Audience Engagement and Upcoming Conference Highlights

Guest: Senior editor at Cell Stem Cell, Dr. Christina Lilliehook shares with us what goes on as an editor of a top tier science journal. In addition to a behind the scenes discussion, she also talks about how she got into a career in editing, and what it takes if you wanted to make that career choice. Resources and Links Arachnophobia Gets Cut Out of Man’s Brain after Surgery to End His Seizures – This article discussed an instance where an unrelated seizure forced doctors to remove a portion of a man's brain, inadvertently freeing him of his fear of spiders. Mystery Solved: Where the Penis Comes From – This article attempts to answer a question a lot of scientists ponder out loud that is key to much of life on Earth: Exactly how does the penis form? Plasticity of the Aging Brain: New Directions in Cognitive Neuroscience – The authors review the two new directions in the field of aging research with implications for plasticity. Modeling Ebola in Mice – This article is about a study conducted by a team of scientists who have tested 47 genetically diverse mouse lines in response to their susceptibility to Ebola. Effects of Diurnal Variation of Gut Microbes and High-Fat Feeding on Host Circadian Clock Function and Metabolism – The body’s helpful bacteria may have internal clocks too that when disrupted will potentially boost the risk of obesity. Dozens of Genes Associated with Autism in New Research – This press release discusses two new studies conducted by UC San Francisco scientists tying mutations in more than 100 genes to autism. ‘Treasure in Saliva’ May Reveal Deadly Diseases Early Enough to Treat Them, UCLA Scientists Report – A simple saliva test is capable of diagnosing early stage diabetes, cancer, and perhaps neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases. Violence Genes May Be Responsible for One in Ten Serious Crimes – Scientists believe that they have discovered the genes responsible for high levels of rage-related violent behavior. Jupiter-Sized Sunspot Largest for 24 Years – This article is about the solar eclipse that happened few weeks back, showing large sunspots responsible for creating some pretty stormy space weather. New Way to Lose Weight: Scientists Stimulate Brown Fat to Burn More Energy from Food – This article shows how scientists have now come closer to the goal of finding an efficient method for losing weight through the body’s own adenosine that activates brown fat and “browns” white fat. Growth of CH3NH3PbI3 Cuboids with Controlled Size for High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells – Scientists report that the growth of CH3NH3PbI3 cuboids with a controlled size via a two-step spin-coating procedure enables a power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells to exceed 16%. Stem Cell Person of the Year 2014: Masayo Takahashi – This article announces Dr. Masayo Takahashi MD, PhD as the winner of the 2014 Stem Cell Person of the Year Award. Stem Cell Patent to Reach Supreme Court – The U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to intervene over a controversial embryonic stem cell patent according to the opponents of the patent. Managers of Discredited STAP Stem Cell Study Refund Salary – The top administrators of RIKEN, Japan’s national network of research laboratories will voluntarily return one to three months of their salaries to atone for their responsibility for the STAP stem cell fiasco. Breast Milk Stem Cells May Be Incorporated into Baby – This article suggests that breast milk stem cells from mum could possibly go on to transform into parts of the baby’s body. Modeling Human Development and Disease in Pluripotent Stem-cell-derived Gastric Organoids – The authors describe a new and robust in vitro system for elucidating the mechanisms underlying human stomach development and disease. Destroying Brain Tumors Using Herpes-loaded Stem Cells – Scientists from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute may have a potential solution for how to more effectively kill tumor cells using cancer-killing viruses.