Featured
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Technology Feature |
How phase separation is revolutionizing biology
Imaging and molecular manipulation reveal how biomolecular condensates form and offer clues to the role of phase separation in health and disease.
- Elie Dolgin
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Technology Feature |
Seven technologies to watch in 2024
Advances in artificial intelligence are at the heart of many of this year’s most exciting areas of technological innovation
- Michael Eisenstein
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Research Briefing |
Atomic-level structures show how accuracy is maintained in protein synthesis
A series of structures of the eukaryotic protein-synthesis machinery are imaged at high resolution in defined states of the elongation phase of protein synthesis. Analysis suggests that there are underlying molecular mechanisms that increase the accuracy of translation of genetic information in eukaryotes.
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Technology Feature |
AI under the microscope: the algorithms powering the search for cells
Deep learning is driving the rapid evolution of algorithms that can automatically find and trace cells in a wide range of microscopy experiments.
- Michael Eisenstein
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News |
New explanation for infertility: eggs lacking a mysterious ‘lattice’
The discovery of a ‘storage locker’ for essential proteins could explain some cases of infertility.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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Technology Feature |
Soft-landing methods aim to simplify structural biology
Linking mass spectrometry with cryo-electron microscopy could transform understanding of complex protein structures — if scientists can show that samples remain intact when they hit their target.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Career Guide |
How to spice up your bioinformatics skill set with AI
Incorporating machine-learning tools into data analysis can accelerate discovery and free up valuable time.
- Rachael Pells
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Technology Feature |
How open-source software could finally get the world’s microscopes speaking the same language
A plethora of standards mean shareable and verifiable microscopy data often get lost in translation. Biologists are working on a solution.
- Michael Brooks
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Technology Feature |
Catching proteins at play: the method revealing the cell’s inner mysteries
Cryo-electron tomography is a hugely promising tool in visual proteomics — if researchers can work out what they are seeing.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article
| Open AccessDirect observation of the conformational states of PIEZO1
The plasma membrane can expand the blades of the PIEZO1 ion channel, impacting channel activation.
- Eric M. Mulhall
- , Anant Gharpure
- & Ardem Patapoutian
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Technology Feature |
Sharp resolution, big samples: ExA-SPIM microscope accelerates brain imaging
An innovative microscopy technique bridges the gap between field of view and resolution.
- Alla Katsnelson
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Technology Feature |
Powerful microscope captures motor proteins in unprecedented detail
Called MINFLUX, the super-resolution method allows researchers to track molecules under cellular conditions.
- Amanda Heidt
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Article |
Hydration solids
A study shows that water can control macroscopic properties of biological materials through the hydration force, giving rise to a distinct class of solid matter with unusual properties.
- Steven G. Harrellson
- , Michael S. DeLay
- & Ozgur Sahin
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News & Views |
Cocktails of tags enhance resolution of microscopy technique
A limit on the resolution of optical-microscopy techniques has been broken by using a mixture of tags to label copies of target molecules in a sample, opening the way to better views of molecular organization in cells.
- Alistair Curd
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Article
| Open AccessÅngström-resolution fluorescence microscopy
The authors introduce a single-molecule DNA-barcoding method, resolution enhancement by sequential imaging, that improves the resolution of fluorescence microscopy down to the Ångström scale using off-the-shelf fluorescence microscopy hardware and reagents.
- Susanne C. M. Reinhardt
- , Luciano A. Masullo
- & Ralf Jungmann
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Article
| Open AccessStructural basis of NINJ1-mediated plasma membrane rupture in cell death
Structural, biochemical and mutagenesis studies indicate that, in dying cells, the membrane protein NINJ1 assembles into filaments, disrupting the cell membrane.
- Morris Degen
- , José Carlos Santos
- & Sebastian Hiller
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News |
Comb jellies’ unique fused neurons challenge evolution ideas
Fused neurons suggest ctenophores’ nervous system evolved independently of that in other animals.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News |
‘Democracy in microscopy’: cheap light microscope delivers super-resolution images
Technique pushes the instruments to beat the resolving power of multi-million-dollar machines.
- Ewen Callaway
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Article
| Open AccessTwo-dimensional ferroelectricity in a single-element bismuth monolayer
A single-element ferroelectric state is observed in a black phosphorus-like bismuth layer, in which the ordered charge transfer and the regular atom distortion between sublattices happen simultaneously and ferroelectric switching is further visualized experimentally.
- Jian Gou
- , Hua Bai
- & Andrew Thye Shen Wee
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Nature Podcast |
A twisting microscope that could unlock the secrets of 2D materials
How the Quantum Twisting Microscope could give a better ‘picture’ of atom thin layers, and science in Ukraine a year into Russia’s invasion.
- Shamini Bundell
- & Benjamin Thompson
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Article |
The quantum twisting microscope
A quantum twisting microscope based on a unique van der Waals tip and capable of performing local interference experiments opens the way for new classes of experiments on quantum materials.
- A. Inbar
- , J. Birkbeck
- & S. Ilani
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Technology Feature |
Smart microscopes spot fleeting biology
Automated microscopes that adapt to each sample’s quirks can capture elusive biological phenomena at high resolution.
- Jyoti Madhusoodanan
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Technology Feature |
Thumb-sized microscope captures images deep inside the brains of active animals
After years of development, researchers have managed to shrink two-photon microscopy into a device that can be mounted on rodents’ heads without impeding behaviour.
- Esther Landhuis
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Technology Feature |
Five ways deep learning has transformed image analysis
From connectomics to behavioural biology, artificial intelligence is making it faster and easier to extract information from images.
- Sandeep Ravindran
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Article |
Dislocation-induced stop-and-go kinetics of interfacial transformations
Environmental transmission electron microscopy is used to reveal that mismatch dislocations modulate the interfacial transformation of copper oxide to copper metal in an intermittent manner.
- Xianhu Sun
- , Dongxiang Wu
- & Guangwen Zhou
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Article |
Atomic imaging of zeolite-confined single molecules by electron microscopy
Using integrated differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy, the atomic imaging of single pyridine and thiophene molecules identifies host–guest interactions in zeolite ZSM-5 and their adsorption and desorption behaviours can be studied.
- Boyuan Shen
- , Huiqiu Wang
- & Fei Wei
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Article
| Open AccessNanoscale imaging of phonon dynamics by electron microscopy
A method for mapping phonon momenta reveals non-equilibrium phonon dynamics at nanoscale interfaces enabling study of actual nanodevices and aiding understanding of heat dissipation near nanoscale hotspots.
- Chaitanya A. Gadre
- , Xingxu Yan
- & Xiaoqing Pan
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News |
A surprise in the eye: long-lived T cells patrol the cornea
Scientists previously thought that specialized immune cells did not reside in the transparent cornea.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Article |
Metastable hexagonal close-packed palladium hydride in liquid cell TEM
A metastable palladium hydride is synthesized where the unique environment in the liquid cell, namely the limited quantity of Pd precursors and the continuous supply of H, resulted in the formation of the hcp phase.
- Jaeyoung Hong
- , Jee-Hwan Bae
- & Dong Won Chun
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Article |
Real-space visualization of intrinsic magnetic fields of an antiferromagnet
Real-space visualization of the magnetic fields in antiferromagnetic haematite is achieved using atomic-resolution differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy in a magnetic-field-free environment.
- Yuji Kohno
- , Takehito Seki
- & Naoya Shibata
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Article
| Open AccessEmergent interface vibrational structure of oxide superlattices
The vibrational states emerging at the interface in oxide superlattices are characterized theoretically and at atomic resolution, showing the impact of material length scales on structure and vibrational response.
- Eric R. Hoglund
- , De-Liang Bao
- & James M. Howe
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long-read: The secret lives of cells — as never seen before
Imaging techniques are revealing unprecedented details about the inner workings of cells.
- Diana Kwon
- & Benjamin Thompson
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News & Views |
Low-power light modifies electron microscopy
An optical device designed to control the properties of electron waves inside an electron microscope demonstrates that clever platforms for integrated photonics need not be powered by expensive laser systems.
- Martin Kozák
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Technology Feature |
Embryo-like models shed fresh light on early human development
A wave of stem-cell systems are enabling researchers to unpick what happens after an embryo implants in the uterus.
- Sandeep Ravindran
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Technology Feature |
Python power-up: new image tool visualizes complex data
The image viewing and analysis software napari has filled a gap in the programming language’s scientific ecosystem.
- Jeffrey M. Perkel
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Article |
Multiview confocal super-resolution microscopy
A combination of multiview imaging, structured illumination, reconstruction algorithms and deep-learning predictions realizes spatial- and temporal-resolution improvements in fluorescence microscopy to produce super-resolution images from diffraction-limited input images.
- Yicong Wu
- , Xiaofei Han
- & Hari Shroff
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Article |
Measuring phonon dispersion at an interface
Four-dimensional electron energy-loss spectroscopy measurements of the vibrational spectra and the phonon dispersion at a heterointerface show localized modes that are predicted to affect the thermal conductance and electron mobility.
- Ruishi Qi
- , Ruochen Shi
- & Peng Gao
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News Feature |
The secret lives of cells — as never seen before
Cutting-edge microscopy techniques are allowing researchers to spy on the innards of cells in all their crowded glory.
- Diana Kwon
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News & Views |
Nanometre-scale imaging and AI reveal the interior of whole cells
Efforts to generate nanoscale-resolution images of cell interiors have gained ground through the development and refinement of a microscopy method. The data sets are publicly available as resources for further discoveries.
- Jason R. Swedlow
- & Lucy Collinson
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Nature Video |
Cancer in 'nanocolour': a new type of microscope slide
New technology helps pathologist quickly diagnose cancers without the need for staining
- Sara Reardon
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Article |
Imaging two-dimensional generalized Wigner crystals
So far, only indirect evidence of Wigner crystals has been reported, but a specially designed scanning tunnelling microscope is used here to directly image them in a moiré heterostructure.
- Hongyuan Li
- , Shaowei Li
- & Feng Wang
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Article
| Open AccessRecA finds homologous DNA by reduced dimensionality search
Observations of rapid repair of double-stranded DNA breaks in sister choromosomes in Escherichia coli are consistent with a reduced-dimensionality-search model of RecA-mediated repair.
- Jakub Wiktor
- , Arvid H. Gynnå
- & Johan Elf
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News & Views |
A microscopy technique that images single reaction events in total darkness
Single photons emitted from individual electrochemically excited molecules in solution can now be detected. The technique can be used to image cells at nanometre resolution, without using an external light source.
- Frédéric Kanoufi
- & Neso Sojic
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Article |
Direct imaging of single-molecule electrochemical reactions in solution
Optical imaging of single-molecule electrochemical reactions in aqueous solution enables super-resolution electrochemiluminescence microscopy, which can be used to monitor the adhesion dynamics of live cells with high spatiotemporal resolution.
- Jinrun Dong
- , Yuxian Lu
- & Jiandong Feng
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Technology Feature |
The hunt for red fluorescent proteins
By pushing fluorescent proteins further into the red, bioengineers are expanding the palette and penetration depth of biological imaging.
- Amber Dance
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Article |
Operando optical tracking of single-particle ion dynamics in batteries
The dynamics of ions within a working lithium-ion battery are examined using optical interferometric scattering microscopy, which allows ion transport to be related to phase transitions and microstructural features.
- Alice J. Merryweather
- , Christoph Schnedermann
- & Akshay Rao
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Technology Feature |
Five trendy technologies: where are they now?
A look at notable research tools and projects that have rocketed to prominence reveals some common routes to success.
- Jyoti Madhusoodanan
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Article |
Localization atomic force microscopy
A localization algorithm is applied to datasets obtained with conventional and high-speed atomic force microscopy to increase image resolution beyond the limits set by the radius of the tip used.
- George R. Heath
- , Ekaterina Kots
- & Simon Scheuring
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