Reviews & Analysis

Slippery covalently attached liquid surfaces are useful in many applications that require low-static friction to droplets. This review compares six prominent methods for preparing polydimethylsiloxane bound to silica surfaces and highlights pitfalls and time savers.

The complex spatiotemporal signaling of human neural tube development is successfully engineered in a device using microfluidic gradients, creating a high-fidelity model of the developing human central nervous system.

CRISPR screens are widely used to identify essential genes and potential drug targets, but typical setups were designed for the study of highly proliferative cancer cell lines. Now, a protocol, using inducible Cas9, enables screens of non-proliferative cell states including senescence, quiescence and terminal differentiation, thereby expanding the applicability of CRISPR screens.

An expert recommendation is presented for the design and evaluation of research studies using transcranial electrical stimulation, resulting in the selection of a 66-point checklist aimed at improving the quality of transcranial electrical stimulation studies.

Immunomodulation in draining lymph nodes can be studied in a mouse model of metastasis.

Evaluation tools that measure possible damage to the environment and human health are needed to develop greener products, technologies and services. Now, a life cycle assessment protocol introduces a stepwise process for assessing the environmental impact of a variety of products such as automotive tires as well as of infrastructure, healthcare and more.

Life cycle assessment quantifies environmental impacts during the full life cycle of a product or process. This tutorial uses ReCiPe to perform the impact assessment phase, where the magnitude and significance of environmental impacts are evaluated.

We present best practice guidelines for the use of concurrent TMS-fMRI, experimental design, technical requirements and data interpretation, illustrated via 12 use cases.

Nanoparticle pharmacokinetics is affected by the formation of a protein corona in vivo. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics is essential for understanding the corona composition. This Perspective discusses how method reproducibility can be improved.

In this Tutorial, we provide guidelines for the use of ML models to mine genomes and proteomes for the discovery of antimicrobial peptides, discussing the various stages of the ML workflow, recent advances in ML models and how to experimentally validate the computational predictions.

In this Tutorial, the authors provide guidelines for quality control of whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing data for population-scale association analyses. They explain how to filter samples and variants, and compare commonly used software programs for quality control of sequencing data.

CellPhoneDB infers cell–cell communication by integrating single-cell genomics data with a curated database of ligand–receptor interactions. Now, a Protocol Update describes the latest version of the tool including many new features.

Now a protocol enables simultaneous measurement of gene expression and chromatin state in intact tissues, unlocking the relationship between tissue architecture and gene regulation.

Single-cell CRISPR screening is a powerful method for biological discovery. Such screens genetically perturb many genes in parallel and use single-cell RNA sequencing to assess the transcriptomic effects. Now, an in vivo protocol facilitates screens in mouse brain, using adeno-associated virus with transposon-based delivery of the CRISPR guide RNAs.

A protocol for the preparation of crystals for microcrystal electron diffraction provides X-ray crystallographers and cryo-electron microscopists access to a method that facilitates the determination of molecular structures from submicrometer crystals at atomic resolution.

Poorly performing antibodies contribute to the reproducibility crisis in biomedical research. The market offers millions of antibodies and validating them is a cumbersome process. Now, the non-profit Antibody Characterization through Open Science (YCharOS) organization shares a step-by-step protocol for rigorous antibody validation using genetic (knockout) cell line controls.

A recent protocol for PASTE (programmable addition via site-specific targeting elements) combines prime editing and site-specific integrases to integrate large genetic payloads.

Standardized neuroimaging protocols are essential to advancing comparability and replicability. Now, a comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging acquisition and analysis protocol from the Rhineland Study provides a valuable framework for image acquisition and analysis that is suitable for both large- and small-scale neuroimaging studies.

The members of Independent SAGE reflect on their experience in setting up, developing and running a science communication platform and service to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic

This tutorial describes a complete pipeline for structural connectomics, including fundamental aspects of diffusion MRI and its applications for exploring structural connectomics, including fiber tracking and constructing a structural network.