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The Schrödinger impact event carved two canyons on the moon comparable in size to the Grand Canyon of North America. The directions of those canyons imply little debris covers the > 4-billion-year-old units that will be explored by Artemis astronauts.

The age of the Grand Canyon is fervently debated. Thermochronological reconstructions of canyon incision show that although parts of the canyon were carved more than 50 million years ago, two key segments formed less than 6 million years ago, implying that the canyon is a young feature.

This study shows that the Snowflake mutant in clownfish results from altered communication between pigment cells, producing enlarged white bars with jagged edges. It points to cell–cell communication as a driver of color pattern diversity in fishes.

Short HBpep peptides assemble into micron-size coacervates that are efficiently taken up by various cell types and stably retained for days. Nanobodies and bioPROTACs loaded in the coacervates enable interaction with native targets and these hubs can function as a bioreactor for target degradation

A rare grand-design spiral galaxy is identified at redshift greater than 2; the rarity of such galaxies may be partly explained by evidence for perturbation by a merging companion.

Integrating river system and economy-wide models in a dynamic, iterative, bidirectional fashion allows assessing some economic impacts of interventions in river systems. Here the authors use this framework to compare water resources management strategies for the Nile in a quest for efficient use of the river’s limited and stressed water resources.

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not deterministic. Here, the authors show that common genetic variation changes how APOE-ε4 influences cognition.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

The top 20 policy and research priorities for conditions such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Rationally designing new strategies to control the human immune response stands as a key challenge for the scientific community. Chemical biologists have the opportunity to address specific issues in this area that have important implications for both basic science and clinical medicine.

Single iron atoms on nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts are a promising alternative to platinum for the oxygen reduction reaction on fuel cell cathodes, but commonly suffer from low stability. Here an in situ chemical vapour deposition synthetic approach is presented, enabling high iron active site dispersion and reducing surface porosity, which mitigates demetallation and carbon corrosion, ensuring high activity and stability.

Wind power faces numerous challenges as its role in energy systems expands, yet these are often largely seen as purely technical. This Review examines social science research connected to previously identified grand challenges in wind power and explores how a socio-technical lens can lead to improved outcomes for future wind projects.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

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.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

Climate change can alter when and how animals grow, breed, and migrate, but it is unclear whether this allows populations to persist. This global study shows that shifts in seasonal timing are key to helping vertebrate species maintain population growth under global warming.

Global Burden of Disease estimates show that between 1990 and 2023, the prevalence and burden of drug use disorders, inclusive of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use, have been increasing in high-income countries, particularly in the USA.

By assembling the genomes of 22 Fraxinus species and conducting comparisons including further species, the authors identify candidate loci for emerald ash borer resistance that have evolved convergently.

Polymerization-inducing chimeras are a novel bifunctional modality that uses protein symmetry to sequester targets by forming insoluble supramolecular assemblies. This approach overcomes reliance on accessory proteins and differs functionally from conventional inhibitors.

In vivo gene editing hinges on identifying an ideal delivery vehicle from numerous candidates. Here, authors establish the GFP-on mouse model capable of translating successful adenine base editing to a fluorescent readout thus enabling the rapid evaluation of genome editing delivery vehicles.

An annually resolved tree ring radiocarbon record reveals the 11-year solar cycle in the first millennium BCE, improving understanding of past solar activity and enhancing radiocarbon dating accuracy.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide and transcriptome-wide association studies of aortic stenosis identify more than 200 independent risk loci and provide insights into its genetic architecture.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

What do people mean when they say their lives are meaningful? Hicks and colleagues suggest that experiential appreciation, or valuing and appreciating one’s experiences, represents a unique pathway to the subjective feeling that life is meaningful.

Landon, Boland et al. investigate the clinical and molecular impact of a combination of epigenetic modulation and immune checkpoint inhibition in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Serial transcriptomic analyses reveal reshaping of the tumor microenvironment toward a more inflammatory state that may enhance immunotherapy response.

This research investigates the neurobiological factors influencing weight gain, using brain scans from diverse cohorts to develop a predictive model. The findings indicate that BMIgap correlates with psychiatric conditions, suggesting its potential for identifying at-risk individuals and guiding personalized interventions.

Variants in the PSMC5 gene impair proteasome function and cellular homeostasis, altering brain development in children. This study reveals underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to this neurodevelopmental phenotype, and suggests therapeutic leads for neurodevelopmental proteasomopathies.

Here they demonstrate a therapeutic intervention elevating levels of CYP450-derived lipids to control the expansion of intermediate monocytes in tissue and peripheral blood, presenting a first in class therapeutic approach for treating chronic inflammatory disease.

Findings on solar activity in the first millennium CE confirm four Grand Solar Minima and indicate two patterns of weakening-then-strengthening in the Schwabe cycle, providing insights into solar dynamo behavior, according to analysis of Δ14C data from tree rings.

The climate of the northwest Atlantic shifts between phases, shaping ecosystem productivity and fisheries. Tracking these phases can support climate and ecosystem-informed fisheries management.

Trends in global H₂ sources and sinks are analysed from 1990 to 2020, and a comprehensive budget for the decade 2010–2020 is presented.

Despite evidence for an ice-rich outer shell, little water ice has been observed on the surface of Ceres. Lobate morphologies observed on Ceres that are increasingly prevalent towards the dwarf planet’s poles are consistent with ice-rich flows.

RFdiffusion2, an extension of the RFdiffusion framework, builds de novo enzyme active sites using atom-level functional group constraints.

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.

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 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.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.

Structure-forming systems, such as chemical reaction networks, are usually described with the grand-canonical ensemble, but this may be inaccurate for small-sized systems. Here, the authors propose a canonical ensemble approach for closed structure-forming systems, showing its application to physical problems including the self-assembly of soft matter.

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.

The early genetic evolution of uveal melanoma (UM) remains poorly understood. Here, the authors perform genetic profiling of 1140 primary UMs, including 131 small early-stage tumours, finding that most genetic driver aberrations have occurred by the time small tumours are biopsied; in addition, the15-gene expression profile discriminant score can predict the transition from low- to high-risk tumours.

The enteric nervous system integrates microbial cues to regulate gut function. Using an optogenetic gut culture model, authors show lineage- and frequency-specific neuronal control of immune responses and barrier integrity, shaped by gut microbes.

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.

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.

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.

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.