Reviews & Analysis

A checklist of criteria to determine the readiness of high-throughput ‘omics’-based tests for guiding patient therapy in clinical trials is discussed; the checklist, developed by the US National Cancer Institute in collaboration with additional scientists with relevant expertise, provides a framework to evaluate the strength of evidence for a test and outlines practical issues to consider before using the test in a clinical setting, with an aim to avoid premature advancement of omics-based tests in clinical trials.

The discovery of a new way of controlling a class of complex-oxide materials, known as the Ruddlesden–Popper series of structures, may lead the way to making electronically tunable microwave devices. See Letter p.532

Analysis of cancer genomes is moving beyond the confines of a particular disease — researchers are now comparing the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of multiple tumour types. Two scientists comment on what such studies can teach us about cancer biology and how they may guide clinical practice. See Article p.333

New observations suggest that certain extremely bright supernovae are not the nuclear explosions of very massive stars. Instead, they may be ordinary-mass events lit up by a potent central fountain of magnetic energy. See Letter p.346

Lasers known as frequency combs have been used to generate molecular spectra from samples within microseconds and with high spatial resolution. This offers fresh prospects for making microscopy observations in real time. See Letter p.355

Sophisticated microscopy analysis of conodont elements suggests that these mysterious fossil structures are not, as has been previously suggested, evolutionary precursors to vertebrate teeth. See Letter p.546

Finding a way to control how particles bind to cells could open up opportunities for biomedical research. The discovery of a method for directing the orientation of particle–cell interactions is therefore a cause for excitement.

The continuous random path of a superconducting system's quantum state has been tracked as the state changes during measurement. The results open the possibility of steering quantum systems into a desired state. See Letter p.211

Fructose and glucose have the same caloric value, but the two sugars are metabolized differently. It emerges that mice that cannot metabolize fructose are healthier when placed on carbohydrate-rich diets.

An innovative assessment of climate change calculates the year in which ongoing warming will surpass the limits of historical climate variability. Three experts explain this calculation's significance compared with conventional approaches, and its relevance to Earth's biodiversity. See Article p.183

A drug already used to treat Parkinson's disease induces repair of the damage that occurs to the myelin sheath around nerve fibres during multiple sclerosis. The finding offers new therapeutic avenues for this disease. See Article p.327

The degradative process known as autophagy is a cellular quality-control mechanism that is associated with many clinical disorders. It emerges that autophagy and the cell's primary cilium regulate each other. See Article p.194 and Letter p.254

An alloy has been made that undergoes a remarkably reproducible phase transition over thousands of cycles. This finding could allow the development of practically useful materials that 'remember' their shape after deformation. See Letter p.85

Lysosomes are the main degradative compartment in cells, but they are also involved in cell-death pathways. Studies using existing drugs show that lysosomes are excellent pharmacological targets for selectively destroying cancer cells.

Some normally innocuous bacteria can turn into serious pathogens. It seems that one such species, Neisseria meningitidis, uses three RNA-based thermosensors to escape the immune response of its human host. See Letter p.237

Data obtained from analysing chromosomal organization and interactions in individual cells unify previous results obtained by single-cell imaging and studies of population-averaged genomic interactions. See Article p.59

The inclusion of abundance data in global surveys of reef fishes reveals new hotspots of functional biodiversity, not all of which show high species richness. The findings may influence conservation priorities. See Letter p.539

Two independent experiments have demonstrated control of one mobile quantum of excitation by another. The results are likely to have ramifications for information processing and transfer. See Letters p.71 & p.76

The most complex electronic device yet built from carbon nanotubes has been demonstrated. The system is a functional universal computer, and represents a significant advance in the field of emerging electronic materials. See Letter p.526