Outline |
Featured
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Outline |
Cancer-vaccine trials give reasons for optimism
Therapeutic vaccines could provide a transformative shot in the arm for cancer treatment.
- Liam Drew
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Outline |
How does a cancer vaccine work?
After decades of slow progress, therapeutic vaccines that direct the immune system to attack tumours could soon become a fixture of cancer treatment.
- Liam Drew
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Article
| Open AccessCGRP sensory neurons promote tissue healing via neutrophils and macrophages
Experiments in mouse models show that NaV1.8+ nociceptors innervate sites of injury and provide wound repair signals to immune cells by releasing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).
- Yen-Zhen Lu
- , Bhavana Nayer
- & Mikaël M. Martino
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-cell multiplex chromatin and RNA interactions in ageing human brain
We introduce multinucleic acid interaction mapping in single cells (MUSIC), for concurrent profiling of multiplex chromatin interactions, gene expression and RNA–chromatin associations within individual nuclei, as a tool for exploring chromatin architecture and transcription.
- Xingzhao Wen
- , Zhifei Luo
- & Sheng Zhong
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Outlook |
The future of at-home molecular testing
The COVID-19 pandemic showed what was possible for gene-based diagnostics. Now comes the true test – economics.
- Elie Dolgin
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Article |
Proteome-scale discovery of protein degradation and stabilization effectors
A synthetic proteome-scale strategy enables the identification of a diverse range of human proteins that can induce the degradation or stabilization of a target protein in a proximity-dependent way.
- Juline Poirson
- , Hanna Cho
- & Mikko Taipale
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Article
| Open AccessBlueprinting extendable nanomaterials with standardized protein blocks
A study describes an approach using designed building blocks that are far more regular in geometry than natural proteins to construct modular multicomponent protein assemblies.
- Timothy F. Huddy
- , Yang Hsia
- & David Baker
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Article
| Open AccessDurable and efficient gene silencing in vivo by hit-and-run epigenome editing
Experiments in mice show that designed epigenome editors that contain domains of transcriptional repressors can enable stable epigenetic silencing of Pcsk9, a gene with a role in cholesterol homeostasis, without inducing DNA breaks.
- Martino Alfredo Cappelluti
- , Valeria Mollica Poeta
- & Angelo Lombardo
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News & Views |
Light can restore a heart’s rhythm
Implantable electric pacemakers save millions of lives worldwide, but they aren’t perfect. A proof-of-concept study shows that using light to regulate a heartbeat might be a better option than existing strategies.
- Igor R. Efimov
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News |
Ambitious survey of human diversity yields millions of undiscovered genetic variants
Analysis of the ‘All of Us’ genomic data set begins to tackle inequities in genetics research.
- Max Kozlov
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News |
Introducing meat–rice: grain with added muscles beefs up protein
The laboratory-grown food uses rice as a scaffold for cultured meat.
- Jude Coleman
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News |
Glow way! Bioluminescent houseplant hits US market for first time
Engineered petunia emits a continuous green glow thanks to genes from a light-up mushroom.
- Katherine Bourzac
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Research Highlight |
Ivory artefacts’ origins revealed by telltale peptides
The family, genus or even species of animal that supplied the materials for a famed museum’s objects could be identified with minimal damage to the items.
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Article
| Open AccessAn epigenetic barrier sets the timing of human neuronal maturation
The slow maturation of human neurons is regulated by epigenetic modification in nascent neurons, mediated by EZH2, EHMT1, EHMT2 and DOT1L.
- Gabriele Ciceri
- , Arianna Baggiolini
- & Lorenz Studer
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Career Feature |
How co-working labs reduce costs and accelerate progress for biotech start-ups
Shared lab spaces provide a streamlined launchpad, offering benches as well as a diverse network of industry mentors.
- Rachel Brazil
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News & Views |
Sticky gels designed for tissue-healing therapies and diagnostics
Materials that adhere tightly to human tissues can promote healing and boost the sensitivity of biomedical diagnostic devices. An ‘evolving’ gel has been made that synergizes two strategies for forming interfaces with tissue.
- Sophia J. Bailey
- & Eric A. Appel
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News |
Medical AI falters when assessing patients it hasn’t seen
Physicians rely on algorithms for personalized medicine — but an analysis of schizophrenia trials shows that the tools fail to adapt to new data sets.
- Miryam Naddaf
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Article
| Open AccessAdding α,α-disubstituted and β-linked monomers to the genetic code of an organism
tRNA display enables the direct selection of orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases that acylate orthogonal tRNAs with non-canonical monomers, enabling in vivo synthesis of proteins that include these monomers and expanding the repertoire of the genetic code.
- Daniel L. Dunkelmann
- , Carlos Piedrafita
- & Jason W. Chin
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News |
Cancer-fighting CAR T cells could be made inside body with viral injection
Scientists are devising ways to edit the genomes of immune cells without having to extract them from the people being treated.
- Heidi Ledford
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Research Briefing |
Polymer films inspired by spider silk connect biological tissues and electronic devices
Linking biological tissues with electronic devices is challenging owing to the softness of tissues and their arbitrary shapes and sizes. An innovative water-responsive, supercontractile polymer film, inspired by spider silk, allows the construction of soft, stretchable and shape-adaptive tissue–electronic interfaces.
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News |
Australian Indigenous genomes are highly diverse and unlike those anywhere else
In collecting genomic data for Indigenous Australians, scientists hope to expand knowledge of human genetic diversity and improve health for this group.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Article
| Open AccessModelling post-implantation human development to yolk sac blood emergence
A genetically inducible stem cell-derived embryoid model of early post-implantation human embryogenesis captures the codevelopment of embryonic tissue and extra-embryonic endoderm and mesoderm niche with early haematopoiesis, with potential for drug testing and disease modelling.
- Joshua Hislop
- , Qi Song
- & Mo R. Ebrahimkhani
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Article
| Open AccessThe landscape of genomic structural variation in Indigenous Australians
Population-scale whole-genome sequencing across four remote Indigenous Australian communities reveals a large fraction of structural variants that are unique to these populations, emphasizing the genetic distinctiveness of and diversity among Indigenous Australians.
- Andre L. M. Reis
- , Melissa Rapadas
- & Ira W. Deveson
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Article
| Open AccessThe molecular cytoarchitecture of the adult mouse brain
To construct a comprehensive atlas of cell types in each brain structure, we paired high-throughput single-nucleus RNA sequencing with Slide-seq, a recently developed spatial transcriptomics method with near-cellular resolution, across the entire mouse brain.
- Jonah Langlieb
- , Nina S. Sachdev
- & Evan Z. Macosko
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Article
| Open AccessSlide-tags enables single-nucleus barcoding for multimodal spatial genomics
Slide-tags enables multiomic sequencing of single cells and their localization within tissues.
- Andrew J. C. Russell
- , Jackson A. Weir
- & Fei Chen
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Article |
Inhaled SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for single-dose dry powder aerosol immunization
An inhalable, single-dose dry powder aerosol SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows good storage stability, results in sustained antigen delivery to antigen-presenting cells in the lungs and induces a potent antiviral immune response.
- Tong Ye
- , Zhouguang Jiao
- & Wei Wei
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Article |
Base-editing mutagenesis maps alleles to tune human T cell functions
Massive-scale mutational screening across 385 genes reveals a wide spectrum of alleles that govern tunable T cell functions, including cytokine production and cytotoxicity.
- Ralf Schmidt
- , Carl C. Ward
- & Alexander Marson
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News |
‘It’s all gone’: CAR-T therapy forces autoimmune diseases into remission
Engineered immune cells, most commonly used to treat cancers, show their power against lupus and other immune disorders.
- Heidi Ledford
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Article
| Open AccessCell-type-directed design of synthetic enhancers
Deep learning models were used to design synthetic cell-type-specific enhancers that work in fruit fly brains and human cell lines, an approach that also provides insights into these gene regulatory elements.
- Ibrahim I. Taskiran
- , Katina I. Spanier
- & Stein Aerts
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Research Highlight |
Mini fat particles help to turn platelets into protein factories
Genetically modified blood cells could churn out therapeutic proteins for treating inflammation and other conditions.
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Outlook |
This cyborg cockroach could be the future of earthquake search and rescue
From drivable bionic animals to machines made from muscle, biohybrid robots are on their way to a variety of uses.
- Liam Drew
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Article
| Open AccessA human embryonic limb cell atlas resolved in space and time
Using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, human embryonic limb development across space and time and the diversification and cross-species conservation of cells are demonstrated.
- Bao Zhang
- , Peng He
- & Sarah A. Teichmann
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News |
Tiny robots made from human cells heal damaged tissue
The ‘anthrobots’ were able to repair a scratch in a layer of neurons in the lab.
- Matthew Hutson
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Nature Podcast |
Sanitary products made from plants could help tackle period poverty
Researchers have extracted absorbent materials from the succulent Agave sisalana for making local, low-cost period products.
- Julie Gould
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World View |
Only 0.5% of neuroscience studies look at women’s health. Here’s how to change that
A new initiative challenges the severe neglect of women’s brain health from puberty through to pregnancy and menopause.
- Emily G. Jacobs
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Article |
Latent human herpesvirus 6 is reactivated in CAR T cells
Genomics analyses reveal that in vitro culture of CAR T cells can lead to reactivation of a latent herpesvirus, which might be involved in complications in patients receiving associated cell therapies.
- Caleb A. Lareau
- , Yajie Yin
- & Ansuman T. Satpathy
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Article
| Open AccessMouse genome rewriting and tailoring of three important disease loci
This study describes a method to insert large stretches of exogenous DNA into mammalian genomes, which is used to insert human ACE2 loci into mouse to produce a model of human SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Weimin Zhang
- , Ilona Golynker
- & Jef D. Boeke
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Article
| Open AccessA microfluidic transistor for automatic control of liquids
Flow limitation is exploited to develop a microfluidic device exhibiting flow–pressure behaviour analogous to the current–voltage characteristics of an electronic transistor.
- Kaustav A. Gopinathan
- , Avanish Mishra
- & Mehmet Toner
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Research Highlight |
Give these ‘living composite’ objects a squeeze and watch them glow
A material made from tiny algae and a natural polymer can be 3D printed into a variety of shapes.
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Article
| Open AccessUltra-fast deep-learned CNS tumour classification during surgery
Sturgeon is a pretrained neural network that uses incremental results from nanopore sequencing to rapidly classify central nervous system tumours and can be used to aid critical decision-making during surgery.
- C. Vermeulen
- , M. Pagès-Gallego
- & J. de Ridder
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Article
| Open AccessDesign and testing of a humanized porcine donor for xenotransplantation
Using kidneys from a genetically engineered porcine donor transplanted into a cynomolgus monkey model, the design, creation and long-term function of kidney grafts supporting life are explored.
- Ranjith P. Anand
- , Jacob V. Layer
- & Wenning Qin
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Article
| Open AccessRare variant associations with plasma protein levels in the UK Biobank
A set of three papers in Nature reports a new proteomics resource from the UK Biobank and initial analysis of common and rare genetic variant associations with plasma protein levels.
- Ryan S. Dhindsa
- , Oliver S. Burren
- & Slavé Petrovski
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Article
| Open AccessSpatial atlas of the mouse central nervous system at molecular resolution
In situ spatial transcriptomic analysis of more than 1 million cells are used to create a 200-nm-resolution spatial molecular atlas of the adult mouse central nervous system and identify previously unknown tissue architectures.
- Hailing Shi
- , Yichun He
- & Xiao Wang
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News Explainer |
How Dolly the sheep’s legacy lives on: CRISPR cattle and cloned camels
Dolly-style animal cloning underpins CRISPR livestock, but changes loom for the field.
- Heidi Ledford
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Comment |
AI can help to speed up drug discovery — but only if we give it the right data
Artificial-intelligence tools that enable companies to share data about drug candidates while keeping sensitive information safe can unleash the potential of machine learning and cutting-edge lab techniques, for the common good.
- Marissa Mock
- , Suzanne Edavettal
- & Alan Russell
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-cell brain organoid screening identifies developmental defects in autism
We develop a high-throughput CRISPR screening system in cerebral organoids and identify vulnerable cell types and gene regulatory networks associated with autism spectrum disorder from single-cell transcriptomes and chromatin modalities.
- Chong Li
- , Jonas Simon Fleck
- & Juergen A. Knoblich
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Career Q&A |
Biotechnologist’s long-life bananas unite business and social solutions
George William Byarugaba Bazirake brings academic values to his company.
- Christopher Bendana
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News Feature |
A DIY ‘bionic pancreas’ is changing diabetes care — what's next?
A community of people with type 1 diabetes got a self-built device approved. What can they offer that big companies can’t?
- Liam Drew
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News Feature |
Is a boost to height a boost to health? Dwarfism therapies spark controversy
Emerging treatments for achondroplasia pose difficult choices for parents. Proponents say they are changing lives. Others fear they will feed stigma and erase identity.
- Cassandra Willyard
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