In this issue's Emerging Area, Mark Dillingham (University of Bristol) and Mark Wallace (University of Oxford) describe recent advances in single molecule methods, in particular focussing on the scope of available experiments and the limitations of both fluorescent labels and the means to achieve protein modification for single molecule microscopy. 

As featured on the front cover (below), Ed Skibo and colleagues (Arizona State University, US) report the synthesis and evaluation for cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of analogues of wakayin, a natural product from the ascidian Clavelina. 

In this issue's hot article, Mark Wood (University of Exeter, UK) and colleagues describe the first systematic studies into the effectiveness of deuterium as a "protecting group" for carbon-hydrogen bonds in synthetically important radical reactions that involve hydrogen atom transfer.