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Exploring active and durable catalysts for seawater electrolysis is crucial for sustainable hydrogen production. Here, the authors report a strategy for designing a nickel-molybdenum catalyst for photothermal-promoted anion exchange membrane seawater electrolysis.

Machine learning predicts Cu-Al electrocatalysts provide better efficiency and productivity than copper when using intermittent renewable electricity to convert carbon dioxide to useful chemicals and fuels.

Mapping the operational chemical, physical and electronic structure of an oxygen evolution electrocatalyst at the nanoscale links the properties of the material with the observed oxygen evolution activity.

Forward-biased bipolar membranes (FB-BPMs), which recover potential from pH gradients through ion–ion recombination, show promise for application in sustainable devices. The authors use physics-based modeling to elucidate how ion-specific phenomena dictate performance, reveal how selective ion management can mitigate energy losses and provide insights into the rational design of next-generation FB-BPMs.

Fluorochemicals are obtained directly from fluorspar activated in water at low temperature, without the requirement to manufacture hydrogen fluoride, a toxic and hazardous gas that is central to the current industrial process.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the survival of drug tolerant persister cells following chemotherapy remains elusive. Here, multi-omics analysis and experimental approaches show that the germ-cell-specific H3K4 methyltransferase PRDM9 promotes metabolic rewiring in glioblastoma stem cells.

Influenza A virus infection causes a dramatic upregulation of ADP-ribosylation that as part of the cellular antiviral response, a process that is counteracted by the viral NS1 protein.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to multicarbon products is useful for producing high-value chemicals and fuels. Here the authors present a strategy that is based on the in situ electrodeposition of copper under CO₂ reduction conditions that preferentially expose and maintain Cu(100) facets, which favour the formation of C₂₊ products.

Koh, Ma et al. show that during climbing, mouse motor cortex instructs limb muscle activity patterns primarily by selectively activating certain muscles at certain activity states, via neural activity patterns distinct from those previously described.

Sodium-ion batteries are promising low-cost alternatives to lithium-ion systems yet limited by underperforming anodes. This Review highlights advances and challenges in hard carbon and alloy-based anodes, outlining design strategies to boost capacity, stability and commercial viability of next-generation high-energy sodium-ion batteries.

Cryogenic electron microscopy structures and functional analyses reveal that NCLX functions as a H⁺/Ca²⁺ rather than a Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger, and uncover its transport mechanism with implications for therapies treating cardiac and neurodegenerative disorders related to abnormal mitochondrial Ca²⁺.

Cell state plasticity of neuroblastoma cells is linked to therapy resistance. Here, the authors develop a transcriptomic and epigenetic map of indisulam (RBM39 degrader) resistant neuroblastoma, demonstrating bidirectional cell state switching accompanied by increased NK cell activity, which they therapeutically enhance by the addition of an anti-GD2 antibody.

Mutations in GJB2 cause DFNB1, the most common hereditary deafness. ATAC-seq identification of gene regulatory elements enables targeted GJB2 delivery to cochlear cells, preventing hearing loss in mouse models.

Transcription factor osr2 is identified as a specific marker and regulator of mural lymphatic endothelial cell (muLEC) differentiation and maintenance, and muLECs and border-associated macrophages share functional analogies but are not homologous, providing an example of convergent evolution.

The production of higher alcohols is very valuable because of their high volumetric energy density. Now, Sargent, Sinton and co-workers report the design of copper nanoparticles with tailored nanocavities that promote n-propanol formation by the coupling of C2 and C1 intermediates inside the cavity.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Understanding of the immune microenvironment in pediatric acute T cell lymphoblastic leukemia is limited. By analyzing single-cell transcriptome, surface protein expression and immune repertoire data, the authors here identify non-malignant CD4^-CD8^- TCRαβ T cells that are present in a subset of patients with Rap1 signaling in leukemia cells and are associated with adverse clinical outcome in patients with low minimal residual disease.

The multi-subunit SWR1C remodeler deposits histone variant H2A.Z at nucleosomes flanking protein-coding genes. Here the authors use single-molecule and ensemble methodologies to identify three ATP-dependent phases in the H2A.Z deposition reaction.

A neuron-specific activity-dependent DNA repair mechanism is identified, the impairment of which may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodegeneration and ageing.

A random heteropolymer based on four monomers can facilitate proton transport across lipid bilayers almost as rapidly as natural ion channels and with high selectivity over other ions.

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.

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.

A method for design of polymer membranes uses strategically placed pendant groups with specific hydrophobicity to precisely tailor hydrated pore size, with applications in ion-conducting membranes for redox flow batteries.

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.

CellAssign uses a probabilistic model to assign single cells to a given cell type defined by known marker genes, enabling automated annotation of cell types present in a tumor microenvironment.

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.

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.

Hailong, an anti-phage defence system, synthesizes an oligodeoxyadenylate signal that blocks effector activity in the absence of phage infection but is degraded by phage-encoded DNA exonucleases, leading to protective growth arrest of infected cells.

MORC2, a chromatin remodeler involved in epigenetic silencing and DNA repair, is linked to cancer and neurological disorders when dysregulated. Here, the authors show that MORC2 binds DNA at multiple sites, clamps onto it, and induces compaction, a process regulated by its phosphorylation.

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.

FIKK effector kinases underwent rapid evolutionary expansion and are a druggable target in Plasmodium falciparum.

Large-scale combinatorial perturbation screens are important to identify genetic interactions and synthetic lethal gene pairs. Here, Burgold et al. present a next-generation dual guide system that allows library-scale screening across hundreds of thousands of genetic interactions.

The variability in clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection is partly due to deficiencies in production or response to type I interferons (IFN). Here, the authors describe a FIP200-dependent lysosomal degradation pathway, independent of canonical autophagy and type I IFN, that restricts SARS-CoV-2 replication, offering insights into critical COVID-19 pneumonia mechanisms.

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.

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.

Little is known about the transition of a metal nanoparticle from the plasmonic to excitonic state. Here, the authors map this evolution in atomically precise gold nanoparticles, a critical step for understanding the origins of surface plasmon resonance, metallic bonding, and catalytic behaviour.

Few non-copper catalysts have been observed to produce appreciable amounts of propane—a useful fuel—by electrochemical reduction of CO₂. New research shows that ionomer-coated imidazolium-functionalized Mo₃P nanoparticles produce propane with high activity and selectivity.

Proximity ferroelectricity is reported in wurtzite heterostructures, which enables polarization reversal in wurtzites without the chemical or structural disorder that accompanies elemental substitution.

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.

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.

Analgesia from the expectation of pain relief is mediated by rostral anterior cingulate cortex neurons that project to the pontine nucleus.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D) identifies more than 600 T2D-associated loci; integrating physiological trait and single-cell chromatin accessibility data at these loci sheds light on heterogeneity within the T2D phenotype.

Little millet is an orphan crop offering a promising yet underutilized option in the pursuit of food and nutritional security. Here, the authors report its genome assembly, and elucidate its recent tetraploid structure, sub-genome dominance, and the genetic basis for micronutrient content.

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.

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.