Michael Eisenstein

Philadelphia

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Science writer and editor. Done with this place. Find me on BlueSky, same name.

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Articles

Knowing when to fold ’em - Nature Methods

1 week ago | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

A steadily growing toolbox of techniques is helping researchers to understand the structural complexity that enables RNA molecules to perform a dizzying array of functions in the cell. You have full access to this article via your institution. It has always been easy to underestimate RNA as a mere ‘middleman’ between DNA and protein.
Directed Energy Technologies Mount an Energetic Response to the Drone Threat

2 months ago | photonics.com | Michael Eisenstein

Amid abundant opportunity for directed energy systems, the viability of the technology’s deployment hinges on sustained investment. “Keep your eye on the sky” is a critical rule in modern warfare, due to the rapid proliferation of low-cost, speedy uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft can be fitted with surveillance equipment for tracking the enemy or loaded with weapons or explosives to take out targets.
Putting early cancer detection to the test

Feb 21, 2025 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

In the United States, healthy people are routinely screened for signs of a handful of cancers — women entering middle age should schedule a routine mammogram to check for breast cancer, for example. Unfortunately, this kind of early-detection programme is not the norm for all cancers; most malignancies are spotted only at more advanced stages, when people already have symptoms and treatments are much less effective.
Why is it so hard to rewrite a genome?

Feb 18, 2025 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

When Patrick Yizhi Cai reflects on the state of synthetic genomics, he recalls the Big DNA Contest. Launched in 2004, the competition challenged synthetic biologists to design a novel, functional 40,000-base-pair DNA sequence that the contest sponsor, US DNA-synthesis firm Blue Heron Biotech (now Eurofins Genomics Blue Heron) would manufacture for free.
Self-driving laboratories, advanced immunotherapies and five more technologies to watch in 2025

Jan 20, 2025 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

From sustainable architecture, cancer therapies and bioremediation to photonic computing, here are seven technologies that Nature will be keeping its eye on this year. ‘Self-driving’ laboratoriesLast year, an international team announced a raft of promising materials for use in organic solid-state lasers1.
Ready for Takeoff: Drone-Based Sensing Takes Flight

Jan 7, 2025 | photonics.com | Michael Eisenstein

Uncrewed aircraft can effectively bring sensor systems into challenging environments. Implementing these advanced systems can require a large investment and considerable planning. Mines are inherently challenging places to work, but even within such an environment, certain tasks are considered particularly risky.
Why tumour geography matters - and how to map it

Nov 24, 2024 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

To people with cancer, tumours can seem like amorphous clumps of defective cells, relentlessly focused on unconstrained growth and invasion. But this does not mean that they’re homogeneous. Cancerous cells have a broad spectrum of mutations, and growths contain healthy host cells, blood vessels and microscale fronts at which immune cells wage war with malignant tissue. Until around a decade ago, researchers were ill-equipped to explore this tumour microenvironment.
Pushing the limits of MRI brain imaging - Nature Methods

Nov 7, 2024 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

A new generation of increasingly powerful magnets is dramatically extending the resolution, speed and analytical capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging for brain research. Human brain image captured at 10.5 T. For many neuroscience researchers, studying the living brain at submillimeter resolution is just another day in the lab. Indeed, many groups have demonstrated the feasibility of imaging neuronal behavior in live animals using optical techniques such as multiphoton microscopy.
2021: Anti-amyloid antibodies take a bumpy road to the clinic

Sep 26, 2024 | nature.com | Michael Eisenstein

MILESTONES 26 September 2024 The arrival of the first disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s was significant, but it was not met with the joy that might have been expected.
50,000 brain scans: AI has discovered five patterns of brain atrophy, providing insights into the mystery of aging

Aug 29, 2024 | geneticliteracyproject.org | Michael Eisenstein

Michael Eisenstein | Nature | August 29, 2024 Some parts of the brain tend to atrophy and deform in concert with other regions. Credit: Zephyr/SPL An analysis of almost 50,000 brain scans has revealed five distinct patterns of brain atrophy associated with ageing and neurodegenerative disease. The analysis has also linked the patterns to lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as to genetic and blood-based markers associated with health status and disease risk....