Artistic impression of genetically encoded reporters for electron microscopy. Sigmund et al. combine heavy metal binders with proteins self-assembling into spherical shapes to generate six different concentric barcodes.

See Sigmund et al.

Machine learning models for T cell dynamics: Kirouac et al. encode knowledge about T cell biology through mathematics and use computer simulations to explore the mechanisms underlying clinical observations and biomolecular data.

See Kirouac et al.

Inhalation of RNA-lipid nanoparticles: Li et al. developed lipid nanoparticles for the pulmonary delivery of RNA-based gene editors, paving the way for treating inherited lung diseases through direct inhalation of gene therapies.

See Li et al.

Massively parallel knock-in engineering of primary human T cells with an AAV library. Dai et al. screen a large pool of differentially mutated CAR-T cells for genetic perturbations that enhance function.

See Dai et al.

Artist’s impression of a protein translocating through a nanopore. Yu et al. identify conditions that allow complete proteins to translocate through a nanopore when driven by an electroosmotic effect.

See Yu et al.

Artistic impression of cells generating sound waves as a result of producing gas vesicles. Hurt et al. identify acoustic reporter genes that produce gas vesicles with strong non-linear ultrasound contrast.

See Hurt et al.

Micrograph of the mouse hindbrain with total protein content in cyan, lipids in magenta and presynaptic vesicles in yellow. Klimas et al. developed an expansion microscopy technique that retains nucleic acids, proteins and lipids without the need for a separate anchoring step.

See Klimas et al.

Human embryonic kidney cells express a protein-based ticker tape recorder stained with different colored dyes. The ticker tape designs from Lin et al. record single-cell transcriptional histories over time.

See Lin et al.

Artistic rendering of nucleosomes labeled with a reversibly switchable green fluorescent protein and portrayed as spinning tops on a plate. Volpato et al. developed a method that extends fluorescence anisotropy measurements to large protein complexes.

See Volpato et al.

Artistic rendering of a system for noise reduction in super-resolution images. Qiao et al. incorporate prior knowledge of illumination patterns into a deep learning algorithm and apply this method to sustained live cell imaging.

See Qiao et al.

Circular RNA expression is affected by factors such as the placement of specific untranslated region and internal ribosome entry site features. Chen et. al. engineer and optimize synthetic circRNAs to allow robust translation of therapeutic proteins such as human erythropoietin.

See Chen et al.

Rendering of complexes between SARS-CoV-2 and human proteins, with interface mutations highlighted. Zhou et al. and Kim et al. generate protein–protein interaction maps providing insights for potential therapeutic targets.

See Zhou et al. and Kim et al.