Our colleagues over at Nature Methods have kicked off their second ‘Method of the Year Competition’.

Last year the worthy winner was next-generation sequencing. This year you can chip in with what you think should be celebrated.

Leading the pack so far is experimental micro-matchmaking, with three votes.

“In 2007, Nature Methods pointed out the need for large-scale methods to experimentally validate microRNA targets,” says Veronique Kiermer, chief editor of Nature Methods. “There have certainly been a lot of developments recently, including the application of biochemistry, proteomics and sequencing methods to the problem. Has this been enough to make microRNA target validation the Method of the Year 2008?”

As far as I’m concerned, no. The winner should be ‘watching single molecules in cells’, a concept so mind-bogglingly science fiction that the fact it even exists deserves recognition.

“We are not persuaded that there has been enough development in 2008 to make in vivo single molecule measurements a Method of the Year, yet,” says Daniel Evanko, Nature Methods senior editor. “But we would be happy to hear some dissent among you…”

Let him hear from you molecule-measurers!