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How age affect the immune response to malaria is not fully understood. Here, the authors characterise the transcriptome and serum inflammatory cytokines in children and adults in response to malaria, showing that there is an increase of inflammatory chemokine and cellular responses in adults compared to children.

A new version of nanorate DNA sequencing, with an error rate lower than five errors per billion base pairs and compatible with whole-exome and targeted capture, enables epidemiological-scale studies of somatic mutation and selection and the generation of high-resolution selection maps across coding and non-coding sites for many genes.

Al-Hilal, Chrysovergi et al. identify a role for durotaxis in lung fibrosis and metastatic pancreatic cancer, mediated by the FAK–paxillin mechanosensor complex, and demonstrate therapeutic targeting of this pathway using the small molecule JP-153.

Axonal injury, induced in the white matter by expansion of early tumour cells, is a key driver of glioblastoma progression.

A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.

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.

Patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have limited therapeutic options. Here the authors show that functionally impaired NK cells contribute to immune escape of pre-malignant clones in early stage MDS and that NK adoptive cell therapy can be considered to prevent or delay the development of MDS.

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.

Energetic electron precipitation (EEP) from the Earth's outer radiation belt can lead to ozone loss in the mesosphere, yet long-term variability has not been quantified. Here, the authors present satellite observations and show that on solar cycle timescales EEP causes ozone to vary by up to 34%.

Analysis of medulloblastomas in humans and mice shows that the functional consequences of ZIC1 mutations are exquisitely dependent on the cells of origin that give rise to different subgroups of medulloblastoma.

Chordoma is a rare often incurable malignant bone tumour. Here, the authors investigate driver mutations of sporadic chordoma in 104 cases, revealing duplications in notochordal transcription factor brachyury (T), PI3K signalling mutations, and mutations in LYST, a potential novel cancer gene in chordoma.

In many strongly correlated systems the coupling of electronic and lattice degrees of freedom leads to ambiguity over the mechanism driving electronic phase transitions. Here the authors show that inter-layer effects play an important role in the charge ordering transition of 1T-TaS₂.

SCIFER detects clonal selection in whole-genome sequencing data using a population genetics model. Applied to a range of somatic tissues, SCIFER quantifies stem cell dynamics and infers clonal ages and sizes without requiring knowledge of driver events.

Analysis of whole-genome sequencing data from over 10,000 tumor samples spanning 35 cancer types identifies putative driver genes and highlights new therapeutic opportunities.

This study finds that flood insurance policy design affects economic development in floodplains and, consequently, flood risk in Europe. Therefore, the authors advocate for flood insurance design to be integrated in climate change adaptation policy.

Integrated multi-omic analyses using samples from the TRACERx study highlight cross-talk between DNA hypermethylation and genomic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer.

In cancer, associations between mutational signatures and driver mutations have been proposed but not fully explored. Here, the authors develop sigDriver to find associations between mutational signatures and mutation hotspots in order to predict coding and non-coding driver mutations in pan-cancer genomics data.

By integrating DNA genotype and RNA sequencing data from human samples, d’Escamard et al. identify a gene regulatory co-expression supernetwork that plays an important role in fibromuscular dysplasia, a poorly understood disease affecting 3–5% of adult females.

A study in Drosophila has identified a neural circuit that selectively suppress movement-encoding proprioceptors during self-generated movements such as walking and grooming.

In glioblastoma (GBM), tumour microtubes (TM) connect tumour cells to a broader cellular network, with roles in tumour progression and therapy resistance. Here, the authors combine a dye uptake method in GBM xenograft models with subsequent scRNA-seq to infer a TM connectivity signature, finding CHI3L1 as a marker of connectivity.

An analysis of data from the Sherlock-Lung study provides insight into the mutational processes that contribute to lung cancer in never smokers, and looks at the possible role of factors such as air pollution and passive smoking.

The accumulation and subsequent recycling of carbonate in the crust may have helped to drive the oxygenation of the early Earth, according to an ocean and atmosphere box model incorporating the inorganic carbon cycle.

A mathematical framework to estimate the fitness of cancer driver mutations by integrating mutational bias, oncogenicity and immunogenicity finds fundamental trade-offs in cancer evolution.

This study explores the relationship between telomere length and clonal hematopoiesis. Splicing factor and PPM1D gene mutations are more frequent in people with genetically predicted shorter telomere lengths, suggesting that these mutations protect against the consequences of telomere attrition.

Spiradenoma and cylindroma are skin adnexal tumors that can behave aggressively and undergo malignant transformation. Here, the authors genetically assess a cohort of these adnexal tumours, highlighting recurrent ALPK1 mutations and revealing the genomic landscape of these rare tumours.

It is difficult to identify cancer driver genes in cancers, for instance BRCA1 mutated breast cancer, that are characterised by large scale genomic alterations. Here, the authors develop genetically engineered mouse models of BRCA1-deficient breast cancer that allow highthroughput in vivo perturbation of candidate driver genes, validating drivers Myc, Met, Pten and Rb1, and identifying MCL1 as a collaborating driver whose targeting can impact efficacy of PARP inhibition.

Magnetotail reconnection plays a crucial role in explosive energy conversion in geospace. Here, the authors show that magnetotail reconnection starts from electron reconnection in the presence of a strong external driver, which then develops into ion reconnection.

It is currently unclear if cell-free DNA samples from metastatic cancers are as informative as tissue ones for cancer profiling. Here the authors show that cell-free DNA samples from rapid autopsies capture clonal and subclonal alterations of metastatic tumours and reveal more driver alterations than single tissue samples.

Non-coding cancer driver mutations that induce splicing variants exist, but are largely unexplored. Here, the authors find these non-coding mutations in known pan-cancer driver genes and show that they create new exons and might interact with pre-existing potential splice sites.

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.

Single-cell multi-omic analyses show that chronic inflammation contributes to myeloproliferative neoplasm transformation to secondary acute myeloid leukemia by enhancing tumor protein 53 (TP53) mutant cell fitness and genetic evolution.

Transancestral GWAS meta-analysis in 160,420 individuals identifies 139 loci associated with refractive error, including myopia. Newly identified genes implicate pathways involved in eye growth and light signaling cascades.

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas are diagnosed by sampling a small portion of the tumour. Here, using multiple samples from tumours, the authors analyse the spatial and temporal distribution of driver mutations revealing that H3K27M mutations arise first in tumorigenesis followed by a specific invariable sequence of driver mutations, which are homogeneously distributed across the tumour mass.

Identification of cancer driver genes, especially those that can act as tumour suppressors or oncogenes depending on context, remains a challenge. Here, the authors introduce Moonlight, a tool that integrates multi-omic data to address this challenge and identify numerous dual-role cancer genes.

Solar wind is highly structured yet variable. Close-up observations of the solar atmosphere reveal that the changing connectivity of multiple sources in the solar corona drives the observed complexity and variability in the inner heliosphere.

Infant KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia is associated with poor overall survival rates. Here, the authors use WGS and WES of 36 relapsed KMT2A-rearranged ALL and AML patients and find alterations in drug response genes in ALL, which may correspond with relapse time. Longitudinal analyses of >250 samples could track residual leukemia cells, clonal drug responses, and the upcoming relapse.

Of 248 marine heatwaves between 1993 and 2019 in North American and European seas, the effects on fish biomass were often minimal, and the heatwaves were not consistently associated with tropicalization or deborealization.

Seegren et al. demonstrate that the mitochondrial calcium uptake complex is a key molecular apparatus that links age-related changes in mitochondrial physiology to systemic macrophage-mediated age-associated inflammation.

The accumulation of genetic and epigenetic mutations in cancer cells can drive malignant growth. Here, the authors model the evolution of intratumoral diversity and examine the classification of driver and passenger mutations, heterogeneity within tumours, and the dynamics of tumour response to targeted therapies.

Vertebra lengths differ from the neck to the tail tip and differ between species, evidenced by extreme differences in mouse and jerboa tails. Here, Weber and colleagues identify cellular mechanisms and candidate genes that shape vertebral proportion.

Virtual nature exposure reduces self-reported pain and is associated with decreased brain responses linked to somatosensory and nociceptive processing, providing new insights into the underlying mechanisms of nature-induced analgesia.

Sequencing analysis of tamoxifen-associated uterine cancers and further in vivo analyses suggest that the drug tamoxifen can activate the PI3K pathway in the absence of oncogenic mutations.

Metagenomics and metabolomics analysis of a longitudinal cohort of 123 very preterm infants reveals multiple drivers of gut microbiome development and indicates that there are strain-specific effects of probiotic products.

Cerebral organoids can be used to gain insights into neuropsychiatric disorders. Here the authors carry out RNAseq characterization from organoids derived from donors with autism spectrum disorder to identify associated cell type specific driver genes.

Heavy metal pollution shapes biodiversity in modern and past ecosystems, malformations and extinctions indicate toxicity, but their role as drivers or artifacts depends on bioavailability, according to a review of published literature on past mass extinction events and case studies.

Colitis-associated cancers (CACs) develop in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and have distinct genomic features compared to sporadic colorectal cancers. Here, the authors characterize the genomic alterations of CAC tumors and dysplasia, finding decreased Wnt signaling and a lack of shared early genetic steps.

The use of mouse models has been an invaluable resource in cancer research but their generation is lengthy and costly. Here the authors describe an approach to generate engineered mouse models carrying specific gene fusions and, as a proof of principle, show that Bcan-Ntrk1 fusion leads to glioblastomas.