Research Highlight |
Featured
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Research Briefing |
A biomimetic robotic antigen-presenting system for sensitive T cell recognition
We introduce a biomimetic antigen-presenting system that uses hexapod heterostructures for specific T cell recognition at the single-molecule and single-cell levels. The system enables high-resolution T cell activation, uses magnetic forces to increase immune responses, and offers flexible and precise identification of antigen-specific T cell receptors, aiding the study of T cell recognition and immune cell mechanics.
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Article
| Open Access
A paintbrush for delivery of nanoparticles and molecules to live cells with precise spatiotemporal control
Micro-kiss (μkiss) is a micropipette-based approach for delivering very small amounts of nanoparticles and small molecules to the cell surface with exquisite spatiotemporal control, enabling a wide range of biological investigations.
- Cornelia Holler
- , Richard William Taylor
- & Vahid Sandoghdar
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Article
| Open Access
Pulsed stimulated Brillouin microscopy enables high-sensitivity mechanical imaging of live and fragile biological specimens
A pulsed illumination scheme renders stimulated Brillouin microscopy less phototoxic and allows imaging of the mechanical properties of sensitive samples such as single cells, Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, zebrafish larvae and organoids.
- Fan Yang
- , Carlo Bevilacqua
- & Robert Prevedel
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Brief Communication |
Molecular mechanocytometry using tension-activated cell tagging
Tension-activated cell tagging (TaCT) is a new method that uses flow cytometry to sort mechanically active cells based on the forces generated by their surface adhesion receptors.
- Rong Ma
- , Sk Aysha Rashid
- & Khalid Salaita
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Article
| Open Access
High-resolution line-scan Brillouin microscopy for live imaging of mechanical properties during embryo development
Line-scan Brillouin microscopy enables fast 3D imaging of mechanical properties with low phototoxicity, as shown for Drosophila and mouse embryos, as well as ascidians.
- Carlo Bevilacqua
- , Juan Manuel Gomez
- & Robert Prevedel
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Brief Communication |
Rapid biomechanical imaging at low irradiation level via dual line-scanning Brillouin microscopy
A dual line-scanning approach increases imaging speed and reduces illumination levels in Brillouin microscopy, which is demonstrated on spheroids.
- Jitao Zhang
- , Milos Nikolic
- & Giuliano Scarcelli
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Technology Feature |
Patch-seq takes neuroscience to a multimodal place
Patch-seq delivers morphology, electrophysiology and transcriptomic data to those with skill, patience and persistence.
- Vivien Marx
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News & Views |
Electron counting takes microED to the next level
New data collection methods enable ab initio protein structure determination by micro-electron diffraction for the first time.
- Kevin D. Corbett
- & Mark A. Herzik Jr
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Research Highlight |
In vivo traction force microscopy
Embryogram allows stress measurements during migration of the lateral line primordium in zebrafish embryos.
- Nina Vogt
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Method to Watch |
Imaging without the labels
Advances in label-free microscopy are expanding experimental observations, from biophysics to cell biology and beyond.
- Rita Strack
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Research Highlight |
Thermodynamic profiling of single molecules
A single-molecule calorimeter measures the thermodynamic properties of individual proteins.
- Rita Strack
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Research Highlight |
Atomic force microscopy in super-resolution
Applying principles from super-resolution fluorescence microscopy increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy.
- Nina Vogt
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Matters Arising |
Impact of phosphorylation on thermal stability of proteins
- Clément M. Potel
- , Nils Kurzawa
- & Mikhail M. Savitski
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Matters Arising |
Identification of phosphosites that alter protein thermal stability
- Ian R. Smith
- , Kyle N. Hess
- & Judit Villén
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This Month |
Mario Nicodemi
Polymer physics, comparing ways to assess chromatin structure and taking in tales at the Italian seaside.
- Vivien Marx
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Research Highlight |
High-resolution optical tweezers
Germanium nanoparticles enable optical trapping at high spatiotemporal resolution.
- Nina Vogt
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Research Highlight |
Sequencing DNA bendability
Loop-seq is a high-throughput sequencing assay that measures DNA looping and can help explain how DNA bendability contributes to nucleosome organization.
- Lei Tang
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Brief Communication |
Intelligent image-based deformation-assisted cell sorting with molecular specificity
Sorting RT-FDC combines real-time fluorescence and deformability cytometry with sorting based on standing surface acoustic waves to transfer molecular specificity to label-free, image-based cell sorting using an efficient deep neural network.
- Ahmad Ahsan Nawaz
- , Marta Urbanska
- & Jochen Guck
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Analysis |
A comparison of microfluidic methods for high-throughput cell deformability measurements
This Analysis compares microfluidics-based methods for assessing mechanical properties of cells in high throughput.
- Marta Urbanska
- , Hector E. Muñoz
- & Jochen Guck
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Brief Communication |
Liquid application method for time-resolved analyses by serial synchrotron crystallography
A rapid sample mixing approach enables time-resolved structural studies of enzymatic reactions using serial synchrotron crystallography.
- Pedram Mehrabi
- , Eike C. Schulz
- & R. J. Dwayne Miller
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News & Views |
Resolution upgrades for light-sheet microscopy
Single objective light-sheet fluorescence microscopes combine the convenience of conventional sample mounting with sensitive subcellular and super-resolution imaging of cells and tissues.
- Reto Fiolka
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Article |
High throughput discovery of functional protein modifications by Hotspot Thermal Profiling
A massively parallel biophysical approach, Hotspot Thermal Profiling, analyzes the effects of phosphorylation on protein stability across the proteome in live cells.
- Jun X. Huang
- , Gihoon Lee
- & Raymond E. Moellering
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Perspective
| Open Access
Recommendations for performing, interpreting and reporting hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) experiments
Members of the hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) community provide their ‘best practices’ recommendations for HDX-MS data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Glenn R. Masson
- , John E. Burke
- & Kasper D. Rand
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Brief Communication |
Thermophoretic trap for single amyloid fibril and protein aggregation studies
A thermophoretic trapping approach enables users to observe the behavior of single amyloid fibrils in solution for hours without any immobilization.
- Martin Fränzl
- , Tobias Thalheim
- & Frank Cichos
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Article |
Noninvasive monitoring of single-cell mechanics by acoustic scattering
Acoustic scattering in a suspended microchannel resonator can be used to measure mechanical properties of single cells in a noninvasive manner. The approach is applied to follow stiffness changes of individual cells throughout the cell cycle.
- Joon Ho Kang
- , Teemu P. Miettinen
- & Scott R. Manalis
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Review Article |
Acoustic tweezers for the life sciences
This review discusses and contrasts different acoustic-tweezer technologies and their applications in biology.
- Adem Ozcelik
- , Joseph Rufo
- & Tony Jun Huang
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Research Highlight |
A path to predict RNA tertiary structures
A high-throughput platform allows biophysical measurements to probe RNA tertiary folding.
- Lei Tang
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Analysis
| Open Access
Precision and accuracy of single-molecule FRET measurements—a multi-laboratory benchmark study
A multi-laboratory study finds that single-molecule FRET is a reproducible and reliable approach for determining accurate distances in dye-labeled DNA duplexes.
- Björn Hellenkamp
- , Sonja Schmid
- & Thorsten Hugel
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Brief Communication |
Single-DNA electron spin resonance spectroscopy in aqueous solutions
Single DNA molecules can be detected in aqueous solutions at ambient temperatures by electron spin resonance spectroscopy with diamond sensors.
- Fazhan Shi
- , Fei Kong
- & Jiangfeng Du
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Research Highlight |
Probes for molecular crowding
Self-assembled nanoparticles give insight into the regulation of macromolecular crowding.
- Rita Strack
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Correspondence |
Reply to ‘Water content, not stiffness, dominates Brillouin spectroscopy measurements in hydrated materials’
- Giuliano Scarcelli
- & Seok Hyun Yun
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Correspondence |
Water content, not stiffness, dominates Brillouin spectroscopy measurements in hydrated materials
- Pei-Jung Wu
- , Irina V. Kabakova
- & Darryl R. Overby
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Research Highlight |
Weighing single proteins with light
Interferometric scattering microscopy enables quantitative mass imaging and biophysical characterization of single biomolecules in solution.
- Rita Strack
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Brief Communication |
Real-time fluorescence and deformability cytometry
RT-FDC combines the specificity of fluorescent probes with functional readout of a cell's mechanical properties. The resulting correlation of fluorescence-based cell identity with mechanical measurements in real time allows the development of label-free, mechanical cell sorting.
- Philipp Rosendahl
- , Katarzyna Plak
- & Jochen Guck
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Methods in Brief |
Single-molecule imaging and force spectroscopy at extended depth
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Methods in Brief |
Measuring cellular mass with a picobalance
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Research Highlights |
Robots take over electrophysiology
Image-guided targeting of fluorescently labeled neurons enables automated electrophysiological recordings of defined neuronal cell types.
- Nina Vogt
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Article |
Conformational landscape of a virus by single-particle X-ray scattering
A 9-nm-resolution structure of PR772 virus and a movie of its continuous conformational changes are determined from single-particle X-ray scattering data.
- Ahmad Hosseinizadeh
- , Ghoncheh Mashayekhi
- & Abbas Ourmazd
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Methods in Brief |
This is your brain on fiber
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Methods in Brief |
Biomechanical properties measured in vivo
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Article |
Drop-on-demand sample delivery for studying biocatalysts in action at X-ray free-electron lasers
A robust acoustic droplet ejection–drop-on-tape method delivers samples to an X-ray free-electron laser source for combined serial femtosecond crystallography and X-ray emission spectroscopy analysis, providing detailed insights into macromolecular reaction dynamics.
- Franklin D Fuller
- , Sheraz Gul
- & Junko Yano
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Methods in Brief |
Probing protein mechanics with an electric field
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Brief Communication |
Cryogenic optical localization provides 3D protein structure data with Angstrom resolution
The positions of fluorophores can be localized in single proteins with Angstrom-scale resolution using Cryogenic Optical Localization in 3D (COLD), a complementary approach to traditional structural biology techniques.
- Siegfried Weisenburger
- , Daniel Boening
- & Vahid Sandoghdar
A diamond microscope
Huang et al. reply
Putting on the squeeze