Astronomers and oceanographers have nothing on Alán Aspuru-Guzik. His cosmos, the space of chemistry, is vast—populated by no less than 10^60 possible molecules. Equipped with fast computers powered by principles of quantum chemistry and artificial intelligence, his lab conducts warp-speed searches for candidate molecules for energy and electronics. Earlier this year, after his team screened more than 10,000 quinone molecules, he joined colleagues in announcing a novel metal-free flow battery that might solve the grid storage problem for wind and solar energy. Such explorations of chemical space can advance basic science, he maintains—answering questions as basic as “how come we’re made of this, and not that?”

For supplemental information about this New Horizons in Science briefing, see the CASW website.

Now that genome sequencing allows scientists to paint an evolutionary portrait of large groups of species, Erich Jarvis says our view of the way many important traits evolved is about to change. Jarvis has focused his studies on the evolution of vocal learning in songbirds and humans—and through a careful examination of molecular pathways he’s found that this ability has evolved several times. He will share insights from comparative genomic studies of a wide swath of the birds and their older relatives, the crocodilians, that are likely to upset conventional ideas about brain evolution and the avian family tree.

For supplemental information about this New Horizons in Science briefing, see the CASW website

As the storehouse of hominid fossils and information about the human genome continues to grow, our evolutionary journey appears to be more complicated than anticipated. Reaching back to 6 million years ago, fossil hominid finds have prompted significant redrawing of the human family tree. 2014 Patrusky Lecturer Donald Johanson and others have painted a picture of human origins with broad brushstrokes revealing who our ancestors were, where they lived, how they survived and what they contributed to modern Homo sapiens. Forty years after his discovery of the fossil hominid Lucy prompted a redrawing of the human family tree, Johanson says three pillars of humanity make us who we are today: a unique communication system based on symbolic language, an unprecedented level of cooperation, and a capacity for cumulative culture. “The powerful interaction between biology and culture,” he says, “makes us the most creative, but at the same time the most destructive, species on Planet Earth.”

For supplemental information about this New Horizons in Science briefing, see the CASW website

Since crop breeders first picked up the tools of modern genetic engineering, scientists have been on the front lines of political and cultural strife over both the safety and environmental effects of modified crops. Research results are quickly turned into press releases by alarmists on one extreme and alliances of commercial interests and agricultural innovators on the other. Allison Snow is an ecologist who has worked for decades on the interaction between modified crops and weeds. Regulation and a limited range of applications have minimized environmental impacts to date, she says, but new technologies could radically accelerate the applications of biotechnology. She worries about pressures to suppress discussion of certain issues and findings within the scientific community. The principles of good science and good journalism clearly will be essential to working out these issues at every scale from local to global. What do science writers need to know to navigate this minefield? After giving a glimpse of the scientific frontier, Snow and colleague Carol Mallory-Smith, a weed scientist working on the front lines of the environmental debate, will be joined by science writer Emily Waltz for a dialogue about the challenges for both science and science writing.

For supplemental information about this New Horizons in Science briefing, see the CASW website.

Four decades after the first direct manipulation of DNA by humans, genome engineering has suddenly become something you can do in your garage. The technology transforming the field is called CRISPR, for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.” CRISPRs are scavenged DNA “spacers” that bacteria use to defend against viruses; today they are being harnessed in the lab as precise, efficient genome editors. CRISPR systems, which include a DNA-slicing enzyme, can be instructed to edit the genome of a human cell so as to silence, enhance or change a specific gene. This year, MIT scientists used CRISPR to cure a rare liver disorder in mice. What’s next? George Church is working on multiple applications of CRISPR and also calling for public discussion about the ecological and ethical implications of this exploding technology. His lab is working on "gene drives" that could alter or eliminate whole populations of pests by editing their genomes and then blocking evolutionary feedback loops.

For supplemental information about this New Horizons in Science briefing, see the CASW website .