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This issue highlights the design of localizable implantable magnetic microdevices, and also includes advances in cancer-cell detection via lasing, in tumour therapy with a non-toxic dendrimer, and in the amplification of rare DNA-sequence variants.
The cover illustrates the concept of implantable microdevices that broadcast their location when in a magnetic-field gradient by emitting a magnetic-field-dependent radiofrequency signal (Article).
Image from Pixologicstudio/Getty images. Adapted by Karen Moore.
Microchips embedding a magnetic sensor and a radiofrequency transmitter can be localized in the body of a mouse at submillimetre resolution when under a magnetic field.
A dendrimer that depletes bioavailable copper as a result of its internal make-up displays powerful anticancer activity in mice, and no observable adverse effects.
Causing nanoscale vibrations in bone-marrow stromal cells embedded in a soft collagen gel induces the cells to undergo osteogenic differentiation and mineralization via mechanosensitive signalling pathways.
Interventional healthcare will evolve from an artisanal craft based on the individual experiences, preferences and traditions of physicians into a discipline that relies on objective decision-making on the basis of large-scale data from heterogeneous sources.
This Review discusses imaging approaches that benefit from the combination of signals and modalities to enhance patient diagnosis and the monitoring of therapy.
A general technique that overcomes the temperature sensitivity of existing polymerase-chain-reaction methods selectively amplifies single-nucleotide DNA variants.
A scanning laser-emission-based microscope enables submicrometre-resolution mapping of nuclear biomarkers and the diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer in tissue samples from patients.
The location of microdevices in the body of anaesthetized mice can be retrieved with sub-millimetre precision by adopting principles from nuclear magnetic resonance.
A dendrimer that depletes bioavailable copper and leads to the suppression of tumour angiogenesis acts as a potent and non-cytotoxic anticancer therapeutic.
Nanoscale vibrations provided by a bioreactor induce the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into mineralized tissue in three dimensions, independently of other environmental factors.