Editorials in 2021

Discovering that a different lab has reached similar findings to yours before publishing can be frustrating. But it does not have to be. Communication between labs might be the best way forward.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought the conference circuit to a standstill, virtual spaces were able to bring us together, albeit with less opportunity for social bonding. Taking clues from the technology and entertainment industries, virtual scientific conference organizers should offer a more meaningful social experience.

Since the publication of its first issue in January 2019, Nature Metabolism has come a long way. Here, we reflect on watching our journal develop and grow, highlighting some of the important milestones on our journey.

Few technologies have changed the language and approach of biological research as dramatically and pervasively as single-cell technology, which has joined lipidomics, GFP, ChIP–seq and CRISPR–Cas in the pantheon of biotechnology. Here, we reflect on the influence of single-cell technology on metabolism research, some of which can be found in our new Collection on Single-cell technology in metabolism, featuring articles published in Nature Metabolism.

On the second anniversary of Nature Metabolism, we reflect on some of the developments at the journal against the backdrop of this extraordinary year.