New Horizons in Science

It may seem that 21st-century biologists have a fantastic array of tools for probing the workings of molecules, cells and organisms. But optogenetics pioneer Ed Boyden won't be satisfied until there are ways to map all the molecules in every cell of the body, simulate their dynamics and learn the "native language" of all cell types. His lab is coming up with new kinds of microscopy in the quest for a complete map of the molecules in an organism. In "expansion microscopy," they apply fluorescent tags to molecules in a cell, infuse the cell with a superabsorbent polymer, and add water.

In July, after a nine-year, 3 billion-mile journey, the New Horizons spacecraft reached the Pluto-Charon double-planet system and the outer reaches of the solar system—the first NASA mission to reach an unvisited planet since Voyager more than 30 years ago. The mission's instruments were designed to capture and transmit to Earth abundant data about not just Pluto but also the mysterious icy objects of the distant Kuiper Belt, the comet-generating "third zone" of our solar system.

An improving economy and local services may be making a dent in homelessness nationwide, but Margot Kushel is finding troubling developments on the streets. As a physician and researcher who has treated homeless patients in the San Francisco Bay area since the 1990s, she works with a population that is rapidly aging and carrying a heavy burden of chronic illness. Kushel and her research group are studying the lives of homeless older adults and their families, focusing on the growing numbers of 50-and-older adults who lost their homes as affordable housing disappeared in many cities.

Increasing measles and pertussis outbreaks, as well as state vaccine-related legislation, have put the spotlight on vaccines, vaccination rates, anti-vaccination sentiment and vaccine refusal, yet the quality and accuracy of coverage has been spotty at best, sometimes irresponsible and reckless. This panel will elucidate some poorly understood facts about vaccines, disease resurgence and vaccine hesitancy. Participants will critique reporting on real and perceived risks of vaccines and vaccine injury claims and assess what lessons science writers can draw from the controversy.

Science writers are comfortable covering the most complex and arcane topics, but when it comes to corporate science they often don't engage. Yet amid a flurry of advances in biology, a major story today is how discovery is translated into new medicines—the province of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and pharmaceutical companies.

Although scientists know much about mercury poisoning in fish and those who eat them, there's still plenty of mystery about the processes that capture mercury from industrial pollution of air and rivers, as well as natural sources, and convert it in the sea to toxic, bioavailable methylmercury. Elsie Sunderland is among the scientists putting together the pieces of this puzzle even as it is changing. The Pacific tuna in US stores and restaurants is just part of the story.

Technology designers are the new policymakers. No one elected them, and most people do not know their names, but the decisions they make when producing the latest gadgets and online innovations dictate the code by which we conduct our daily lives and govern our country. Challenges to the privacy and security of our personal data are part of the first wave of this change; as technology progresses, says Latanya Sweeney, every demographic value and every law comes up for grabs and will likely be redefined by what technology does or does not enable.

MIT campus

Organized by Knight Science Journalism at MIT. Includes a panel discussion on innovation in Kendall Square. For speaker list, see the ScienceWriters2015 conference website.