Review Articles in 2020

Large-scale meat production can have negative impacts on public health, the environment and animal welfare. In this Review, the authors consider plant-based and cell-based approaches to meat production and the challenges they face.

A better understanding of how plants respond to osmotic stress could potentially help improve crop yields. Here Fàbregas et al. review the recent characterization of Raf-like kinases that act in both in ABA-dependent and -independent responses to osmotic stress.

Histone H2A monoubiquitination on lysine 119 in vertebrate and lysine 118 in Drosophila (H2Aub) is an epigenomic mark usually associated with gene repression by Polycomb group factors. Here the authors review the current knowledge on the deposition and removal of H2Aub, its function in transcription and other DNA-associated processes as well as its relevance to human disease.

Supported atomic clusters with precise nuclearity are intermediate states between single-atom catalysts and nanoparticles in size. Here the authors summarize and discuss synthetic strategies of supported atomic clusters with unique catalytic properties for heterogeneous reactions.

Microbot delivery devices are the latest development in attempts to overcome the systemic toxicity associated with classical chemotherapy. Here, the authors review the recent progress in the field with a focus on the clinical translation and potential of the research and give a future perspective on this topic.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a cell surface enzyme previously shown to mediate SARS-CoV, and now SARS-CoV-2, entry into host cells. Here the authors review existing mouse ACE2 models expressing humanized, transgenic, knockout, knockin, conditional and reporter alleles to provide a toolbox for COVID-19 research.

Tumors are more than cancer cells — the extracellular matrix is a protein structure that organizes all tissues and is altered in cancer. Here, the authors review recent progress in understanding how the cancer cells and tumor-associated stroma cells remodel the extracellular matrix to drive tumor growth and metastasis.

The development of high performing metal-ion batteries require guidelines to build improved electrodes and electrolytes. Here, the authors review the current state-of-the-art in the rational design of battery materials by exploiting the interplay between composition, crystal structure and electrochemical properties.

Accounting guidelines exist for carbon flows in terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, but not shelf sea sediments. In this Review, the authors explore whether effective management of carbon stocks accumulating in shelf seas could contribute to a nation’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

Adult neurogenesis is involved in several physiological and pathological processes, however standardization for the quantification of new born neurons is lacking. Here, the authors provide guidance to improve reproducibility and rigour in cell quantification.

Retinoids are involved in a wide range of cellular functions; as such, delivery systems for retinoids are of significant clinical interest. Here the authors review the advances in preclinical and clinical testing regarding retinoid formulations in the context of regenerative medicine, brain, cancer, skin and immune diseases.

Catalytic hydrogenation of amides is a pivotal chemical transformation for both research labs and chemical production in industry. Here, the authors comprehensively review this topic by including state-of-art homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts that can hydrogenate amides and related compounds.

The lack of scalable, high-quality insulators is a major problem hindering the progress on electronic devices built from 2D materials. Here, the authors review the current state-of-the-art and the future prospects of suitable insulators for 2D technologies.

Itch is an important somatosensation, but the central mechanisms underlying it are not fully understood. Here, Chen and Sun review recent studies on the spinal and supraspinal circuits involved in itch processing.

Despite the new targeted and immunotherapies for metastatic melanoma, several patients show therapeutic plateau. Here, the authors review the current pre-clinical models of cutaneous melanoma and discuss their strengths and limitations that may help with overcoming therapeutic plateau.

Between 2014 and 2023, 100,000 UK Biobank participants are undergoing brain, heart and abdominal MRI, as well as DXA and carotid ultrasound scans. In this review, authors provide a detailed overview of the rationale for the collection of these imaging data, the procedures of data collection and management, and the future directions of the UK biobank imaging enhancement.

Coastal systems are hotspots of ecological, geochemical and economic activity, yet their dynamics are not accurately represented in global models. In this Review, Ward and colleagues assess the current state of coastal science and recommend approaches for including the coastal interface in predictive models.

Our efforts to build complex synthetic biology circuits are impeded by limited knowledge of optimal combinations. In this review, the authors consider current combinatorial methods and look to emerging technologies.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to a trio of pioneers of the modern lithium-ion battery. Here, Professor Arumugam Manthiram looks back at the evolution of cathode chemistry, discussing the three major categories of oxide cathode materials with an emphasis on the fundamental solid-state chemistry that has enabled these advances.

Multiplexed CRISPR technologies have recently emerged as powerful approaches for genetic editing and transcriptional regulation. Here the authors review this emerging technology and discuss challenges and considerations for future studies.