News & Views in 2009

Complete maps of DNA methylation in human cells provide insight into the epigenetic regulation of pluripotency.

Genetically engineered cyanobacteria harvest light energy to directly produce isobuteraldehyde and isobutanol.

Metabolite arrays sample the metabolic state of bacteria and complex microbial communities while aiding enzyme discovery.

Combining microdroplet PCR with flow-cell technologies provides a novel approach for sequencing thousands of genomic targets.

Duplicated genomic regions are accurately resolved using an optimized algorithm for mapping reads from next-generation sequencers.

As a differentiated cell proceeds toward the pluripotent state, markers turn on and off in an orderly fashion.

Large-scale perturbations unravel the complex networks of activated dendritic cells.

Often called “the guardian of the genome,” p53 may also be the guardian of stable development.

Seemingly unrelated mutations that drive cancer share the ability to promote nutrient uptake and metabolism conducive to cell growth.

Activating the tumor-associated immune system with an siRNA conjugated to a Toll-like receptor 9 ligand is a promising anticancer strategy.

Mass spectrometry reveals protein acetylation to be as widespread as phosphorylation.

A mass spectrometry–based strategy facilitates sensitive and rapid detection of kinase activities in small amounts of cell lysate.

Engineered zinc-finger nucleases are used to generate several genetically modified pluripotent stem cell lines.

Mass spectrometry can now measure the absolute concentrations of the majority of cellular proteins without labeling.

Advances in parallelization allow a human genome to be sequenced using single-molecule technology.

The massive capacity of today's sequencing machines can be harnessed efficiently by sequencing pooled samples and decoding the results.

Systemic delivery of an siRNA–aptamer chimera leads to prostate cancer regression in mice.

Unstructured translation-initiation sequences enable protein synthesis in cell extracts from multiple organisms.

Tandem gene duplication is harnessed to genetically engineer Escherichia coli, enabling sustained expression of metabolic products.

Controlling the spatial organization of sequential metabolic enzymes may provide a general strategy for increasing the production of valuable compounds.