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Cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries typically possess octahedral coordination, which may exclude other possible solutions to degradation during deep cycling. A series of tetrahedral-framework-based amorphous Li–V–O–F materials are investigated, and shown to demonstrate O–O formal redox at 4.1 V.

The calorimetric determination of enthalpies of mixing in multi-component molten salt systems often relies on empirical models that lack physically interpretable parameters. Here, the authors use the molecular interaction volume model (MIVM) to integrate experimentally measured enthalpies and solvation structures from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to extrapolate excess Gibbs energy and determine the compositional dependence of La³⁺ activity in the LaCl₃-(LiCl-KCl) system.

A method making use of heavy water dissociation in bipolar membranes to synthesize deuterated acids and bases is described, which requires particularly mild conditions and inexpensive D₂O and K₂SO₄ and is also environmentally friendly.

Conduction in solid-state electrolytes composed of monatomic ions is found to be analogous to the paddle-wheel mechanism in molecular solid electrolytes, facilitated by rotational motion of lone pair electrons, helping unify understanding of mechanisms.

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.

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.

Here the authors spatially map human pediatric low-grade gliomas using imaging mass cytometry, focusing on immunosuppressive myeloid cell populations and their functionality in tumor–immune interactions and tumor progression.

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.

Silane coupling agents retard early hydration when incorporated into fresh cement paste. Here the authors show how silane coupling agents hinder calcium dissolution of tricalcium silicate from ab initio metadynamics simulations and hydration experiments.

Metal halide perovskites have been studied as promising materials for blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) but the stability is still a bottleneck. Here Wang et al. develop a chelating additive strategy to increase efficiency, operational stability and color stability of blue perovskite LEDs.

Inch-sized bulk lanthanide oxychloride single crystals and single-crystalline thin films with thickness down to the monolayer are synthesized through flux-enabled oriented attachment, providing a library of van der Waals materials with interesting dielectric and quantum properties.

Group IV–VI materials often exist in a state near an electronic or structural phase transition. Here, the authors use ultrafast X-ray scattering to show that coupling of band-edge electrons and phonons causes the ferroelectric instability observed in lead telluride.

Self-organization of organic molecular rings (cycloparaphenylenes) on a gold surface creates a template matrix. This is used to trap spherical C₅₉N azafullerenes, creating a stable 2D hexagonal array of organic spin radicals.

Understanding interfacial proton transport in an excited state is crucial for catalytic and diagnostic applications of nanomaterials. Here, the authors combine ultra-low-field NMR relaxometry with a light source to study the light-induced proton dissociation of graphene quantum dots.

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.

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.

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.

Enhancing corrosion resistance is crucial for efficient electrocatalysts in the acidic oxygen evolution reaction. Here, the authors report the strategic manipulation of local compressive strain to improve the anti-corrosion properties of Co3O4, demonstrating stability for over 400 hours at 30 mA cm^-2.

Water–oxide interfaces are ubiquitous in nature, yet a molecular-level understanding of these complex environments is still lacking. Now, using in situ nonlinear optical spectroscopy, unconventional reaction pathways have been revealed during the structural evolution of a silicon oxide surface in liquid water, resolving long-standing controversies and providing new microscopic insights.

The authors report a computational strategy to simulate the hydrolysis and ammonolysis of N₂O₅ in aerosols using high-level quantum chemical methods. The computational results reveal a complete picture of the reactive uptake of N₂O₅ by atmospheric aerosols with or without NH₃.

Semiconductor defects persist as a source of energy loss in solar cells. Here, the authors use ab initio simulations to reveal overlooked defect dynamics, guiding passivator design for enhanced photovoltaic performance.

Understanding the surface growth mechanism of carbon nanostructures would help designing better catalysts. Here, the authors combine active machine learning force fields with time-stamped Monte Carlo methods, to dynamically predict carbon growth on metal surfaces.

Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells are limited by losses in open-circuit voltage. Wang et al. show that diammonium halide salts promote a homogeneous distribution of halides in the perovskite, improving the performance of single- and triple-junction solar cells.

Solar water splitting holds great promise for hydrogen production but is significantly hindered by rapid recombination of photogenerated charges. Now a metal–organic framework photocatalyst has been shown to undergo, upon photoexcitation, a dynamic excited-state structural twist that greatly suppresses charge recombination to enable efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting.

The phase diagram of confined ice is different from that of bulk ice. Simulations now reveal several 2D ice phases and show how strong nuclear quantum effects result in rich proton dynamics in 2D confined ices.

Nonlinear optical processes like higher-order harmonic generation in solids depend on several factors. Here the authors explore the optical nonlinearity of hexagonal boron nitride and find that enhanced nonlinearity is due to electron-phonon and phonon-polariton couplings.

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

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.

All-optical subcycle microscopy is achieved on atomic length scales, with picometric spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution.

A universal strategy is reported for formation of very low concentration of perovskite precursor inks that yields high-efficiency photovoltaics while substantially reducing toxic waste generation, fabrication cost and process complexity, thus taking a step closer towards commercialization.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The authors combine optical surface measurements and simulations to delve into the pH-dependent electrophoretic mobility of hexadecane nanodroplets in water and show the importance of going beyond classical continuum models for an accurate description.

Conventional theories for interfacial thermal transport are derived from bulk phonon properties. Here, the authors report experimental observation of interfacial phonon modes localized at interfaces, changing how interfacial thermal transport should be understood.

Efficient, large-scale genomic analysis is facilitated on the cloud by a computational tool with error-diagnosing and self-healing capabilities.