This Review discusses genetic-engineering technologies for the rewiring of signalling networks in mammalian cells, including the recombination of native pathway components, cross-kingdom pathway transplantation and the development of de novo signalling.

This Perspective discusses the need for standards that allow for comparisons of quantitative physiological features in microphysiological systems and humans.

This Review discusses strategies for the design of cell–drug conjugates, the techniques for their preparation, and their translational applications, particularly for the treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases.

This Perspective examines how metal ions modulate the immune system and host–microbiota interactions, and proposes strategies for the development of metal-ion-based immunotherapies.

A point-of-care diagnostic device for the detection of early-stage bladder in urine obviates the need of sample pretreatment and enhances diagnostic accuracy.

The safety and efficacy of ribonucleoproteins for genome editing can be enhanced by formulations of lipid nanoparticles optimized for enhanced stability, delivery efficiency and editing potency of the protein complexes.

The preferential susceptibility of oncolytic viruses to certain antibiotics can be exploited to accelerate the engineering of oncolytic viruses expressing transgenes for immunomodulatory cytokines.

A tumour vaccine leveraging the targeted degradation of antigens isolated from tumour lysates augmented antigen processing and cross-presentation, and inhibited tumour growth, metastasis and recurrence in multiple mouse models of cancers.

Directed chemical evolution can iteratively accelerate the structural optimization of ionizable lipids to improve their delivery activity and biodegradability for applications in lipid nanoparticle-mediated mRNA delivery.

TRPV1 ion channels allow for water flow through them and their activity can be suppressed by downregulating the permeation of cations through the channels via the administration of deuterated water.

More off-the-beaten-track strategies are needed for enhancing the accumulation of drugs at target sites, for improving the drugs’ cell-type specificity and for reducing their off-target toxicity.

Proteins that tag surface receptors for degradation by triggering their endocytosis can be computationally designed so that they do not compete with native receptor ligands for binding.

DNA microbeads loaded with an agonist for Wnt and injected into retinal organoids allow for the spatiotemporal control of gradients of the morphogen to better direct organoid development and maturation.

A biomarker in retinal images identified by a deep-learning algorithm can predict biological age as well as mortality and morbidity.

A water-soluble dye that absorbs blue light strongly makes it easier to turn mice transparent.

Stress-sensitive neural circuitry affects immunity via the gut microbiome.