Personal genomics companies offer forecasts of disease risk, but the science behind the packaging is still evolving. (p. 16)

Researchers have detailed one way for hairlike structures to drive liquid in a "lab on a chip."

Scientists sift through genetic data sets to better map twisting branches in the tree of life.

Better equations could improve MRI quality, or even bring quantum computing closer.

The gene p53 has long been singled out as an anticancer hero. It is a critical tumor fighter. A person or lab animal develops a tumor much faster without the gene than with it. But p53 could be dangerous if left to act alone. What really gives the gene its power is its network within a cell. Cells must guard against the constant threat of becoming cancerous, a change sometimes triggered by damage to the cells’ DNA. The p53 gene is embedded in a network of interacting genes and proteins, and this web of interactions provides sophisticated control of p53, keeping it in check. Such control ... (p. 22)