Reviews & Analysis

Platelets delivering the immunotherapeutic antibody anti-PD-L1 to the site of surgically removed tumours reduce cancer recurrence and metastatic spread in mice.

Stimulated Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning generates histological images for the rapid diagnosis and classification of brain tumours.

A new endoscope provides high-resolution structural and biochemical videos of human atherosclerotic plaques.

A re-engineered haemoglobin-like protein protects mice poisoned with the lethal gas carbon monoxide.

Deep learning implemented in a collaborative cloud-based platform empowers ophthalmologists in the diagnosis of congenital cataracts.

Decoding the firing of individual spinal motor neurons enables the offline control of prosthetic limbs.

Drawing from recent successes in cancer immunotherapy, this Perspective discusses that effective cancer-nanomedicine therapies can be designed to prime antitumour immunity far from the site of disease.

A chemically defined protocol requiring no animal-derived components allows for the easier derivation and enduring expansion of epicardial cells from human pluripotent stem cells.

A 20 cent centrifuge made of paper and string and operated by hand can separate plasma from blood in about 90 seconds.

Conjugation of a diabetes drug with a brush polymer reduces the reactivity of the drug conjugate towards pre-existing polymer antibodies in human plasma and improves the drug's performance in diabetic mice.

Solid stress within tumours can be quantified by measuring their deformation after cutting, slicing or taking a needle biopsy of them.

Intravital microscopy reveals how giant cells and neovascularization drive the fibrotic encapsulation of biomaterials implanted in live animals.

A self-adjusting synthetic gene circuit senses and reverses insulin resistance in animal models of diabetes and obesity.

Nanoprobes that fluoresce only when activated by the acidic environment in tumours may make a universal imaging agent for cancer surgery.

This Review covers recent progress on near-infrared fluorescence imaging for preclinical animal studies and clinical diagnostics and interventions.

This Review provides a broad account of the applications of light in imaging, diagnosis, therapy and surgery, and discusses the promise of emerging light-based technologies.