Review Articles

Anikeeva and colleagues review the state of the art in technologies that enable discoveries of brain function and the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

From unbiased mutagenesis to precision modification, in genes or whole genomes, researchers have a panoply of tools to direct evolution.

Development of next-generation crops will be enabled by combining state-of-the-art technologies with speed breeding.

Bailey and Maus discuss cutting-edge developments in engineering immune cells towards expanding the reach and efficacy of adoptive cell therapies in cancer and beyond.

Heikenfeld et al. survey the range of biochemical analytes that can be sensed in dermal interstitial fluid, saliva and sweat, and outline criteria for tailoring sensor design to address the right analyte in the right body site for the right disease or wellness application.

Assessing progress towards designing reliable wearable biosensors reveals the challenges remaining before the promise of clinical translation can be realized.

Pere Santamaria and Pau Serra review the state of the art in antigen-specific therapies for autoimmune disease, discussing mechanism of action and clinical efficacy of each strategy.

Chandan Kumar-Sinha and Arul Chinnaiyan summarize the increasing use of sequencing panels to screen for cancer-associated genes in tumor and germline samples. The authors highlight the increasing appreciation of aberrations in regulatory genes or chromatin-related genes and argue that precision oncology must be considered in the context of adding value to the standard of care, not apart from it.

Strategies to engineer microorganisms to produce medium-chain hydrocarbon chemicals are reviewed.

Replacement of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA in human embryos is poised for clinical application.

Field-evolved resistance of pests to transgenic crops continues to emerge but can be delayed by using refuges as part of an integrated pest managent strategy.

The promises and potential pitfalls of shotgun metagenomics, from experimental design to computational analyses, are reviewed.

Genome-wide mapping of regulatory elements will improve our understanding of how genetic variation in the noncoding genome affects disease phenotypes.

Brain-targeted oligonucleotide-drugs are poised to treat multiple human central nervous system disorders with an emphasis on rare/orphan conditions.

Refinements in the chemistries employed in oligonucleotide therapeutics have galvanized clinical progress. The complex interplay between chemical modifications and integration into sequence architecture is discussed in the context of antisense and small-interfering RNA drugs.

Computational methods for analyzing single-cell data are uncovering new ways of defining cells.

The unique capabilities of CRISPR technologies have enabled a broad range of applications in biomedicine and agriculture.

Manipulating the stem cell niche could provide new ways of coaxing stem cells to repair damaged tissues.

Clinical imaging is indispensable in cell therapy to monitor tissue repair and the fate of transplanted cells.

Strategies for inducing immunological tolerance to transplanted cells are an important component of regenerative therapies.