10x Genomics Blog

From COVID-19 to cardiogenesis, we’re highlighting some of our favorite articles from last year. Rediscover our top blog posts of 2020. 

Single cell insights into the immunogenic response to the seasonal flu vaccine are pointing researchers to more effective vaccine formulations. Follow the path of a flu vaccine and explore recent findings that suggest robust, naïve B-cell responses in lymphoid germinal centers are the key to producing a more diverse antibody repertoire against circulating and emerging influenza virus strains.

The future of biology is spatial. Named Method of the Year 2020 by Nature Methods, spatially resolved transcriptomics has become the latest frontier for leading-edge research, allowing scientists to both measure the gene activity in a tissue sample and map where it occurs.

Single cell analysis tools have given us powerful insights into the vast heterogeneity and functional diversity of the most fundamental units of biology. But, as the classic parable of the blind men and the elephant depicts, complex systems often cannot be resolved by a single parameter. This fact has driven the technological innovations of generations of scientists looking for a better way to access more of the complex parameters that define cellular identity. With each advancement, cytometry—the measurement of the characteristics of cells—has taken a number of evolving forms. From cell counters, to cell sizers, to cell sorters, to cell profilers, each new form has built on its predecessor, culminating in the cytometric methods we know today.

What does the next frontier of cytometry look like and how will it continue to build on the innovations of the past? In the following sections, explore a brief history of cytometry, compare and contrast methods, and learn more about the next evolution of the technique, Multiomic Cytometry. With this tool, scientists can access multiomic profiles of thousands of single cells, including the abundance of hundreds of cell surface proteins and whole transcriptome gene expression.

Pfizer’s recent announcement of the conclusion of their Phase 3 study of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate and, now, emerging regulatory authorizations that may enable distribution of the vaccine to healthcare workers and at-risk populations, has left many of us feeling hopeful. This news, along with Moderna’s pending vaccine approval, comes like a glimmer of light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. But the path to a vaccine has been marked by other bright spots—fundamental research that has contributed to our holistic knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms, the cellular and molecular basis of disease severity, and the complex immune responses to infection and therapeutic intervention. Together, these insights have laid the foundation of our understanding of COVID-19, upon which increasingly safe and effective vaccines can be developed.

As 2020 comes to a close, we want to look back at some of these fundamental discoveries and honor the global collaboration and immense scientific effort behind them. Review three key publications in the sections below to learn how single cell immune profiling technology from 10x Genomics accelerated crucial insights into COVID-19 and the host immune response, representing transformative approaches in how we study and understand infectious disease. For more research stories, visit our COVID-19 resources page →

Even though it’s been a challenging year, we at 10x Genomics are proud of and inspired by all the great research that’s been carried on or initiated in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we’re proud—and humbled—to present a handful of some of the most inspiring research published this year using 10x Genomics single cell technologies.

In this blog post, we round up some of the most intriguing published research that makes use of 10x Genomics single cell technologies, ranging from neuroscience to oncology and immunology. Let’s take a look back at the discoveries made this year and how leading scientists, with the help of 10x Genomics single cell tools, are advancing our knowledge of biology across human health and disease.

Find out how you can get the most out of your Chromium Single Cell Multiome ATAC + Gene Expression experiments as 10x-perts answer key questions about sample prep optimization for multiomic studies. And watch our webinar on the topic, now available on-demand as part of our comprehensive single cell multiomics webinar series.

Our understanding of the underlying genetic dysregulation contributing to neurodegenerative diseases is still evolving. The task is made more complex when the putative genetic errors driving disease are in noncoding sequences of the genome. Researchers from Stanford University are now using single cell ATAC-seq to search through these mysterious sequences and learn how the regulatory elements they contain contribute to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers are resolving tumor heterogeneity and the influence of morphological context on cancer progression with the enhanced pathological insights provided by Visium Spatial solutions. Explore a study of human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer with Dr. Joseph Powell, Associate Professor at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in our AMP 2020 Workshop, now available on-demand.

Our quest to resolve the complexity of the immune system and its orchestration of the immunological response to infections, cancer, and other pathologies is a challenge that our lives depend on. Single cell RNA-sequencing technologies are driving important advances in our understanding of innate and adaptive immunity. However, scaling single cell approaches can stretch laboratory resources, and the increase in sample processing can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. At a time when staggered laboratory shifts and shortages feel like the new normal, speed and precision are more important than ever. Additionally, the need for consistency and reproducibility across multiple experiments, users, and sites is critical to maintain longitudinal or global studies.

The solution? Automation.