Volume 17 Issue 10, October 2020

Frugally built technology to study the ocean’s microbes, and engineering for societal good.

Engineered intrinsically disordered proteins can induce phase separation and be used to modulate cellular function.

Conferring optical sectioning capabilities on light field microscopy improves signal-to-noise ratio while maintaining high imaging speed.

A machine learning model uses autofluorescence of key metabolites to predict T cell activation state.

An integrative modeling framework enables cross-validation of existing E. coli datasets and prediction of uncharacterized parameters.

Fluorescent proteins can bind amyloid fibrils formed from natural peptides and proteins.

To better study human neurodevelopment, researchers advance organoids as brain models.

Plankton regularly travel vast distances up and down in the ocean. A water-filled hamster wheel with glass windows now enables detailed microscopic lab observations of individual aquatic microorganisms during their vertical migrations.

This Review on nanothermometry introduces the many types of nanothermometers and their cellular and in vivo applications, as well as best practices for accurate measurements.

MassIVE.quant is a data repository and data resource for reproducible quantitative mass spectrometry–based proteomics.

The current standard approach for estimating error in proteome-scale cross-linking mass spectrometry datasets has severe limitations. A proposed set of data-quality metrics provides a more accurate assessment of error rate.

ScNT-seq leverages metabolic labeling of nascent RNA and droplet-based sequencing for parallel analysis of newly transcribed and pre-existing mRNAs, which enables time-resolved analysis of dynamic biological processes in single cells.

It remains impossible using conventional Hi-C to differentiate interactions between and along sister chromatids. SisterC relies on selective destruction of nascent DNA and in combination with Hi-C offers a means to study intra- and inter-sister interactions independently.

Plasmonic scattering microscopy (PSM) enables the imaging of single proteins on SPR instruments. The method enables measurement of protein size and binding kinetics and is fully compatible with simultaneous traditional SPR measurements.

Tension-PAINT integrates molecular tension probes with DNA-PAINT to enable ~25-nm-resolution mapping of piconewton mechanical events. Tension-PAINT can be used to study dynamic forces, and an irreversible variant integrates force history over time.

Antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells can be imaged by immunoPET with the help of synTacs, MHC-based tools that bind to relevant T-cell receptors.

Temporal decomposition through manifold fitting (TDM) is an analysis technique that decomposes blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses in task-based fMRI into different components that likely correspond to microvasculature- and macrovasculature-driven signals.

Scale-free vertical tracking microscopy based on a ‘hydrodynamic treadmill’ enables measuring long-range movements of freely suspended organisms with high spatiotemporal resolution.

EthoLoop enables real-time tracking and behavioral analysis of animals in naturalistic environments and can be combined with behavioral conditioning, optogenetic stimulation or wireless recording of neural activity. The system is illustrated with freely behaving mice and mouse lemurs.