Many biological phenomena are either invisible or only partially characterized when interrogated using standard analyses that average data across a bulk population of cells. Now, technological advances are providing unprecedented opportunities to analyse the complexities of biological systems at the single-cell level. High-throughput analyses of the genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes of single cells are yielding novel and important insights into diverse processes such as development, gene-expression dynamics, tissue heterogeneity and disease pathogenesis. In this Focus issue, we highlight the transformative potential of single-cell omics approaches.

The advent of massively parallel sequencing technologies has driven the analysis of cancer genomes at an unprecedented resolution. Sequence data from thousands of patients highlight the distinct sets of driver mutations among patients with the same cancer tissue type, and single-cell sequencing technologies have revealed heterogeneity within the subclones of single tumours as they evolve. Identifying and characterizing these mutations and their diversity is essential for the development of personalized therapies. Next-generation sequencing technologies have also been applied to study the epigenomes and transcriptomes of cancer, thus paving the way for an integrated understanding of cancer pathology. This collection showcases how cancer genomics has informed our understanding of cancer pathogenesis, unravelled potential future therapeutic targets and driven advances that are starting to translate into the clinic. This resource provides a comprehensive bench-to-bedside overview of cancer genomics, which will be useful to researchers and clinicians alike.

Cancer is a leading cause of death, accounting for nearly one in six deaths worldwide. Many cancers can be cured, especially if detected early and treated effectively.

Selected, recent articles from across the Nature Portfolio that document the recent progress in understanding the biology of EV-mediated cell–cell communication and advances in clinical translation of EVs.

Research interest is growing in profiling noncoding RNAs and understanding their biological functions in health and disease contexts.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo "for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution".

Gregor Johann Mendel, considered by many the ‘father of modern genetics’, was born 200 years ago, on 20 July 1822.

Research into women’s health has suffered from historical neglect and lack of funding.

The past two decades have witnessed extraordinary technological and computational advances in nucleic acid sequencing. This Milestone timeline provides a perspective of major genomic sequencing-related developments in the 21st century — from the first human reference genome, through methodological breakthroughs, to the impact of sequencing on fields as diverse as microbiology, cancer and palaeogenetics.

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their pioneering work in gene-editing.

October 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of Nature Reviews Genetics. To celebrate this milestone, we have delved into our archives to curate a Collection of cutting-edge articles, historical pieces and thought-provoking commentaries and opinions. Featuring a range of article types, including Reviews, Perspectives, Viewpoints and Comments, this Collection provides a glimpse of the genetics and genomics field over the past two decades.

To support urgent research to combat the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the editorial teams at Nature Research have curated a collection of relevant articles.