
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SEPTEMBER 2017 | WWW.THE-SCIENTIST.COM HEALING WITH HALLUCINOGENS THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS DO MICROBES TRIGGER ALZHEIMER’S? THE FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF DNA BASE MODIFICATIONS TAKING KIDS TO CONFERENCES PLUS WEANING STEM CELLS FROM FEEDER LAYERS NUMBER ONE FOR: DEPENDABILITY DATA INTEGRITY EASE OF USE No other name is as trusted as BioTek to bring you affordability without compromising performance. Learn more. Visit www.biotek.com/readerwasher. ISO certified and FDA registered for highest quality standards. 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SEPTEMBER 2017 Contents THE SCIENTIST THE-SCIENTIST.COM VOLUME 31 NUMBER 9 STAFF Features ON THE COVER: © JAMES WORRELL/GETTY IMAGES SCIENTIST THE 34 42 48 Trippy Treatments Brain Bugs DNA Extras Scientists are beginning to unravel Long relegated to the scientific fringe, Researchers are just beginning the mechanisms behind the therapeutic the idea that infection may trigger to scratch the surface of how several KIMBERLY BATTISTA; KIMBERLY effects of psychedelic drugs. some cases of Alzheimer’s disease newly recognized DNA modifications © BY DIANA KWON is gaining traction. function in the genome. BY JILL U. ADAMS BY SKIRMANTAS KRIAUCIONIS SEAN McCABE; © 09.2017 | THE SCIENTIST 3 BioResearch What if... … I could get more donors for my cells? … I could get expert tech support with the cells I buy? … my selfie from last night’s party gets a million “likes”? 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No warranty is made, either expressed or implied. www.lonza.com/primarycells SEPTEMBER 2017 Department Contents 13 FROM THE EDITOR 64 LAB TOOLS Far-Out Science Ready, Set, Grow How psychedelic drugs and How to culture stem cells without infectious microbes alter depending on mouse feeder cells brain function BY AMBER DANCE BY MARY BETH ABERLIN 67 CAREERS 17 NOTEBOOK Baby on Board Metropollen; Sweat Shirt; Athletic Many scientific conferences offer Prosthetics; Marshalling Microbes child care options that allow researchers to bring their families 29 CRITICS AT LARGE along for the trip. Dealing with Rising Publication BY KERRY GRENS Costs 33 As article processing charges top 70 READING FRAMES $5,000 at some research journals, CRISPRing Mammoths authors and institutions have means Can the latest gene-editing tools 60 of negotiating better deals or finding help researchers bring extinct species less expensive options. back to life? BY M. BISHR OMARY AND BY BRITT WRAY THEODORE S. LAWRENCE 76 FOUNDATIONS 33 MODUS OPERANDI Discovery of the Malaria Parasite, Bubbles for Broken Bones 1880 Ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles BY SHAWNA WILLIAMS enable gene delivery to fix fractures. BY RUTH WILLIAMS IN EVERY ISSUE 55 THE LITERATURE 11 CONTRIBUTORS Asymmetric distribution of endosomes during cell division; 14 SPEAKING OF SCIENCE an adenosine receptor for olfaction in fish; immune receptors in the 71 THE GUIDE 64 mouse nose 73 RECRUITMENT 60 PROFILE Motor Man BRYAN SATALINO BRYAN Ron Vale has spent a career studying © how molecular motors transport cargo within cells. He’s also developed tools to help scientists CORRECTIONS: communicate their findings. In the July/August issue of The Scientist, please note the following corrections: “Bacteriophages to the Rescue” stated that Shigella was a BY ANNA AZVOLINSKY virus. It is a species of bacteria. “Identifying Predatory Publishers” failed to state that Virginia Barbour’s term as chair of the nonprofit Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) ended in May 2017. “Oceans’ Ambassador” 63 SCIENTIST TO WATCH incorrectly stated that the National Science Board (NSB) is associated with the National Academy of Sciences. The NSB is associated with the Kate Rubins: Astrovirologist National Science Foundation. “The Mechanobiology Garage” incorrectly stated that pore sizes in the microfluidic device designed by the BY AGGIE MIKA Lammerding lab did not reflect actual capillary pore sizes. They do. GEORGE RETSECK; YUXIAO WANG; YUXIAO GEORGE RETSECK; © The Scientist regrets the errors. 09.2017 | THE SCIENTIST 5 SEPTEMBER 2017 Online Contents THIS MONTH AT THE-SCIENTIST.COM: VIDEO VIDEO SLIDE SHOW Athlete Meets Machine Living Fabric City Bees Alena Grabowski, a University of Have a look at the bacteria-powered, See the urban landscapes in Detroit Colorado Boulder researcher, breathable clothing made by former MIT where researchers are studying discusses her motivations for studying researcher Wen Wang and colleagues. the fates of pollinators that adopt the interface between biology a metropolitan lifestyle. and mechanics in prosthetic devices. AS ALWAYS, FIND BREAKING NEWS EVERY DAY, AND LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL STORIES ON OUR WEBSITE. Coming in October ISTOCK.COM/BAZILFOTO © HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE: • Making DNA data storage a reality • Macrophages: more than just immune cells • Could vaccinating farm animals drive the evolution of more virulent pathogens? • Intrinsically disordered proteins as drug targets UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN; PIG: GLAUM, PAUL • A primer on CRISPR patents BEES: AND MUCH MORE CITY 6 THE SCIENTIST | the-scientist.com RnDSy-lu-2945 Win the Race to Discovery Meet Our Discovery Squad Ella Wes™ Milo™ Luminex® 100/200™ MAGPIX® FLEXMAP 3D® Ella Runs Simple Plex™ Assays Powered by R&D Systems Simple Plex™ Assays are much faster than a traditional ELISA. The automated microfl uidics do the work for you. • Multiplex with zero cross-reactivity. • Reproducibility in the single-digit CVs. • Fully analyzed results in 1 hour. 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