Today, Asimov Press launches Issue 09 with an essay on the making of the journal Nature. The piece, by Robert Reason, investigates how an unconventional British journal evolved into a “prestige” outlet, mostly by accident. Reason examines the factors that propelled the publication to prominence, first by “borrowing” prestige from notable contributors, then by manufacturing its own through international reach and publication speed. In an era where scientific publishing faces increased scrutiny, it’s important to understand the scientific ecosystems in which such journals arose, the functions they were meant to serve, and how they might adapt so as to continue to play a valuable role in the era of AI scientists.

Over the next three months, new essays will appear weekly to complete the issue. Here’s a glimpse at what will follow:‍

Head Activator — Brady Huggett, features editor at The Transmitter and former editor at Nature Biotechnology, digs into the mystery of the “Head Activator,” a molecule once thought to cause hydra to regrow their bodies after decapitation. Although a German researcher claimed to have found the head activator molecule in the 1970s, these results were widely disputed and could never be replicated, leaving behind a bitter legacy.

History of the Methods Section — Andrew Hunt, a postdoc in the David Baker Lab, investigates the origin of scientific methods. From ancient cuneiform recipes to pared-down documents shrouding trade secrets, the communication of scientific methods have undergone many transformations. Today, the lack of well-documented and thorough methods in biology has been cited as one of its major bottlenecks and a massive contributor to the replication crisis. Hunt not only conveys the shifting landscape of methods but also examines how we might better enable method transfer.

Digital Scent — In an essay on olfactory biology, biomaterials and computational biology researcher, Taylor Rayne, explains the structure-to-odor paradox, why strawberries smell like strawberries, and how graphic neural nets are helping us “map” scents. In addition, Rayne introduces the companies attempting to give computers a sense of smell, such as Osmo, and explores their motivations for doing so.

Edge Case Sentience — Philosophy professor Ralph Weir tackles the vexing question of “borderline sentience,” asking how we might tell if a person or organism is experiencing consciousness. Looking at comatose patients, invertebrates, and even LLMs, consciousness researchers are searching for better indicators. To that end, researchers are increasingly employing neurophysiology to examine what features of the brain might support sentience, and recent work on C. elegans may offer a promising path forward. 

A Visual Guide to DNA Sequencing — In the twenty years since the draft human genome was first released, the average sequencing cost per genome fell roughly one hundred thousand-fold, ending up just north of $500. In our latest visual guide from Evan DeTurk, we walk through the five sequencing techniques that made this price drop possible, explaining where they came from and how they work. 

Metaphors for Biology: Time — Samuel Clamons, scientist at Illumina and a columnist at Asimov Press, is back with more quantitative metaphors: this time focusing on the speeds of various biological processes. By setting the closing of a potassium ion channel to the equivalent of an eyeblink, Sam explains how long it takes for proteins to fold, molecules to diffuse, and the brain to process signals. By setting these numbers side by side, it immediately becomes apparent that — even at the level of a single cell — the timing of molecular phenomena extends over many orders of magnitude.

Why are viral capsids icosahedral? — Convergent evolution is readily apparent in the shaping of viral capsids, the self-assembling protein shells enclosing viral genomes. Although ranging in size from 20 nm to 800 nm, the majority of viral capsids known to date — both enveloped and non-enveloped — are icosahedral. Why, of all platonic solids or possible polyhedra, do viruses have such a strong preference? Ulkar Aghayeva, our columnist, explains.

A Brief History of Glassware — Spencer Wright from Scope of Work examines the origins and evolution of laboratory glassware, from the twisted glass triangle that German chemists used to analyze morphine all the way to modern Erlenmeyer flasks.

... and much more.

Updates

• Yet another brilliant (and vibrant) print magazine emerges from Emily’s Substack, The Ick.
• Our book, Making the Modern Laboratory, is about halfway finished. It will be published in late 2026. We’re still looking to commission an essay on the history of E. coli. If you’re interested, please write to editors@asimov.com!
• Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen announced a grant for efforts to define an aesthetic for the 21st century. 

What We’re Reading

Books

• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder - David Grann
• Master and Commander - Patrick O’ Brian
• Lab Dog - Melanie Kaplan
• Mauve - Simon Garfield
• Hidden Systems - Dan Nott
• Crick: A Mind in Motion - Matthew Cobb
• There is No Antimemetics Division - qntm

Articles and Podcasts

• Everything in Malmesbury’s Substack. Recommend.
• Tacit - Stripe Press
• Homeward Bound: On Pigeon Racing - Oliver Egger
• Were classical statues painted horribly? - Ralph Weir
• The Survival of Swiss Watches - Aled Maclean-Jones
• Nellie Bowles Gets Tough Love from Abigail Shrier - Abigail Shrier
• You Don’t Have IBS, You Have An Eating Disorder - Emily, The Ick
• Medical breakthroughs in 2025 - Saloni Dattani
• The Rest is History (Nelson Series) - The Rest is History
• Episode 92: Oliver Sacks - Science Fictions
• Can AI systems introspect? - Robert Long
• DARPA for Chickens - Robert Yaman
• How Pen Caps Work - David MacIver
• How to Save Science Funding - Statecraft
• What’s the deal with bioelectricity? - Eryney Marrogi‍
• Glass, Not Ice - Kat Baney

{{signup}}