A conversation about neuroscience
Nature research journal editors speak with Eric Nestler and Robert Greene about neurobiology and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2017 annual meeting. Read more
A celebration of cryo-EM
Here at Nature Methods, we were quite excited yesterday to wake up to the news that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry had been awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson for their seminal developments in cryo-electron microscopy (better known as cryo-EM) which now enable high-resolution biomolecule structure determination. This is a technique we have been watching closely since 2013, when the first papers (including one of our own) realizing the capability of near-atomic-resolution structure determination with cryo-EM were published. Read more
Building OpenSPIM systems
Tuning reagents, software, or equipment is all in a day’s work in the lab. Building instruments from scratch, however, is a task more typical for physicists who might 3D print or machine the parts they need and then assemble them into the instrument they want. They might construct an instrument for a specific experiment or develop a design that helps hundreds of labs. That model could go on to be modified and hacked in a variety of ways. Read more
Technology development at the heart of ‘big neuroscience’
European and US initiatives aiming to advance our understanding of brain function depend on new technologies. … Read more
The potential and perils of trying new methods
The remit of Nature Methods has always been to publish new or improved methods that will have an immediate practical impact on researchers working at the bench. But unfortunately, ‘new’ methods aren’t always ready for primetime, and the more novel the method the more likely it is that all the kinks aren’t yet worked out. Read more
Head-to-head comparisons of methods and tools
Choosing the best tool or method for a particular experiment can be a daunting task. Finding the right choice can mean much time and many resources and an improper one can lead to poor or inaccurate results. Read more
Where’s your ground truth?
When using or developing experimental and observational methods it is crucial to assess the method performance in an effort to ensure that the information it provides reflects reality. For experimental biologists this often means conducting carefully chosen control experiments with alternative methods or different experimental settings. More rigorous assessment, particularly for high-throughput or large-scale methods, often requires the use of ‘ground truth’ or ‘gold standard’ data sets. But talk to different people and you will get different answers regarding what ‘ground truth’ or ‘gold standard’ data is. This often includes a nice historical explanation of where the term ‘ground truth’ comes from. Read more
Academic inventions
Over the past 30 years the ties between academic research and commercial enterprise have increased enormously. Much of this increase has involved attempts by universities to capitalize on the intellectual property created by their research scientists using the US patent system. The Editorial in the October issue of Nature Methods discusses this change and the challenges facing academics interested in commercializing their innovations. Read more
Building a better mouse test
September’s Editorial praises the new research that more genetic rodent models will enable. However, manipulating important genes in a mouse is not enough. Experimental techniques are also needed. Perhaps nowhere is this more important—and more difficult—than using animals to assess neuropsychiatric diseases. While much can be learned on the level of brain and cell physiology, behavioral tests are important to assess which aspects of physiology are most likely to matter. It’s the behavioral symptoms, not the cell-based ones, that directly affect people’s lives. How useful would a drug be if it cleared away the telltale plaques of Alzheimer’s patients but did nothing to preserve their memories? Read more
Efficiency through analysis
The May Editorial in Nature Methods discusses how the overall efficiency of research can be improved by comparative analysis of research method and tool performance. Read more
