Primers and PrimeViews in 2022

This PrimeView highlights the steps involved in metabolic labelling of cells for time-resolved single-cell RNA-seq analysis.

The combination of single-cell RNA sequencing with metabolic RNA labelling enables a time-resolved view of transcriptional responses in individual cells. In this Primer, Erhard and Saliba et al. discuss metabolic labelling approaches and how to assess the temporal dynamics of transcriptional responses in different conditions.

This PrimeView highlights different complexity models that can be used for ocean biogeochemical modelling

Ocean biogeochemical models use coupled differential equations to describe the transformation of the ocean’s circulation, physical and biogeochemical properties under different conditions. This Primer introduces the process of model construction and explains the characteristics of various model types, from simple to complex, alongside their advantages and disadvantages.

This PrimeView highlights approaches to improve the reproducibility of in-depth interviews in the social sciences.

In-depth interviews are a versatile form of qualitative data collection used by researchers across the social sciences. In this Primer, Knott et al. describe the stages and challenges involved in designing and conducting interviews, how to analyse the data and strategies to overcome challenges.

This PrimeView highlights electrochemical carbon capture techniques for application in point source capture, direct air capture and direct ocean capture.

Electrochemical methods of CO₂ separation offer potentially cheap, low-energy, scalable carbon capture technologies. In this Primer, Diederichsen et al. provide an overview of the experimentation and analysis needed for the study of electrochemical methods for CO₂ separation.

This PrimeView outlines the main steps involved in two-photon calcium imaging in rodents using genetically encoded calcium indicators or chemical indicators.

Two-photon calcium imaging is a technique used for recording neuronal activity in the brain. In this Primer, Grienberger et al. outline the experimental design and execution of two-photon calcium imaging, providing examples of ideal preparations and how data are analysed.

This PrimeView highlights the utility of citizen science across a range of ecological and environmental science research.

Contributory citizen science is a method in which non-professional participants contribute to data collection in whole or in part to advance scientific research. This Primer outlines the use of citizen science in the environmental and ecological sciences, discussing participant engagement, data quality assurance and bias correction.

This PrimeView highlights the pre-concentration and stripping steps in electrochemical stripping analysis.

Trace quantities of metal cations, inorganic anions, organic compounds and biomolecules can be measured using electrochemical stripping analysis (ESA). This Primer describes the principles of ESA, including methods of performing the pre-concentration and stripping steps, instrumentation and technique optimization.

This PrimeView highlights how a series of partial diffraction intensities are collected, combined and integrated to give a full crystal structure

Serial femtosecond crystallography is a high-throughput, serial crystallography technique for studying macromolecular crystals at an X-ray free-electron laser. This Primer gives an overview of microcrystallization methods, sample delivery and data analysis for applications including membrane proteins, radiation damage-prone systems and time-resolved experiments.

This PrimeView highlights the fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures using top-down and bottom-up processes.

Van der Waals epitaxy provides numerous opportunities for materials integration in heterostructures. This Primer provides an overview of methodologies for producing van der Waals heterostructures, focusing on top-down assembly and bottom-up synthesis, and discusses future opportunities for their continued development.

This PrimeView highlights the adaptation of optogenetics techniques for use in areas ranging from neuroscience and cardiovascular research to vision restoration and plants.

Optogenetic techniques involve the introduction of photoreceptors into selected cells to allow control over their activity using light. In this Primer, Emiliani et al. discuss the most commonly used optogenetic tools, illumination approaches and applications in medicine, cardiovascular science and plants, among many other uses.