Magazine
January-February 2017
January-February 2017
Volume: 105 Number: 1
Artificial endosymbioses hold promise for transferring their benefits to novel hosts. In mosquitoes, for example, a bacteria of the genus Wolbachia, which can live in the ovaries or testes of a variety of insects, are under exploration for their potential to cause population declines or to limit virus transmission in diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. In “The Prospects of Artificial Endosymbiosis,” authors Ryan Kerney, Zakiya Whatley, Sarah Rivera, and David Hewitt discuss the ways that endosymbioses might be engineered and used, as well as the challenges they pose. The authors also point out that, for better or worse, symbiotically modified organisms are often seen as more “natural” by the public and given less ethical scrutiny than genetically modified organisms that have similar uses and benefits. (Cover illustration by Michael Morgenstern.)
In This Issue
- Agriculture
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- Environment
- Ethics
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- Medicine
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The Prospects of Artificial Endosymbioses
RYAN KERNEY, Zakiya Whatley, Sarah Rivera, David Hewitt
Agriculture Biology Engineering Ethics Evolution Policy Technology
The use of beneficial microbes holds promise for public health and food production, but has trade-offs that are not yet fully understood.
Photoshopping the Universe
Travis A. Rector
Astronomy Computer Physics
Astronomers produce beautiful images by manipulating raw telescope data, but such processing makes images more accurate, not misrepresentative of reality.
Scientists' Nightstand
Soviet Blocks
Jesse Schell
Computer Sociology Technology Review Scientists Nightstand
The story behind the pioneering game Tetris is complex, spanning the worlds of technology, psychology, entertainment, politics, and business. Thirty years on, two books tell the tale. Each ushers readers along a distinct and enlightening path.
Deconstructing Disaster
Daniel P. Aldrich
Communications Environment Review Scientists Nightstand
Casual observers of catastrophe continue to distinguish between human-caused and natural disasters, but in either case consider them to be unforeseeable events. Two recent books—Love Canal, by Richard Newman, and The Cure for Catastrophe, by Robert Muir-Wood—might change some minds.
