Editorials in 2018

Neuronal imaging in unrestrained animals has expanded the range of behaviors amenable to circuit-level studies in several model organisms.

It’s hard to say goodbye.

Two community challenges assess the correctness of cryo-EM structures; future challenges should help determine the most appropriate structure validation methods.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative is currently in its fifth year. We reflect on its impact on methods development at a time when the program’s future direction is under discussion.

As microscopy methods for studying biology in living samples advance and demand for them grows, assessment of light damage caused by imaging becomes increasingly important.

Nature Methods is one of several Nature journals undertaking a trial with Code Ocean, a cloud-based reproducibility platform, to make it easier to peer review computational code.

Paid crowdsourcing is coming to biology. This powerful approach will support research, though it could also promote unjust conditions for some workers.

The global expansion of Western universities is not without challenges but can provide manifold opportunities, particularly in the Middle East.

We encourage our readers to consider whether principles of measurement science could have a role to play in their own disciplines.

The Human Cell Atlas, driven by a collaborative spirit and rapid advances in single-cell methods, is poised to advance both biological understanding and technical development.

There was insufficient data to support the claim of unexpected off-target effects due to CRISPR in a paper published in Nature Methods. More work is needed to determine whether such events occur in vivo.

Epigenome reference data are continually being enriched—researchers should explore them, even if raw data access still presents some hurdles.

Referees provide an invaluable service in advancing science. We offer some food for thought about how to effectively peer review methods papers.

The ability to prod stem cells into three-dimensional tissue models makes for a powerful way to study human biology. But these exciting tools are still works in progress.