Reviews & Analysis

DNA has the potential to store vast amounts of data but it is subject to physical decay. In this Perspective, the authors propose that the stability of DNA should be a key consideration in how it is used for data storage.

Pain management is an extremely important topic both medically and socio-economically. Here the authors offer an overview of the use of degrading polymeric materials for delivery of pharmaceutical agents for pain management and offer a perspective of the future directions of the field.

This review dives deep into how earthquakes affect volcanoes, specifically into the relation between tectonic seismic activity and subsequent eruptions. Activity may increase in any volcanic setting in the 2–5 years following an earthquake, and especially at volcanic centres featuring vigorous hydrothermal activity.

Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The kidneys, which have a very high metabolic rate, play a fundamental role in blood pressure regulation. In this review, the authors discuss recent studies on the role of renal metabolism in the development of hypertension.

The gastrointestinal tract participates in maintaining metabolic homeostasis in part through nutrient-sensing and subsequent gut-brain signalling. Here the authors review the role of small intestinal nutrient-sensing in regulation of energy intake and systemic glucose metabolism, and link high-fat diet, obesity and diabetes with perturbations in these pathways.

Skeletal muscle has a remarkable regenerative capacity, which can largely be attributed to resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Here, the authors review the molecular mechanisms regulating MuSC quiescence, activation and proliferation, how these processes are regulated by the stem cell niche, and the role of MuSCs in neuromuscular diseases.

The large anomalous Hall (AHE) and anomalous Nernst effects (ANE) in antiferromagnets Mn₃Sn/Mn₃Ge are considered fingerprints of Weyl nodes residing near the Fermi energy. Here, the authors review the results from previous studies combining with new transport measurements on Mn₃Sn/Mn₃Ge single crystals, suggesting the essential role of magnetic Weyl fermions in explaining the AHE and ANE.

One of the key limitations of CRISPR-Cas-based genome editing techniques is the PAM dependency. Here, the authors review ongoing efforts towards realizing PAM-free nucleases, address potential consequences of eliminating PAM recognition, and propose an alternative nuclease repertoire covering all possible PAM sequences.

Enantioselective functionalization of ubiquitous C(sp³)–H bonds via radical species has witnessed a renaissance in the past years. Here, the authors summarize the main achievements in the field by identifying two main reaction pathways determining the stereochemistry and give an outlook on future challenges and opportunities.

Synthetic biology engineering principles enable two-way communication between living and inanimate substrates. Here the authors consider the development of this bio-informational exchange and propose cyber-physical architectures and applications.

Loss of muscle mass is associated with ageing and with a number of diseases such as cancer. Here, the authors review the signaling pathways that modulate protein synthesis and degradation and gain or loss of muscle mass, and discuss therapeutic implications and future directions for the field.

Advances made in synthesis and analytical techniques has allowed the exploration and mimicry of natural materials. Resilin-mimetics have emerged from this advance as a biomaterial with a range of potential applications. Here, the authors review the history and current research on resilin-mimetics, providing a future perspective.

Ketamine is associated with rapid antidepressant effects and temporary dissociative experiences, and this review examines whether these dissociative symptoms are necessary for antidepressant efficacy. Although the current literature does not support this relationship, further work is needed to explore possible associations at the molecular, biomarker, and psychological levels.

A key security challenge with biosecurity threats is determining the responsible actor. In this Perspective, the authors review recent developments in using genetic sequence to assign a lab-of-origin and the potential protection it provides against misuse of synthetic biology.

Large-scale meat production can have negative impacts on public health, the environment and animal welfare. In this Review, the authors consider plant-based and cell-based approaches to meat production and the challenges they face.

Many fluid biomarker findings have had low reproducibility despite initially promising results. Here, the authors review possible sources for low reproducibility of studies on fluid biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases and suggest guidelines for the biomarker community to agree on and implement.

Maria Antfolk and Kim Jensen discuss how to model intestinal epithelial cell function in the dish and how various physiologically important environmental conditions, for example, extracellular matrix, pressure and flow, can be modelled and how this is applicable to clinical work.

A better understanding of how plants respond to osmotic stress could potentially help improve crop yields. Here Fàbregas et al. review the recent characterization of Raf-like kinases that act in both in ABA-dependent and -independent responses to osmotic stress.

Advances in our ability to manipulate genetics leads to deeper understanding of biological systems. In this Perspective, the authors argue that synthetic genomics facilitates complex modifications that open up new areas of research.

The IMEx consortium provides one of the largest resources of curated, experimentally verified molecular interaction data. Here, the authors review how IMEx evolved into a fundamental resource for life scientists and describe how IMEx data can support biomedical research.