The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
A literature survey shows “spatial niche” in spatial omics most often denotes three distinct concepts—proximity neighborhoods, computational spatial domains, or biologically grounded ecosystems.
- Why it matters: Inconsistent definitions blur how results should be interpreted and how analyses should be matched to biological questions, motivating a clearer shared vocabulary and workflow.
- What they did: The authors categorize prior studies into the three concepts and map two analytical roles: niches as spot-level covariates versus spot clusters for within- and between-niche molecular comparisons.
- The result: They recommend reserving “niche” for biological ecosystems and using “spatial neighborhood” and “spatial domain” for computational constructs, alongside a decision framework to align definitions with aims.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.