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Sustainable catalysts based on main-group elements, such as frustrated Lewis pairs, have emerged as alternatives to precious metal systems. Here the authors show that the charge-transfer band between P(mes)₃ and B(C₆F₅)₃ can be analyzed by supramolecular UV-vis spectroscopic techniques to provide the key thermodynamic parameter for the active encounter complex.

Treatment-seeking for fever is widely used to estimate treatment of childhood infections, but cross-country comparisons are problematic. Here, the authors estimate the probability of seeking treatment for fever at public facilities across 29 countries by quantifying person-level latent variables.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

Fluorochemicals are obtained directly from fluorspar activated in water at low temperature, without the requirement to manufacture hydrogen fluoride, a toxic and hazardous gas that is central to the current industrial process.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Yamazoe et al. show that B cell-derived autoantibodies contribute to the development of atrial fibrillation, suggesting that targeting the humoral immune response may represent a viable therapeutic approach.

As presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2025: In patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumours, including mesothelioma, treatment with a first-in-class inhibitor of the Hippo−YAP−TEAD pathway was safe and led to encouraging clinical response rates in patients with mesothelioma.

All-carbon quaternary stereocenters are an important synthetic motif but are especially difficult to synthesize enantioselectively. Here, the authors demonstrate the organocatalytic regio- and enantioselective synthesis of valuable acyclic 1,4-dicarbonyl products with vinylated and arylated quaternary centers.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

The authors report a meta-analysis of methylome-wide association studies, identifying 15 significant CpG sites linked to major depression, revealing associations with inflammatory markers and suggesting potential causal relationships through Mendelian randomization analysis.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses are causing a multistate outbreak in dairy cows. In this study, the authors report that recent H5N1 viruses have acquired a single mutation that increases their receptor binding range, which may result in increased host range of H5N1.

Post-translational site-selective formation of boronoalanine in proteins enables applications of boron for binding partner capture, footprinting of interactions with reactive oxygen species, proteolytic control and mapping of transient structures.

Light-driven approaches could lower the carbon footprint of chemical production. Here the authors use the perovskite oxide LaMn_1−xCu_xO₃ as a photocatalyst to convert ethane to ethylene and hydrogen.

Froths and foams are complex structures, particularly those that disappear irreversibly. Superconducting froth, however, can be reversibly controlled by several external parameters, so it may help quantify froth dynamics across different systems.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

A study showing high-quality container-based sanitation servicing improves the sanitation-related quality of life in informal settlements across Kenya, Peru and South Africa.

The authors present SVclone, a computational method for inferring the cancer cell fraction of structural variants from whole-genome sequencing data.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

The development of methodology to convert biomass into fuels and chemical feedstocks is part of a drive to reduce the world's dependence on crude oil. Here, the catalytic defunctionalization of a series of biomass-derived molecules is described, which allows the selective generation of alkanes with carbon chain lengths between eight and sixteen for use as transportation fuels.

Increased effectiveness of anti-cancer chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy is associated with a stem-like phenotype through increased expression of FOXO1.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

There’s an emerging body of evidence to show how biological sex impacts cancer incidence, treatment and underlying biology. Here, using a large pan-cancer dataset, the authors further highlight how sex differences shape the cancer genome.

In somatic cells the mechanisms maintaining the chromosome ends are normally inactivated; however, cancer cells can re-activate these pathways to support continuous growth. Here, the authors characterize the telomeric landscapes across tumour types and identify genomic alterations associated with different telomere maintenance mechanisms.

Whole-genome sequencing data from more than 2,500 cancers of 38 tumour types reveal 16 signatures that can be used to classify somatic structural variants, highlighting the diversity of genomic rearrangements in cancer.

A pan-cancer genomic analysis reports the effects of structural variations on chromatin domains (TADs). Most TAD disruptions do not result in appreciable changes in expression of nearby genes.

Some cancer patients first present with metastases where the location of the primary is unidentified; these are difficult to treat. In this study, using machine learning, the authors develop a method to determine the tissue of origin of a cancer based on whole sequencing data.

Here the authors present a method to transform polygenic scores into disorder probabilities using only GWAS summary statistics, genotype data and a prior - no tuning sample is needed. The method enables individualized, well-calibrated predictions.

Species’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. Here, the authors find that dominant tree species are taller and have softer wood compared to rare species and that these trait differences are more strongly associated with temperature than water availability.

Analysis of cancer genome sequencing data has enabled the discovery of driver mutations. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium the authors present DriverPower, a software package that identifies coding and non-coding driver mutations within cancer whole genomes via consideration of mutational burden and functional impact evidence.

Understanding deregulation of biological pathways in cancer can provide insight into disease etiology and potential therapies. Here, as part of the PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) consortium, the authors present pathway and network analysis of 2583 whole cancer genomes from 27 tumour types.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

Whole-genome sequencing data for 2,778 cancer samples from 2,658 unique donors across 38 cancer types is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cancer, revealing that driver mutations can precede diagnosis by several years to decades.

The characterization of 4,645 whole-genome and 19,184 exome sequences, covering most types of cancer, identifies 81 single-base substitution, doublet-base substitution and small-insertion-and-deletion mutational signatures, providing a systematic overview of the mutational processes that contribute to cancer development.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

Cancers evolve as they progress under differing selective pressures. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, the authors present the method TrackSig the estimates evolutionary trajectories of somatic mutational processes from single bulk tumour data.