Research Highlights in 2013

Applying tiny forces to single molecules at high speed reveals the mechanics behind molecule unfolding.

Two groups use nanopore sequencing through a protein pore to detect methylcytosine and hydroxymethylcytosine.

Electron diffraction using three-dimensional (3D) crystals may expand the reach of this technique.

Chromosome conformation capture data provide scaffolds for de novo genome assemblies.

Genome-wide, in vivo RNA structure probing helps reveal how RNA structure regulates gene expression.

Long-read sequencing uncovers transcript features missed by short-read methods.

An imaging strategy based on telecommunications technology dramatically accelerates fluorescence microscopy.

Researchers define conditions in which human stem cells can be maintained in the ground state of pluripotency.

GFP targeted to satellite repeats via transcription activator–like effectors (TALEs) allows the imaging of nuclear dynamics early in mouse development.

Laser-guided assembly of protein microscaffolds lets researchers construct multispecies cellular communities.

A genetically encoded sensor of ATP:ADP ratio reveals the energy status of living mammalian cells.

Chromatin interaction dynamics are quantified using a modified ChIP method that measures cross-linking kinetics.

Bacteria's ability to withstand broad genomic editing offers a potential route toward more robust and useful genetically modified organisms.

Researchers define rational design principles to make a small-molecule ligand-binding protein from scratch.

Single-cell modeling of chromosomal organization could help scientists untangle how genomic organization informs function and vice versa.

Genes that restore pluripotency to mature mouse cells can initiate similar reprogramming in more distantly related species.

The removal or knockdown of an epigenetic repressor, Mbd3, results in near-complete reprogramming of mouse and human somatic cells to pluripotency.

Transcription activator–like effectors (TALEs) fused to enzymes that change chromatin signatures interrogate the role of enhancers in gene expression.

Measuring DNA methylation at specific sites in single cells sheds light on early embryo development.

An automated training regimen coaches rats to willingly submit themselves to repeated brain imaging.