> Don’t get me wrong: it’s a well-written article explaining the biology to a lay audience. But it doesn’t hold any striking new insights.

This "article" in the Harvard Gazette is basically a press release about an invited lecture that happened at Harvard. If it manages to clearly and correctly explain any science, then it's already going above and beyond its main purpose.

Edit:

* Here is Athena Aktipis' lab site: http://www.aktipislab.org

* Here is a 2015 NYT article about her work that goes into more detail than this press release: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/science/cellular-cheaters...

* This is the scientific article: http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1673/2014...