This Month

As they train the next generation of scientists, some senior researchers share why they find mentoring fun and rewarding.

Poster sessions are a staple at conferences. Some junior and senior scientists share some experiences and strategies about making and presenting posters.

Not all conferences offer childcare, but when they do, these scientists, who are also mothers, rejoice. The toys are pretty good, too.

The jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica has long been established as a model for studying embryogenesis and gametogenesis because of its transparency, simple tissue architecture and evolutionary position. With the recent development of efficient transgenesis, this jellyfish is now poised for tackling systems-level questions in comparative neuroscience and regeneration.

The ascidian tunicate Ciona, one of the closest relatives of the vertebrates, inhabits shallow temperate waters in the worldwide ocean. A unique combination of simple stereotyped embryogenesis, regulative post-embryonic stages and ecologically relevant diversity makes Ciona a premier model for marine systems life sciences, from cells and molecules to populations and ecosystems.

Leading a lab is both a venture and an adventure. It’s double that for these researchers.

Endowed with formidable chemical defenses, spectacular coloration and diverse parental care strategies, poison frogs are a powerful comparative model for understanding how ecology, genetics and neurobiology intersect to shape the evolution of physiology and behavior.

These scientists prefer digging in the hot sun or hauling in ocean data in the sub-zero cold.

Studying the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), one of the world’s smallest primates, in its natural habitat and in the laboratory provides unique perspectives on primate brain evolution, cognition, aging and neurodegenerative diseases, on an accelerated timescale and at a substantially lower cost as compared with larger primate models.

Awards are gratifying, and also a moment to reflect on how one’s research shapes the work of others.

Cichlid fishes are a family of thousands of recently evolved species. As charismatic laboratory models, they are useful for studying anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits that vary across these closely related species.

As a postdoctoral fellowship ends, for some, next is a trek to their new lab.

The globally distributed marine tubeworm Hydroides elegans is emerging as a powerful model for studying bacteria-induced metamorphosis, and offers insights into developmental biology, marine ecology and host–microbe interactions.

What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry? ―William Blake, “The Tyger”

A journey in science takes initiative, and also an ability to face headwinds. These PhD students aren’t scared away.

Some graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and senior researchers choose a special kind of science-focused summer.

Scientists face many pressures, plenty of which are about identity. Researchers draw strength from within and from allies.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. —Mr. Spock (Star Trek II)

These researchers put their labs’ philosophies into practice and find it empowers science and collaboration.

Shifting gears in the latter part of one’s career is, for some, a way to do science differently.