A Question of Control
Clinical-trial participants and their carers are gaining influence over how experiments are run. As they take to social media, that could make things messy for the science
Stories by Heidi Ledford
Experimental Gene Therapy Frees "Bubble-Boy" Babies from a Life of Isolation
Treatment restores immune-system function in young children with severe disorder
Trump Seeks Big Cuts to Science Funding—Again
The president wants to cut spending at the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency, but it is not clear whether Congress will go along
Gene-Silencing Technology Gets First Drug Approval after 20-Year Wait
The U.S. FDA decision comes after fits and stops for RNA-interference therapies
Debate Blooms over Anatomy of the World's First Flower
Some researchers say statistical prediction of the ancestral blossom yielded an unlikely structure
The Lost Art of Looking at Plants
Advances in genomics and imaging are reviving a fading discipline
Gut Microbes Can Shape Responses to Cancer Immunotherapy
Studies find that species diversity and antibiotics influence cutting-edge treatments
Lights, Cameras, CRISPR: Biologists Use Gene Editing to Store Movies in DNA
Technique demonstrated in E. coli suggests way to record events
Massive Database of 182,000 Leaves Is Helping Predict Plant Family Trees
The technique could be used on everything from flowers to cells to examine the factors that influence the shapes of plant parts
Overlooked Water Loss in Plants Could Throw Off Climate Models
Errors could cause researchers to overestimate the rate of photosynthesis when water is scarce
Ancient Oak's Youthful Genome Surprises Biologists
DNA of a 234-year-old tree has few mutations, giving weight to idea that plants protect their stem cells
Fetal Immune System Active by Second Trimester
New understanding may help reveal some causes of miscarriage
Fixing the Tomato: CRISPR Edits Correct Plant-Breeding Snafu
Geneticists harness two mutations to improve on 10,000 years of tomato domestication
Geneticists Enlist Engineered Virus and CRISPR to Battle Citrus Disease
Desperate farmers hope scientists can beat pathogen that is wrecking the US orange harvest
Century-Old Tumors Offer Rare Cancer Clues
DNA sequences from 100-year-old tumor samples could bolster childhood cancer research
New Cholesterol Drug Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
It remains to be seen whether the treatment, which was effective in a large clinical trial, will live up to its promise
The Race to Map the Human Body--1 Cell at a Time
A host of detailed cell atlases could revolutionize understanding of cancer and other diseases
Plant Biologists Welcome Their Robot Overlords
Old-school areas of plant biology are getting tech upgrades that herald more detailed, faster data collection
5 Big Mysteries about CRISPR's Origins
Where did it come from? How do organisms use it without self-destructing? And what else can it do?
U.S. Scientists Fear New Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research
A probe led by House Republicans concluded that such work is of limited value
