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.
This PrimeView on force spectroscopy of single cells using atomic force microscopy accompanies the Primer by Viljoen et al. and highlights the various applications enabled by this mechanical probing technique.
Atomic force microscopy-based force spectroscopy can probe the strength and dynamics of cell adhesion to understand how physical forces influence cellular function, physiology and disease. Here, Dufrêne and colleagues discuss the ability of this technology to work as an ultra-sensitive force sensor to study the adhesion and elasticity of complex biological systems including viruses, bacteria, yeasts and mammalian cells.
This PrimeView highlights the best practices for radiocarbon dating of various sample types. Improvements in sensitivity and accuracy allow for dating of rare and precious samples.
Radiocarbon dating is a common and reliable tool for measuring the age of a range of objects, from trees to historical artefacts and human remains. Hajdas et al. outline best practices for selecting and processing samples, as well as obtaining accurate measurements and age ranges. Ethical considerations for rare and culturally valuable materials are discussed.
This PrimeView covers practical and ethical considerations for conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and shows the key features of a Manhattan plot, a widely used scheme to study GWAS results.
Uffelmann et al. describe the key considerations and best practices for conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), techniques for deriving functional inferences from the results and applications of GWAS in understanding disease risk and trait architecture. The Primer also provides information on the best practices for data sharing and discusses important ethical considerations when considering GWAS populations and data.
This PrimeView highlights best practices for psychometric network analysis. Network topology types are discussed in relation to the type of data being collected.
Network analysis allows the investigation of complex patterns and relationships by examining nodes and the edges connecting them. Borsboom et al. discuss the adoption of network analysis in psychological research.
This Primer highlights the range of new strategies for sustainable N2 activation and the step by step protocol necessary for evaluating genuine activity. The required metrics and how to interpret data alongside the best practices to improve reproducibility and enable the development of practical technologies are discussed.
This Primer discusses approaches for characterizing ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs), their targets and modification sites, and dynamic changes in modifications. The authors cover techniques for enriching modified proteins and mass spectrometry analysis strategies and workflows, describe how these techniques have been applied and outline how limitations are being addressed by new techniques.
This PrimeView on atom probe tomography accompanies the Primer by Gault et al. and highlights the three-dimensional nature of this nanometre-scale compositional mapping technique.
This Primer on atom probe tomography introduces the fundamentals of the technique and its experimental set-up, describes recent developments in specimen preparation, highlights aspects of data reconstruction and analysis, and showcases various applications of atom probe tomography in the materials sciences, geosciences and biological sciences.
This PrimeView highlights the steps involved in designing experiments for cell free gene expression. This technique has many benefits that make it suitable for a wide range of applications.
Cell-free gene expression is useful for expressing proteins with post-translational modifications, with special folding requirements and whose expression is difficult in prokaryotic systems. Garenne et al. outline the best practices for the expression of proteins in a cell-free environment.
This PrimeView describes novel fluorination and fluoroalkylation techniques and the key considerations for their use, and highlights the range of applications for fluorinated molecules in society.
This Primer describes contemporary fluorination and fluoroalkylation reactions in chemical synthesis. The authors describe the main fluorination and fluoroalkylation reactions. The many applications of these reactions in pharmaceuticals, imaging agents and agriculture are discussed, along with the history and future of synthetic organofluorine chemistry.
This PrimeView describes the factors that need to be considered when developing a biocatalyst and how they impact the utility of these enzymes in real-world applications.
In this Primer, Flitsch and colleagues describe how biocatalysis is facilitating synthetic chemistry in both academia and industry. Detailed considerations required to find, select and optimize a biocatalyst are described, followed by an analysis of the performance metrics used to define a good industrial catalyst.
