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December 2022, Issue 2 Table of Contents

Feature

2022 Top 10 Innovations 
2022 Top 10 Innovations
The Scientist Staff | Dec 12, 2022 | 10+ min read
This year’s crop of winning products features many with a clinical focus and others that represent significant advances in sequencing, single-cell analysis, and more.

Freeze Frame

This is DishBrain, an in vitro system that combines human brain cells with artificial intelligence technology, which researchers at Australian biotech Cortical Labs recently trained to play the classic 1972 Atari video game Pong. Fluorescent markers show axons in green, neuron bodies in purple, dendrites in red, and all other cells in blue. Where multiple markers are present, colors are merged and typically appear as yellow or pink. Posted: October 12, 2022
Caught on Camera
Caught on Camera
See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist.

Infographics

Infographic preview
Infographic: A Brain Implant Stops Tumor Growth in Rats
Infographic: A Brain Implant Stops Tumor Growth in Rats
The new, implantable device converts ultrasound waves into electrical energy inside the brain, interfering with tumor cell division.

Modus Operandi

Render of cancer cells
Implantable Device Zaps Cancer Cells Using Electric Fields
Implantable Device Zaps Cancer Cells Using Electric Fields
A wireless brain implant inhibits tumor growth in rats, overcoming many design flaws of current devices used to treat glioblastoma.

Bio Business

Illustration of DNA
Can “Gene Writing” Deliver What Gene Editing Can’t?
Can “Gene Writing” Deliver What Gene Editing Can’t?
A biotech startup called Tessera Therapeutics has made a splash with its claims about the trademarked technology. Is the excitement justified?

The Literature

An image of a pale, dead tree taken from the ground, so that the tree limbs stretch up into the sky. 
Certain Tree Species Are More Susceptible to Death by Lightning
Certain Tree Species Are More Susceptible to Death by Lightning
Expected increases in lightning strikes due to climate change could alter the botanical composition of tropical forests.
A fossilized mammoth tusk sitting in a grassy field during sunset 
Woolly Mammoth Genomes Reveal Genetic Adaptations to Cold
Woolly Mammoth Genomes Reveal Genetic Adaptations to Cold
Researchers identified mutations in genes that may be involved in fat regulation, fur growth, and morphology.

Reading Frames

Modified from the cover of <em >The Sounds of Life</em>
Opinion: Listening to the Biosphere Is Key Step in Saving It
Opinion: Listening to the Biosphere Is Key Step in Saving It
New insights into the functionality of nonhuman sound may help us conserve nature and protect ourselves from excessive noise.
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