Volume 38 Issue 12, December 2020

RNA velocity fully solved

Visualization of cellular dynamics during pancreatic endocrinogenesis based on RNA velocity analysis. Bergen et al. present scVelo, a method that improves RNA velocity analysis by capturing transient cell states and providing a more detailed view of cellular transcriptional dynamics.

See Bergen et al.

Image: Volker Bergen. Cover Design: Erin Dewalt.

Editorial

The nucleotides that bind

Rapid progress is being made in our understanding of RNA–protein interactions, their role in disease and their influence on the action of oligonucleotide drugs.

Editorial 30 Nov 2020

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News

Specter of eye toxicity looms over BCMA-targeted therapy

The first antibody–drug conjugate to treat multiple myeloma can spur reversible loss of vision, but that may not be the case for other anti-BCMA T-cell therapies or bispecific antibodies.

Elie Dolgin
News 03 Dec 2020
First systemic CRISPR agent in humans

News in Brief 03 Dec 2020
Microbial cocktails raise bar for C. diff. treatments

Seres’s success with an industrially made bacterial mix in phase 3 trials against Clostridium difficile infection promises an alternative to fecal microbial transplantation in clinical practice.

Mark Ratner
News 03 Dec 2020
Long live California’s stem cells

News in Brief 03 Dec 2020
A biotech insect repellent, safe enough to eat

The fledgling metabolic engineering industry expands its products to pest control.

Emily Waltz
News 03 Dec 2020
DARPins stack up as anti-COVID-19 agents

News in Brief 03 Dec 2020
Around the world in a month

News in Brief 03 Dec 2020
News Feature
- Send in the senolytics
  
  Despite early failures in the clinic, the idea of anti-aging therapies that purge the body of dying cells is gaining traction with a raft of startups now focused on senescence.
  
  Elie Dolgin
  News Feature 12 Nov 2020

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Correspondence

FDALabel for drug repurposing studies and beyond

Hong Fang
Stephen Harris
Weida Tong
Correspondence 24 Nov 2020
Increased cyber-biosecurity for DNA synthesis

Rami Puzis
Dor Farbiash
Dov Greenbaum
Correspondence 27 Nov 2020
Supporting US public health experts

Ron Cohen
Cedric Francois
Sandy Zweifach
Correspondence 25 Nov 2020
Guidelines for reporting single-cell RNA-seq experiments

Anja Füllgrabe
Nancy George
Irene Papatheodorou
Correspondence 13 Nov 2020
Sample sharing

Joanne Kamens
Correspondence 30 Nov 2020

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Features

Patents
- The global chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy patent landscape
  
  Global patents in the field of CAR-T cell therapy show a changing landscape with fierce competition and intensive collaboration.
  
  Liyang Lyu
  Ye Feng
  Yuanjia Hu
  Patents 03 Dec 2020
- Chimeric antigen receptors
  
  Recent patents for methods of making and using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to treat cancer and other diseases.
  
  Patents 03 Dec 2020

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News & Views

Podcast
- First Rounders: Tillman Gerngross
  
  Podcast 06 Nov 2020

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Research

Letters
- Generation of paternal haploids in wheat by genome editing of the centromeric histone CENH3
  
  Gene editing induces paternal haploid plants in hexaploid wheat.
  
  Jian Lv
  Kun Yu
  Tim Kelliher
  Letter 09 Nov 2020
- Targeted, efficient sequence insertion and replacement in rice
  
  Rice genes are replaced using chemically modified donor DNA and CRISPR targeting.
  
  Yuming Lu
  Yifu Tian
  Jian-Kang Zhu
  
  Collection:
  
  Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020
  Letter 06 Jul 2020
Articles
- Generalizing RNA velocity to transient cell states through dynamical modeling
  
  scVelo reconstructs transient cell states and differentiation pathways from single-cell RNA-sequencing data.
  
  Volker Bergen
  Marius Lange
  Fabian J. Theis
  
  Collection:
  
  Harnessing the power of computational science
  Article 03 Aug 2020
- A dual-constriction biological nanopore resolves homonucleotide sequences with high fidelity
  
  Equipping a protein nanopore with a second constriction improves sequencing of homopolymer DNA stretches.
  
  Sander E. Van der Verren
  Nani Van Gerven
  Han Remaut
  Article 06 Jul 2020
- Generation of human striatal organoids and cortico-striatal assembloids from human pluripotent stem cells
  
  Organoids representing the human striatum are generated and used to build circuits in cortico-striatal assembloids.
  
  Yuki Miura
  Min-Yin Li
  Sergiu P. Pașca
  Article 03 Dec 2020
- Programmable m⁶A modification of cellular RNAs with a Cas13-directed methyltransferase
  
  The most abundant RNA modification in humans, m⁶A, can be installed at specified RNA sequences in cells, enabling functional studies.
  
  Christopher Wilson
  Peter J. Chen
  David R. Liu
  
  Special:
  
  SCGE
  Article 29 Jun 2020
- Metabolic engineering generates a transgene-free safety switch for cell therapy
  
  A new safety switch allows for control of cell therapies by dietary uridine.
  
  Volker Wiebking
  James O. Patterson
  Matthew H. Porteus
  Article 13 Jul 2020
- Cell-free biosensors for rapid detection of water contaminants
  
  Water contaminants are detected with freeze-dried, regulated in vitro transcription reactions.
  
  Jaeyoung K. Jung
  Khalid K. Alam
  Julius B. Lucks
  Article 06 Jul 2020
- Precise, predictable multi-nucleotide deletions in rice and wheat using APOBEC–Cas9
  
  A suite of APOBEC–Cas9 complexes for predictable and targeted deletions in plant genomes.
  
  Shengxing Wang
  Yuan Zong
  Caixia Gao
  Article 29 Jun 2020
Resources
- Automated design of thousands of nonrepetitive parts for engineering stable genetic systems
  
  An algorithm to design nonrepetitive genetic parts enables synthetic biologists to reliably engineer stable circuits.
  
  Ayaan Hossain
  Eriberto Lopez
  Howard M. Salis
  Resource 13 Jul 2020

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Amendments & Corrections

Author Correction: Integrating microarray-based spatial transcriptomics and single-cell RNA-seq reveals tissue architecture in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas

Reuben Moncada
Dalia Barkley
Itai Yanai
Author Correction 23 Nov 2020

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Careers & Recruitment

Career Feature
- The art of virtual mentoring in the twenty-first century for STEM majors and beyond
  
  Social quarantine has severely impacted the training of new scientists, but the use of virtual platforms can supplement mentorship, making career development seamless.
  
  Melanie R. McReynolds
  Christina M. Termini
  Calvin S. Carter
  Career Feature 03 Dec 2020
People
- People
  
  Recent moves of note in and around the biotech and pharma industries.
  
  People 03 Dec 2020

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Volume 38 Issue 12, December 2020

RNA velocity fully solved

Editorial

News

News Feature

Correspondence

Features

Patents

News & Views

Podcast

Research

Letters

Articles

Resources

Amendments & Corrections

Careers & Recruitment

Career Feature

People

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