Findings

Read about Amy Palmer, Ph.D., in the January 2011 issue.

Biochemist
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO

Some kids have chemistry sets when they're 5. Amy Palmer was not one of them. In her teens, she considered becoming a gymnastics coach or writer. Eventually, her natural curiosity and drive for making discoveries led her to science.

Using special fluorescent sensors, Palmer tracks the movement of zinc and other metals in living cells to study their role in brain signaling, bacterial infection and diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes and prostate cancer.

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