Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Neuroscience methods are undergoing a dramatic change owing to improvements in optical probes, but standardized evaluation procedures would aid probe development and uptake.
As evidenced by the cake adorning the cover, Nature Methods is five years old. To celebrate this anniversary, we look at methodological development and its role in scientific inquiry.
Metagenomics sprang from advances in sequencing technology, and continued improvements are providing data in quantities unimaginable a few years ago. But without concerted efforts, the amount of data will quickly outpace the ability of scientists to analyze it.
Computational biologists are often tempted to avoid providing a named software implementation of their new algorithm, but resisting this temptation helps avoid difficulties later on and benefits the wider community of biologists.
Though somewhat rare, there are a few good fiction books to be found with refreshingly realistic biologists as central characters in laboratory settings.
Methods to study the behavior of Drosophila sp. in the context of a group may deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying social behavior.
Nature Methods follows in the footsteps of Nature by ushering in an Online Methods section, fully integrated with the paper, for all original research articles.
The rise of 'omics' methods and data-driven research presents new possibilities for discovery but also stimulates disagreement over how science should be conducted and even how it should be defined.
The increasing impact of science on society calls for improved communication between scientists and the public via dedicated science media centers as well as nontraditional personal blogs.
The development of large-scale centralized biobanks raises the stakes in a familiar conversation on ethics in medical research and poses unique challenges to lawmakers that will require informed discussions between scientists and the public.
