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Thermal power plants face growing risks from rising water temperatures and water shortages, which can reduce cooling efficiency and threaten energy security. A study maps these risks globally and finds that factoring them into plant closures could improve reliability while supporting climate goals.

Wastewater-based surveillance tends to focus on specific pathogens. Here, the authors mapped the wastewater virome from 62 cities worldwide to identify over 2,500 viruses, revealing city-specific virome fingerprints and showing that wastewater metagenomics enables early detection of emerging viruses.

IL-17A, a cytokine important for tissue repair, can impair healing when increased, contributing to keratinocyte dysfunction in type 2 diabetic wounds. Here, the authors show that IL-17A drives this dysfunction via JMJD3-mediated epigenetic changes, and that blocking this pathway improves wound healing.

Analyses of liver biopsies from a child with spinal muscular atrophy treated with adeno-associated virus gene therapy who developed hepatitis reveal contaminating manufacturing plasmids and disrupted vector genomes, possibly resulting from recombination events.

Characterizing the genetic architecture underlying egg production is important for chicken breeding. Here, the authors integrate RNA and whole-genome sequencing data to better understand the genetic regulation of egg production in chickens.

Unlike other halogen atoms, the ability for fluorine to exist in a [C–X–C]⁺ connectivity pattern has only been shown in spectroscopic studies. Here the authors present a single crystal structure of a fluoronium cation, characterized by X-ray diffraction.

The emergence of tumour adaptive radioresistance can limit the success of radiation therapy and immunotherapy in breast cancer. In this study, the authors demonstrate that CD47 and HER2 are coordinating in tumor response to radiation and that co-blockage of both receptors can eliminate radiorestistant breast cancer cells.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Whether multimorbidity accelerates brain Aβ deposition in humans remains largely unknown. Here, the authors demonstrate that higher self-reported multimorbidity burden predicts increased brain Aβ accumulation rates in the ADNI cohort.

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.

Here the authors provide an explanation for 95% of examined predicted loss of function variants found in disease-associated haploinsufficient genes in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD), underscoring the power of the presented analysis to minimize false assignments of disease risk.

Staphylococcus epidermidis induces a potent, durable and specific antibody response that is conserved in humans and non-human primates, and which could be redirected against pathogens as a new form of topical vaccination.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Many tumours exhibit hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypoxic tumours often respond poorly to therapy. Here, the authors quantify hypoxia in 1188 tumours from 27 cancer types, showing elevated hypoxia links to increased mutational load, directing evolutionary trajectories.

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.

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.

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.

The genetic susceptibility to breast cancer remains understudied in non-European populations. Here, the authors analyse pathogenic variants associated with breast cancer susceptibility in Hispanic/Latina women using genomics, and find that loss of function variants in FANCM are strongly associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk.

This study shows that RWT4, a wheat tandem kinase, confers resistance to the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae by directly binding to the pathogen effector AvrPWT4 and activating host defense.

Insulin signaling pathway is critical for glucose homeostasis maintenance. Here, the authors identify a role for DNAJA2 in regulating insulin signaling and glucose metabolism, loss of which causes insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes phenotypes.

Thermal transistors can enable game changing applications in energy harvesting and heat routing. Here, the authors demonstrate reversible thermal modulation of nearly 10 times by ion intercalation in MoS₂ nanofilms. A new thermal microscopy technique allows operando imaging of Li ion segregation.

Molecular mechanisms by which glucose modulates L-type Ca²⁺ channel activity and vascular reactivity are unclear. Here the authors report a nanocomplex orchestrated by AKAP5 that facilitates local purinergic stimulation of L-type Ca²⁺ channels and vasoconstriction during diabetic hyperglycemia.

Thermal power generation faces risks from rising water temperatures and scarcity, worsened by decarbonization efforts that prioritize the retirement of lower-risk units. To reconcile energy security and climate goals, policymakers should factor hydroclimatic risks into power plant retirement and energy transition planning.

Glycans regulate cells via glycosylation, and aberrant glycosylation is linked to disease initiation and progression. Here, the authors present GlycanDIA, a DIA-based workflow enabling sensitive, precise glycan analysis, revealing low-abundant modifications and profiling distinct RNA glycan patterns with biological relevance.

Leaf rust threatens wheat production worldwide. Here, the authors report a high-quality genome assembly of the leaf rust resistant durum wheat landrace PI 192051 and the cloning of the leaf rust resistance gene Lr.ace-4A/Lr30.

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.

Analysis of samples from the asteroid Ryugu provide evidence of late fluid flow in a carbonaceous asteroid, indicating that such bodies may have retained two to three times more water than previously thought.

Livestock play a role in maintaining antibiotic resistance reservoirs. Here, Liu et al. use metagenomics to study the dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the gut of dairy cattle during early life, showing that colostrum is a potential source of ARGs and ARG abundance declines during nursing covarying with dietary transition.

Transcriptomic profiling of human skin serially sampled from wound margin during long surgeries reveals tissue damage and inflammation-related gene signatures relevant to human post-operative wound recovery and postoperative pain.

A sunlight-activated chemical spray increases wheat yield in field trials across rainfall conditions.

Volume EM provides connectomic data but lacks necessary molecular information. Here, authors show fluorescent scFvs enable multiplexed immunolabeling and correlated light and electron microscopy, suggesting potential for molecularly annotated connectomic data.