Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
As a tech-hungry world gobbles up rare-earth elements, researchers are adapting bacteria that can isolate and purify the metals in the absence of harsh chemicals.
Linking mass spectrometry with cryo-electron microscopy could transform understanding of complex protein structures — if scientists can show that samples remain intact when they hit their target.
By combining single-cell sequencing with methods to map the spatial location of gene expression, scientists are unravelling the extraordinary cellular diversity of the brain.
Armed with DNA sequencers and powerful computational tools, archaeogeneticists are turning their attention towards ancient microbes to give bacteria their due in human history.