  Rare isotopes are most often studied through nuclear reactions. Nuclear
reactions can be used to obtain detailed structure information but also in
connection to astrophysics to determine specific capture rates. In order to
extract the desired information it is crucial to have a reliable framework that
describes the reaction process accurately. A few recent developments for
transfer and breakup reactions will be presented. These include recent studies
on the reliability of existing theories as well as effort to reduce the
ambiguities in the predicted observables.
