Through exposure to internal and environmental stresses, cells are continuously at risk of accumulating molecular damage that could impair their functions. Thus, they have evolved protective quality control systems to either prevent errors from occurring, or, if damage has occurred, to detect abnormal macromolecules and initiate their repair or degradation.

The use of a planar sheet of light for illumination in fluorescence microscopy allows researchers to image sample Vol.s faster than possible with other current methods, while limiting light dosage. This collection of articles provides a brief overview of this exciting methodology and the biological research applications that it makes possible.

Cells rapidly adapt to changing nutrient availability, alter their metabolism to meet their changing needs and integrate this information about their metabolic state to drive cellular behaviour. Unprecedented insights are being gained into the molecular basis of how metabolic pathways interface with cell biological processes and how this can be disrupted in metabolic disorders.

During development, differentiated cells in a tissue reorganize to allow an organ to take its shape and position in the body. For these intricate tissue movements to arise, individual cells must integrate multiple signalling events and mechanical cues from their environment to change their behaviour. A better appreciation of morphogenetic control is crucial for understanding tissue homeostasis and disease.

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biologywas launched 10 years ago, in October 2000. To mark this occasion, we have commissioned a special Series of articles that revisits key topics that were of particular interest at that time and highlights the conceptual advances made in the past decade.

Nature Structural & Molecular BiologyandNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biologyhave teamed up to present an in-depth joint Focus on Signal Integration, with specially commissioned Reviews in each journal. These articles consider some of the key approaches used to study signaling networks, and discuss how various signals are integrated in different cellular contexts.

The integrity of the genome is crucial for tumour suppression and for the propagation of genomic information to subsequent generations. DNA damage can result from cellular metabolism, exogenous genotoxic agents or routine errors in DNA replication and recombination. Cells have evolved mechanisms to maintain genome integrity.

Eukaryotic cells use motor proteins that move along cytoskeletal polymers to transport various intracellular cargos, including membranous organelles, protein complexes and mRNAs. In this article series, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biologywill highlight the progress made in understanding the function and regulation of different types of cytoskeletal motors.

Endocytic membrane trafficking involves the cellular internalization and sorting of extracellular molecules, plasma membrane proteins and lipids. Endocytosis is required for a vast number of functions, including nutrient uptake, cell adhesion and migration, receptor signalling, pathogen entry and cell polarity.

The articles in this series will focus on recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the mechanisms that govern the dynamic structural and spatial organization of chromatin, thereby providing important insights into gene regulation, DNA repair, development and epigenetic inheritance.

Cellular responses to mechanical forces drive morphogenesis, regulate normal physiology and contribute to pathogenesis of diverse diseases, from loss of hearing to muscular dystrophy and cancer.

Milestones in Cytoskeleton, presented by Nature, Nature Cell Biology and Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, celebrates ground-breaking advances in cytoskeleton research over the past 60 years — from the discovery of actomyosin filaments in muscle to the identification of molecular motors, and from fluorescence analogue cytochemistry and differential interference contrast microscopy to single-molecule assays.