For these special supplements, I commissioned and edited all of the articles (unless noted otherwise), worked with artists on the cover and other illustrations, and oversaw production.
Nature Outlook: Leukaemia (July 2013)
Survival rates for some types of leukaemia have improved dramatically, but this family of blood cancers remains a potentially fatal disease. Research in epigenetics, immunotherapy and cell transplants offers hope. And leukaemia is proving a testing ground for the theory of cancer stem cells — leading to knowledge that could advance cancer research overall.
Nature Outlook: Alzheimer’s disease (July 2011)
From dancing to drugs, research on Alzheimer’s disease is moving apace. Our improved understanding of the role that amyloid-β plays is uncovering new ways to treat and perhaps prevent the disease. Imaging the brain is improving diagnosis, and better biomarkers to track disease progression are sought. Could we soon lift the spectre of Alzheimer’s disease?
Nature Outlook: HIV/AIDS (July 2010)
The miraculous drugs that keep so many HIV-positive individuals alive have blunted the urgency with which people talk about the AIDS epidemic. Even so, there is a renaissance afoot in HIV/AIDS research, with renewed focus on a cure, more powerful drugs and innovative approaches to prevention.
Nature Medicine: Science on a shoestring (October 2007)
Funding is tight. Grants are rejected. Research equipment is too expensive. And these are complaints heard in well-heeled laboratories in the US and UK. Here are inspiring examples of scientists who, using materials as simple as litmus paper, bamboo and blenders, prove that science on a shoestring is possible—and sometimes even better than the alternative.
Nature Medicine: Focus on tuberculosis (March 2007)
After decades of simmering silently, in the early 1990s tuberculosis (TB) began to make a deadly comeback, triggered largely by the AIDS epidemic. This special report looks at TB’s deadly partnership with HIV/AIDS, efforts to develop new diagnostic tests and drugs for the disease and the looming threat of drug resistance.
Nature Medicine: Focus on fraud (May 2006)
Faked data, fudged numbers, filched ideas: how common in science are these grave sins? There may only be a handful of cases where scientists managed to fool the whole world—a Jon Hendrik Schön here, a Woo-Suk Hwang there—but survey after survey reveals that your garden-variety fraud is more prevalent than anyone cares to admit. Whose responsibility is it to police misconduct in science? And what motivates it in the first place? In the following pages, we take a look at what prompts those ethical missteps and what governments, universities, journals—and you—can do about it.
Nature Medicine: Spotlight on China (March 2006)
China is a fast becoming a global leader in every arena—including in science. But can China’s scientific structure sustain this growth? This special report looks at a few key trends—and people—in China that could make a difference.
Nature Outlook: India (July 2005)
This is a critical juncture for India. The opportunities, whether in partnership with multinational pharmaceutical companies or as an outsourcing centre for clinical trials, are many. Seized judiciously, they can allow India to build a scientific and technological future to be proud of.