Research Highlights in 2010

Array tomography opens the door to the large-scale exploration of molecular diversity of individual brain synapses.

RNA molecules can both induce pluripotency and direct differentiation.

A predictive model of intercellular metabolic interactions in the human brain is reported.

Three groups achieve room-temperature, single-molecule detection of nonfluorescent, photon-absorbing compounds.

A team of researchers applied a 'discovery single-particle profiling' experimental strategy to visualize the assembly of the ribosome via time-resolved electron microscopy.

Small conditional RNAs prove their mettle in multiplexed mRNA imaging and show promise as potential cancer therapeutics.

A DNA walker–based system enables ordered, multistep synthesis of a peptide in a single solution.

Gene expression profiles identify chromosomal aberrations in human induced pluripotent stem cell lines.

New dyes emit near-infrared chemiluminescence when warmed to body temperature, allowing deep-tissue imaging in mice.

A specialized supercomputer allows molecular dynamics simulations to be carried out for much longer periods of time than previously possible, yielding new insights into protein folding and dynamics.

Some long noncoding RNAs act as enhancers for genes in their vicinity.

Using a virtual reality setup and a deep window into the brain, researchers can image the activity of neurons as mice navigate virtual environments.

Tools to drive restricted gene expression in the brain.

A new study reports the first viable rat-mouse chimeras and uses rat induced pluripotent stem cells to rescue organ deficiency in mice.

The self-reconstructing properties of Bessel beams provide healing benefits in highly scattering media.

The integration of quantitative proteomics and analysis by machine learning yields a refined list of proteins involved in chromosome function.

Researchers determined the excited-state structure of a small protein using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.