Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

In celebration of methods - p687

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-687

As evidenced by the cake adorning the cover, Nature Methods is five years old. To celebrate this anniversary, we look at methodological development and its role in scientific inquiry.

Abstract - | Full Text - Five Year Anniversary Special | PDF (72 KB) - Five Year Anniversary Special

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Technical matters: method, knowledge and infrastructure in twentieth-century life science- pp701 - 705

Angela N H Creager & Hannah Landecker

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-701

Conceptual breakthroughs in science tend to garner accolades and attention. But, as the invention of tissue culture and the development of isotopic tracers show, innovative methods open up new fields and enable the solution of longstanding problems.

Abstract - | Full Text - Super-resolution microscopy: breaking the limits | PDF (530 KB) - Super-resolution microscopy: breaking the limits

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Seeing things: from microcinematography to live cell imaging- pp707 - 709

Hannah Landecker

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-707

From histology to microcinematography, from cytochemistry to live cell imaging, the history of visualization technology in the life sciences may be understood as a series of cycles of action and reaction between static and dynamic modes of representing life.

Abstract - | Full Text - Super-resolution microscopy: breaking the limits | PDF (384 KB) - Super-resolution microscopy: breaking the limits

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Is sequencing enlightenment ending the dark age of the transcriptome?- pp711 - 713

Piero Carninci

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-711

Sequencing-based technologies for RNA discovery are playing a key role in deciphering the transcriptome and hold the potential to provide us with a census of RNAs and their functions.

Abstract - | Full Text - Primer: fluorescence imaging under the diffraction limit | PDF (207 KB) - Primer: fluorescence imaging under the diffraction limit

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Engineered fluorescent proteins: innovations and applications - pp713 - 717

Michael W Davidson & Robert E Campbell

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-713

Despite expansion of the fluorescent protein and optical highlighter palette into the orange to far-red range of the visible spectrum, achieving performance equivalent to that of EGFP has continued to elude protein engineers.

Abstract - | Full Text - Putting super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to work | PDF (1,050 KB) - Putting super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to work

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Comparative analysis to guide quality improvements in proteomics - pp717 - 719

Matthias Mann

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-717

The potential of mass spectrometry–based proteomics to advance biology and biomedicine is nearly unlimited but so is its potential for generating bad data. Apart from the pursuit of technological progress in protocols and instruments, stringent comparative analyses of different approaches are critical for fully developing the discipline.

Abstract - | Full Text - Microscopy and its focal switch | PDF (498 KB) - Microscopy and its focal switch

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

From information to knowledge: new technologies for defining gene function - pp721 - 723

Sean R Collins, Jonathan S Weissman & Nevan J Krogan

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-721

A wide range of methodology will be needed to bridge the gap between genome sequence and mechanistic understanding in biology. Recent advances in high-throughput genetic screening address this task.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Induced pluripotency | PDF (420 KB) - Induced pluripotency

Special Feature: Five Year Anniversary Special

Five years of Methods- pp724 - 725

doi:10.1038/nmeth1009-724

Abstract - | Full Text - Primer: fluorescence imaging under the diffraction limit | PDF (207 KB) - Primer: fluorescence imaging under the diffraction limit