Straight talk with Joan Scott...As advances in genetics continue to flow from the laboratory into the clinic—and, increasingly, into courts—it's crucial to parse the influence of gene-based technologies....more in Nature Medicine

Inside imaging...Photographers take an intimate look at the eye, again and again and again...more in Eye On NEI

Mystery of healthy eyes...Developing treatments for eye disease is a worthy goal. However, researchers don't know exactly how a healthy eye works...more in Eye on NEI

Straight talk with Agnes Saint Raymond...Medicines for children are big business, but experts say 50%-90% of them have not been tested properly...more in Nature Medicine

Clues emerge about benefits of briefly blocking blood flow...Stopping blood flow to the heart is potentially deadly in the form of a heart attack, but new clues suggest there may be some benefits, too...more in Eye on NEI

Report details scientific self-censoring...Political controversies assert a chilling effect on scientific research, according to a new study...more in Nature Medicine

Straight talk with Ray Moynihan...Redefining disease or creating new ones in order to sell pills is a form of disease mongering (yes, like fish), and expert Ray Moynihan exposes the problem...more in Nature Medicine

Safer stem cells...Stem cells spark controversy of all kinds, but is it possible to make them safer?...more in Nature Medicine

Publication is positively skewed...Drug trials showing the experimental medicine works have a higher chance of getting published, according to recent findings, but this skews the medical literature and calls it's reliability into serious question...more in Nature Medicine

Patient-based site tracks drug responses...Safety concerns about medications like Vioxx and Avandia have led to their withdrawl from the market. A new web portal helps patients track and share adverse events before they become deadly...more in Nature Medicine

Barriers set up to protect genome databases...Policymakers took swift action to protect privacy when it was discovered that individuals could be indentified in the NIH's large genome database, but have they done enough?..more in Nature Medicine

Fearful of vaccines, some parents find cause for celebration...Leary of vaccinations, some parents take matters into their own hands and pass the popsickle...more in Nature Medicine

Victims of West Nile virus face long-term health problems...West Nile swept across the US causing many infections that seemed to resolve, but for some there are long-term consequences...more in Nature Medicine

Gut instincts drive next generation of diabetes medications...Bariatric surgery for weight loss causes a suprising result: immediated reversal of type 2 diabetes. What is going on in the gut?...more in Nature Medicine

Comeback drugs...Despite lethal side effects, certain previously banned drugs are again seeing the light of day..more in Nature Medicine

Swiss stance on HIV transmission sparks concern...The latest Swiss message runs counter to what we've been taught. Is it really safe for some HIV-infected indivuals to have sex without a condom?..more in Nature Medicine

Spying inside the eye...How a clinical opthalmologist became NEI's go-to doc for images of the living eye...more in Eye On NEI

Master's degree with business spin gains popularity...Higher education hasn't changed much for two centuries, until now...more in Nature Medicine

Fear factor...Hiring freezes cause fear among young scientists, but there is a silver lining...more in Nature

10 ways to transform your lab...Outgrowing lab space that was state of the art when the microscope was new can cramp career growth, but it's possible to transform it with these tips...more in Nature Medicine

Dissension in the ranks...Graduate education institutions live and die by rankings schemes, but what do the numbers really tell us?...more in Nature

Indexing your career...Some scientists track obesessively citations of their publications, but does more lead to a better job?...more in Science

Ready, set, hire...For young scientists hiring help could make a career, but without any management training, it's a shot in the dark...more in Nature

Freedom of the skies...For astronomers who want to maximize independence, working from home is an option...more in Nature

Straight talk with Alan Gillespie...Raising money for development goals, including health objectives, has never been easy. It's even harder for development agencies to collect. This new bond scheme could save a decade of delay...more in Nature Medicine

Straight talk with Frankie Trull...Animal rights extremists have attacked dozens of research labs to protect animal welfare, but what is the role today of animals in medical research and discovery? (Note: This interview earned PETA hate mail)...more in Nature Medicine

Straight talk with Mark Hodosh...X prizes have sprung up everywhere, and this $10 million award goes to the first team to break the $1,000 genome sequencing barrier...more in Nature Medicine

The Art of Conversation by Catherine Blyth

The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

Genevive Bjorn