SEPTEMBER 2019 | WWW.THE-SCIENTIST.COM OUR INNER NEANDERTHAL ANCIENT SECRETS IN THE HUMAN GENOME DRUG TRIALS FOR FRAGILE X DOPING ATHLETES VS ANTI-DOPING OFFICIALS RETHINKING ANIMAL RESEARCH PLUS NEW MODEL ORGANISMS ON THE BLOCK MMIIRRUUSS mirusbio.com/sample ©2019 All rights reserved Mirus Bio LLC. Mirus Bio is a registered trademarks of Mirus Bio LLC. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. elpmas/moc.oibsurim .CLL oiB suriM fo skramedart deretsiger a si oiB suriM .CLL oiB suriM devreser sthgir llA 9102© .srenwo evitcepser rieht fo ytreporp eht era skramedart llA Do More With Less Increased reproducibility at small volumes with the epMotion® liquid handling workstations Experience great accuracy and precision > Improves pipetting accuracy with a from 200 nL to 1,000 L with the epMotion CV of 1.6 % at 1 µL* liquid handling workstations. Improve > Software assistants for easy and your reproducibility for qPCR setups, intuitive application programming NGS library preparations, and enzymatic > Availability of 3 instrument sizes and assays and save money by eliminating multiple upgrade options to adjust to pipetting errors. your workflow www.eppendorf.com/automation • 800-645-3050 031.A1.0133.C Eppendorf®, the Eppendorf Brand Design, and epMotion® are registered trademarks of Eppendorf AG, Germany. All rights reserved including graphics and images. Copyright © 2019 by Eppendorf AG. *See Application Note 168 for more details. SEPTEMBER 2019 Contents THE SCIENTIST THE-SCIENTIST.COM VOLUME 33 NUMBER 09 S E N Y A D E. D N A E L G N A S S Features E R NT ON THE COVER: © SCIENCESOURCE, S. ENTRESSANGLE AND E. DAYNES E S. E, C R 30 36 44 U O S E C EN The Doping Arms Race Our Inner Neanderthal A Broken X CI S Athletes have devised ways to outsmart From skin color to immunity, human Despite a solid understanding of the © R; tests for performance-boosting drugs, but biology appears to be linked to our biological basis of fragile X syndrome, K ON scientists are working hard to get ahead. archaic ancestry. researchers have struggled to develop M SI BY ANNA AZVOLINSKY BYJEF AKST effective treatments. But recent trials M, offer hope. O C K. BY RANDI HAGERMAN C O T S © I 09.2019 | THE SCIENTIST 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 Department Contents 16 13 FROM THE EDITOR 59 LAB TOOLS We’re Different, We’re the Same Genetics’ Next Top Models Diversity is a strength. And so is a You’re well-acquainted with full appreciation of our similarities. Drosophila, C. elegans, and the BY BOB GRANT humble lab mouse, but lesser-known model systems are poised to make 16 NOTEBOOK their mark. Impervious; Stellar Influence?; BY AMBER DANCE Help for Hellbenders; Complex Inheritance 63 CAREERS Fixing Animal Research 28 CRITIC AT LARGE Many in vivo preclinical studies are Diversify Our Human Genomic Data poorly designed and generate To better understand the biology irreproducible data, but efforts to of our species and to make address the problem are on the rise. individualized medicine accessible BY DIANA KWON to all, we need to consider the 52 HY comprehensive genetic makeup of a 67 READING FRAMES P RA wider swath of humanity. Meeting Our Maker G O BY CHARLES LEE Humans are the first species to T HO decipher the genetic code that P N 28 MODUS OPERANDI underlies our biology, but does it O DS Optogenetics Sans Genetics hold all the answers? R HA DNA-coated gold nanorods enable BY BILL SULLIVAN C RI cells to be activated by light without N KE genetic manipulation. 72 FOUNDATIONS L; © BY RUTH WILLIAMS Modern Synthesis, 1937 WE BY CHIA-YI HOU AL 52 THE LITERATURE R M, A synthetic ion channel makes plants IN EVERY ISSUE O O.C grow faster; a new family of viruses; 10 CONTRIBUTORS OT potential biomarkers of suicidal 15 SPEAKING OF SCIENCE H KP thoughts in PTSD patients 71 THE GUIDE C 57 O T © IS 54PROFILE ANSWEPRU ZZLE ON PAGE 15 RIA; Defining Rare Disorders TO Judith Hall was instrumental in L U N A MO T H R A S H E PR incorporating genetics into medical I I I O N O F M A N I C U R E R A I N O practice, describing previously Y E E R R J T E T unknown disorders. RSI T O X I C O L O G Y E BY ANNA AZVOLINSKY V C W F D S M B NI U A N I M A L S H R I K E NS, 57 SCIENTIST TO WATCH T N U S U C E A H Cigall Kadoch: Unraveling Cancer A L G O N Q U I A N N EY BY CHIA-YI HOU R S A N T C T L D K A L P S S T A R G A Z E AL C A A E V N W DE T U N A I N H E R E N T 09.2019 | THE SCIENTIST 5 SEPTEMBER 2019 OOnnlliinnee CCoonntteennttss THIS MONTH AT THE-SCIENTIST.COM: VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO Fragile Xpert Genomic Medicine’s Future Neanderthals in Our Family Tree The MIND Institute’s Randi Hagerman Charles Lee, scientific director of Vanderbilt University’s Tony Capra, who discusses symptoms and treatment in the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic is quoted in this month’s feature article on children with fragile X. Medicine, talks about his vision for Neanderthal DNA in modern genomes, how genomic discovery will fuel discusses the effects of interbreeding individualized medicine. between ancient hominin groups. AS ALWAYS, FIND BREAKING NEWS EVERY DAY ON OUR WEBSITE. Coming in October HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE • How air pollution could be affecting the human brain • Scientists’ emerging understanding of neutrophil extracellular traps В О АТ Л • A new view of Parkinson’s disease ФИ Й Е С К • How could the Trump administration’s suggested ban on ЛЕ А fetal tissues in research hurt vaccine development? M, O C K. C O AND MUCH MORE T S © I 6 THE SCIENTIST | the-scientist.com Get A Great Assay Go from good to great by following our ELISA guide DOWNLOAD Learn more at rndsystems.com/elisa The ELISA Guide Global bio-techne.com [email protected] TEL +1 612 379 2956 USA TEL 800 343 7475 Canada TEL 855 668 8722 Europe | Middle East | Africa TEL +44 (0)1235 529449 China TEL +86 (21) 52380373 For research use or manufacturing purposes only. 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