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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Eusociality evolved independently in Hymenoptera and in termites. Here, the authors sequence genomes of the German cockroach and a drywood termite and provide insights into the evolutionary signatures of termite eusociality.

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior has been observed within 1D defects in transition metal dichalcogenides. Here, using complementary experiments and engineered defects, the authors demonstrate the importance of graphene as a substrate and its role in the formation of this quasiparticle excitation in 2D WS₂.

Neurodegenerative diseases are linked to changes in the immune system and inflammation. Here, the authors studied immune cells from healthy individuals and neurodegenerative diseases and identified sex-specific disease-associated changes.

This work demonstrates an efficient electrochemical exfoliation approach to achieve high recovery rate for few-layered halogenated MXenes by leveraging gaseous propylene molecules as ‘physical scissors’, to enable advanced tribovoltaic nanogenerators.

It remains unclear why some paediatric tumours appear to have such a low mutation burden. Here, the authors shed light on this paradox by analysing Wilms tumours using high resolution and high depth sequencing approaches, finding that - due to an unusual clonal architecture - standard methods significantly underestimate the mutation burden at the cellular level.

The spectrally narrow photoluminescence lines occurring in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) heterostructures at low temperature have been attributed to interlayer excitons (IXs) localized by the moiré potential between the TMD layers. Here, the authors show that these lines are present even when the moiré potential is suppressed by inserting an hBN spacer between the TMD layers.

The arcuate fascicle connection with the middle temporal gyrus has been considered unique to humans. Using high-resolution diffusion MRI, the authors systematically show this connection in chimpanzees, suggesting a gradual evolution of the language network.

Karpinska, Zhu and colleagues characterize the structure-function relationship of the genome during cellular differentiation and demonstrate a role for enhancer-promoter interactions in gene regulation that is independent of cooperative interactions in chromatin hubs.

DNA double strand break repair pathways ensure genome stability and prevent disease. Here the authors show that the actin nucleating factor DIAPH1 and γ-actin promote homologous recombination (HR)-dependent repair. Inherited mutations in DIAPH1 or ACTG1 give rise to clinical deficits similar to those associated with defective HR.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

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.

Accurate control of the spatial location and the emission wavelength of single photon emitters (SPEs) in van der Waals materials is a crucial yet challenging endeavour. Here, the authors use an electron beam to generate SPE ensembles in high purity synthetic hBN with enhanced spatial accuracy and emission reproducibility.

In the Tumor Profiler proof-of-concept observational study, a multiomics approach for profiling tumors from patients with melanoma was feasible, returning data within 4 weeks and informing treatment recommendations in 75% of cases.

Rare-earth elements are effective for engineering the optical properties of materials for a range of applications from lasers to quantum information technologies. Here, the authors investigate the temperature-dependent properties of Er³⁺ photoluminescence in Er₂O₃ thin films, focusing on the Stark-Stark transitions and how their temperature-dependent behaviour results from electron-phonon interactions.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

Ochre, a strain of Escherichia coli engineered to have a single stop codon, enables reassignment of four codons for non-degenerate functions, such as incorporation of non-standard amino acids into proteins.

Cohesin plays a crucial role in both chromosome organization and DNA repair. Here the authors find that cohesin mediated genome architecture prevents interactions between damaged chromatin. In contrast cohesin phosphorylation  appears to primarily impact DNA repair speed.

Plasmonic effects in organic light-emitting devices, which are normally considered a source of energy loss, are harnessed to enhance the stability of these devices while maintaining operational efficiency.

There is interest in controlling particle beams using electric fields and using them in compact devices. Here the authors demonstrate guiding and splitting of charged particle (electron and ion) beams on a chip designed with special structures.

The thermal emission spectrum of the rocky exoplanet 55 Cancri e obtained by the NIRCAM and MIRI instruments aboard the JWST indicates that it has a secondary volatile-rich atmosphere, possibly arising from a magma ocean.

Emission enhancement and extraction from quantum emitters is a major challenge for photon sources in e.g. quantum photonic networks. Here the authors propose a broadband waveguide platform which allows to boost, extract, and guide quantum emission within integrated photonic networks.

Stratified medicine promises to tailor treatment for individual patients, however it remains a major challenge to leverage genetic risk data to aid patient stratification. Here the authors introduce an approach to stratify individuals based on the aggregated impact of their genetic risk factor profiles on tissue-specific gene expression levels, and highlight its ability to identify biologically meaningful and clinically actionable patient subgroups, supporting the notion of different patient ‘biotypes’ characterized by partially distinct disease mechanisms.

How Meckel-Gruber syndrome protein TMEM67 functions in ciliogenesis and Wnt signaling simultaneously is unknown. Here the authors show that TMEM67 is proteolytically cleaved by the matrix metalloproteinase ADAMTS9 generating two functional isoforms.

For solid-state qubits, the material environment hosts sources of errors that vary in time and space. This systematic analysis of errors affecting high-fidelity two-qubit gates in silicon can inform the design of large-scale quantum computers.

Integrating tunable quantum emitters with commercial photonic circuits is promising for quantum information applications but remains a challenge. Here the authors report integration of InAs/InP microchiplets containing quantum dot single photon emitters into a large-scale foundry silicon platform.

Ryan et al. report a highly conserved mechanism by which arginine induces changes in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterial cell surface capsule. K. pneumoniae arginine sensing is critical for full virulence potential.

Plasmonic excitations of electrons in metallic nanostructures are promising for the enhanced conversion of light in semiconductor solar cells. Here, the authors are able to experimentally distinguish the absorption phenomena of plasmonic carrier generation and excitation of carriers by light absorption.

Deterministic sources of entangled photons are important for photonic quantum networks, but many applications are only possible when their wavelengths are tunable. Here, the authors use on-chip strain engineering to demonstrate such a source with silicon-integrated InAs/GaAs quantum dots.

In the Kondo effect, a bath of conduction electrons screens a localized magnetic moment. Here, the authors demonstrate Kondo screening of a normally isolated 4f-like moment in a magnetic molecule on a Cu(001) surface that is modulated by strong ligand-mediated coupling.

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms whose high electron mobility offers potential for cheap, high-speed opto-electronic devices. Docherty et al.show that the terahertz frequency photoconductivity in graphene depends crucially on the type and density of environmental gas adsorbed.