The regular Insight 'Frontiers in biology' highlights important advances in biology. This year, the Reviews discuss cancer predisposition genes, analysing brain function at the level of neural projections, the organization of interneurons, the haematopoietic stem-cell niche in bone marrow, mitochondrial research, endogenous RNA and the roles of piRNA.

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of superresolution fluorescence microscopy, which enables the imaging of fine biological structures previously thought to be unresolvable using light. This collection of news pieces and articles by the Nobel laureates and their collaborators celebrates this achievement.

A groundswell of research on the immune system is yielding a deeper understanding of how cancer progresses and offering new ways to stop it. As a result of these efforts, a range of cancer therapies are under development that work by turning our own immune cells against tumours.

Coastal regions are home to billions of people worldwide, but our intense use is placing them under pressure. This Insight explores some of the factors shaping coastal systems, including flooding by tropical cyclones, ice loss in Greenland, wetland stability, carbon cycling in the coastal ocean, seaweed tides, offshore groundwater reserves and coastal defence in the face of global change.

Recent research has highlighted problems with our present explanation for how the Moon formed in the 'giant impact' of a large solar system body with the early Earth. In September 2013, London saw the latest in a series of landmark meetings debating theories of the Moon's origin, following others in 1984 (Kona, Hawaii) and 1998 (Monterey, California). These issues are now explored in a NatureCommentary,NatureNews & Views Forum andNature GeoscienceNews & Views article. We also present below a selection of recentNatureandNature Geosciencecontent related to the age, composition and origin of the Moon.

Every year about a quarter of a million people suffer a spinal-cord injury. The consequences of such an injury can be devastating, with lifelong paralysis and economic burdens. Advances in healthcare — from stem-cell therapy and neuro-regenerative drugs to high-tech exoskeletons — can reduce pain and restore mobility.

In a neuroscience special issue this week, Naturebrings together reporting and expert opinion on efforts to apply current technologies and invent new ones to probe how the brain works. Thanks to such technologies — including those designed to map neural connections down to the level of synapses and ion channels — researchers may be on the verge of opening new vistas in understanding just as long-term programmes in the European Union and United States could together pour more than US$2 billion into the study of the brain over the next decade.

Since the first X-rays were taken more than a century ago, the ability to see inside the body has been central to the advance of medicine. Progress in precision medical imaging is gathering pace, leading to new Insights in biology, with the potential for more accurate diagnoses and improved treatments.

Transcriptional programs dictate cell identity during development. This Insight highlights recent advances in transcriptional and epigenetic regulation during development and disease, including the mechanisms behind reprogramming and DNA demethylation, the role of chromosome topology, links to metabolism and small molecule drug discovery.

From green chemistry to rare earth metal catalysts, the Nature Outlook: Chemistry Masterclassuses the 2013 Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting as a basis to explore some of the most pressing issues in chemistry, presenting the perspectives of Nobel laureates as well as the young researchers aiming to emulate their success.

Every government and organization that funds research wants to support science that makes a difference — by opening up new academic vistas, stimulating innovation, influencing public policies or directly improving people's lives. But separating the best from the rest has never been harder. This Naturespecial issue examines, through journalism and comment, how the impact of research is traced and measured — and asks whether today's evaluation systems elevate the most influential science.