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Researchers modify drug to prevent kidney damage, and the mystery of the phosphorus at the Milky Way’s edge.

Iridium oxide is a state-of-the-art catalyst for green hydrogen production, but the identity of species present under operating conditions remains debated. Here, using multiple operando spectroscopy approaches with time-resolution, water oxidation is found to be driven by O⁻¹ states.

Authors utilise a metabolomics approach to identify microbial-derived metabolites that synergistically inhibit urease activity in Proteus mirabilis, a cause of urease-induced kidney stones. They reveal that two metabolites prevented urinary catheter encrustation and improved antimicrobial efficacy against catheter biofilm.

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not deterministic. Here, the authors show that common genetic variation changes how APOE-ε4 influences cognition.

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.

Using terahertz spectroscopy and ultrafast electron diffraction, the paper shows how the DC conductivity of warm dense matter depends on material phase. This provides insight to how electron scattering processes impact conductivity in this regime.

Nano-groove traps at grain triple junctions significantly affect cation homogeneity in formamidinium–caesium perovskite films. Shallowing these traps improves interfacial properties and enhances solar cell performance.

In situ methods for water quality monitoring is crucial for global water use and management, though many conventional sensors have slow response time and are non-recyclable. Here, the authors report a recyclable amphiphobic dielectric material for fast monitoring of water pollutants.

CO oxidation catalysts face a tradeoff between high activity and stability due to oxidation-induced deactivation. By trapping Pt clusters at stepped CeO₂ pockets, this work circumvents the stability-activity dilemma.

Glycans are structurally complex biomolecules and very challenging to analyse. Here the authors show atomically resolved imaging of β-cyclodextrins with non-contact atomic force microscopy, revealing the structure of individual glycans with atomic detail.

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.

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.

A dysprosium amide–alkene complex shows soft magnetic hysteresis loops up to 100 kelvin, arising from the high charge density of the amide ligands and the structural role of the pendant alkene.

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.

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.

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.

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.

3D higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) exhibit 1D hinge states depending on extrinsic sample details, while intrinsic features of HOTIs remain unknown. Here, K.S. Lin et al. introduce the framework of spin-resolved topology to show that helical HOTIs can realize a doubled axion insulator phase with nontrivial partial axion angles.

The theory-guided synthesis of a tungsten-based W₂TiC₂T_x MXene from a non-MAX nanolaminated ternary carbide (W,Ti)₄C_4−y is reported. The tungsten-rich basal plane of the W₂TiC₂T_x MXene is then examined for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction using a combined experimental and theoretical approach.

The electronic correlation-driven Mott metal-insulator transition has been predicted in a 2D metal-organic framework with a kagome structure. Here the authors synthesize such a system in experiment and demonstrate an electrostatically controlled Mott transition.

All-metal aromatic monocycles are still rare, in contrast to their ubiquitous organic counterparts, because metal atoms tend to form clusters with multiply bonded atoms instead. Now a planar aromatic Bi₅⁻ ring has been synthesized as part of a mixed-valence Co⁰/Co^I inverse-sandwich-type complex.

Single-atom catalysts are of growing importance, but the nature of their structure and reactivity remains under debate. Here, Sykes and co-workers show that single Pt atoms on a well-defined Cu₂O surface are capable of performing low-temperature CO oxidation, and provide data on the binding site and electronic structure of the Pt atoms.

Inhomogeneous spectral distribution and multi-photon emission are currently hindering the use of defects in layered hBN as reliable single photon emitters. Here, the authors demonstrate strain-controlled wavelength tuning and increased single photon purity through suitable material processing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Pseudo-halide anion engineering is an effective surface passivation strategy for perovskite-based optoelectronics but the large chemical space of molecules limits its potential. Here, the authors create a machine learning workflow to find optimized pseudo-halide anions, which are verified in devices with improved performances.

A consensus cell type atlas for the fly brain provides both an intellectual framework and open-source toolchains for brain-scale comparative connectomics.

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.

Haque et al. report a case of chronic alcohol use disorder that had early remission following a traumatic brain injury with left orbitofrontal cortex intracerebral hemorrhage. Mapping of this lesion converges on recently described addictive behavior network maps, but with inverse connectivity.

Magnetic splitting in an antiferromagnetic state of cubic NdBi gives rise to Fermi arcs with bands that have opposing curvature.

Lithium-rich oxygen-redox cathodes demonstrate high capacities, but lose energy density when cycled, showing cation disordering and formation of nanovoids and bulk molecular O₂. These structural changes are shown to be a consequence of a kinetically viable and thermodynamically favoured local phase segregation mechanism.

Achieving supported nanoclusters with unique geometric and electronic structures continues to pose a challenge. Here, the authors introduce a plasma-assisted treatment approach for generating supported metal oxide nanoclusters, facilitated by the rapid transformation of monomeric dispersed metal oxides.