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Cell death is an important biological process whose experimental detection and measurement can be difficult, especially when examining many conditions in parallel. The interpretation of cell death data is complicated by the diversity of measurement techniques and lack of standardized methods in the field. Here, we offer tips to help interpret cell death experiments.
Human embryology is flourishing thanks to an impetus provided by embryo models formed from stem cells. These scientific advances require meticulous experimental work and a refined ethical framework, but also sensible public communication. Securing public support is essential to achieve societal impact.
Conferences are often held at different venues and feature innovative scientific programs; however, their design rarely changes, and barriers that exclude marginalized scientists persist. We discuss why this is a problem and offer suggestions for people and organizations seeking to create more inclusive and sustainable scientific meetings.
Reliable ways to identify senescent cells represent a bottleneck for understanding the roles of senescence in physiology and disease. This Comment examines the challenges of identifying senescent cells, revises existing recommendations for how to best assess senescence and discusses how emerging technologies can address these issues.
Mitochondria can shuttle between adjacent cells or travel to distant organs by breaking away from the parent cell and entering the circulation. Here, we briefly review the state of research into mitochondria transfer, and discuss a methodological framework for studying the process.
The Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) aims to promote the use of microscopy in biomedical research through facilitated access to instruments and expertise, and via training and networking opportunities. By coupling technology dissemination with expertise and training, AMI is designed to serve as a crucible for the sustainable development of imaging expertise across Africa.
Recent findings ranging from genetics to structural biology, together with studies in human neurons, animal models and patient brains, implicate the retromer-dependent endosomal recycling pathway as both causal and common in Alzheimer’s disease.
The enduring lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in academia is arguably the biggest challenge facing universities. Progress has been slow and dependent on the efforts of marginalized faculty. We explain why this is a problem, offer potential solutions and ask those with intersecting privilege and power to be the drivers of change.
Alternative splicing of eukaryotic messenger RNA transcripts often leads to the production of several mature RNAs — including linear RNAs and circular RNAs (circRNAs) — from a single gene locus. The names given to circRNAs are often ambiguous and lack consistency across studies. This Comment calls on the community to embrace a common nomenclature for naming circRNAs to ensure clarity and reproducibility.
