What's Hot In Biology> 2010
Year: 2010
The Top Ten lists in Biology feature papers published during the year 2010 (excluding review articles) that were most cited in current journal articles indexed by Thomson Reuters during a recent two-month period. Papers are ranked according to the latest bimonthly citation count. The articles below are accompanied by expert discussion and analysis (including comments from the papers’ authors) written by Jeremy Cherfas, veteran scientist-journalist and longtime ScienceWatch.com contributor.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
On Antiangiogenesis and How Cancer Fights Back
by Jeremy Sherfas
Two recent reports in biology explore the anti-cancer
agents that work by antiangiogenesis—by blocking the growth of
blood vessels that supply a tumor, thereby starving the tumor to
death. Although apparently effective in the short term, the drugs have
been found ultimately to have minimal effect on survival. This pair of
studies suggests that antiangiogenetic compounds might ultimately
select tumor cells that will be more successful in promoting
metastasis.View Article
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
Intimations of Immortality: Of Mice and Rapamycin
by Jeremy Sherfas
Citations are accumulating rapidly for a 2009 paper
reporting that the antibiotic rapamycin extended the lifespan of mice
whose age, at the time the rapamycin regimen began, roughly
corresponded to 60 human years. Despite these striking results, much
more research—on the biochemistry of the cellular receptor known
as TOR (for “target of rapamycin”) and on many other
aspects of this phenomenon—will be necessary before credible
thoughts of an “immortality pill” can be
entertained.View Article
JULY/AUGUST 2010
Genetic Insights, iPS Cells Add to Parkinson’s Fight
by Jeremy Sherfas
Recent research has brought insights into
Parkinson’s disease, including findings pertaining to the Park2
gene, in which mutations are associated with an early-onset form of
the disease. Researchers have also succeeded in developing so-called
induced pluripotent stem cells from Parkinson’s patients,
raising the prospect that these cells could be widely used not only
for further study of this and other diseases, but also for
treatment..View Article
MAY/JUNE 2010
Making the Clade: Molecules Help Redraw Tree of Life
by Jeremy Sherfas
Molecular data are now being employed by
biologists and taxonomists to refine and sharpen the animal tree of
life. In contrast to simply basing classifications on shared physical
characteristics, molecular information allows researchers to make more
subtle connections and to reflect deeper evolutionary relationships.
One recent study, in gathering molecular sequence data from 29
different animal species, confirmed some older taxonomic hypotheses
while also posing some new ones.View Article
MARCH/APRIL 2010
The Few, The Proud, The Individually Sequenced
by Jeremy Sherfas
With costs for genomic sequencing currently
falling rapidly, the number of individuals who have been the
subject of a complete DNA sequence is small but rising. Three
recent papers reporting individual sequences now rank among
biology’s hottest. These include the sequences of an African
man and a Han Chinese man. These reports portend a day when
individual sequencing will be commonplace, although much work lies
ahead in establishing the precise role of genetic variation in
disease.View Article
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Made Without Myc
by Jeremy Sherfas
Since first being demonstrated in 2007, the
generation from adult cells of pluripotent stem cells, able to
differentiate into any cell type, has caused great excitement and
follow-up research. But problems remain—notably, the finding
that some of the necessary biochemical triggers for pluripotency
also give rise to tumors. Recent Hot Papers in Biology offer
detailed analyses of these transcription factors and their
interactions in regard to tumor formation..View Article
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