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Playing Favorites

Benchfly's Alan Marnett wants to know who your favorite scientists are. The current state of chemical and biological research is directly related to all the work done by the researchers who have come and gone, he says. Of the 20 researchers that Marnett considers "the proverbial giants upon whose shoulders we now stand," he wants to know which ones modern researchers like the most — "a good old-fashioned popularity contest," he calls it. So far, with people voting for their favorite five scientists, Louis Pasteur tops the list with 50 percent of the votes. Marie Curie is second with 48 percent, and Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel are tied with 45 percent each. James Watson and Francis Crick are also tied with 35 percent each. And bringing up the rear are chemist Antoine Lavoisier, physicist J.J. Thomson, and chemist Ernest Rutherford with 3 percent each. Go to Benchfly's poll to pick your five favorites, and then tell Daily Scan who you picked.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.