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Traditional nanopore sensors use barrel-shaped protein channels. Here, the authors report on a study into the use of globular protein, ferritin, as a nanopore sensor, demonstrating membrane insertion and sensor application, showing the potential of non-barrel-shaped proteins for nanopore sensing.

The existence of a long-lived, prethermal regime in many-body systems with tunable heating rates, driven by structured random protocols, is observed using a 78-qubit superconducting quantum processor.

cellSTAAR advances noncoding rare variant association analysis by integrating single-cell genomics data.

A device for rectifying supercurrents at liquid-nitrogen temperature with high efficiency is demonstrated. This is a practical step towards implementing dissipationless electronics.

MXene fibers inspired by the structure of deer antlers achieve >1 GPa strength, >130 MJ m^-3 toughness, and >10,500 S cm^-1 conductivity through interface engineering and microporosity modulation for advanced wearables.

The study shows that lunar ilmenite preserves less solar wind-generated water than silicate minerals, likely due to faster water escape. This finding suggests that ilmenite may critically influence surface water variations within the lunar Procellarum KREEP Terrane.

An RNA aptamer that selectively binds FAD over FADH₂ shifted the reduction potential of the bound cofactor, similar to flavoproteins, and was shown through structural characterization to use π–π and donor–π interactions to drive the shift.

Quantum phase transitions are generally associated with many-body quantum systems undergoing changes between different phases. This study examines the connection between such phase transitions and quantum information processing, and finds that different quantum phases can have different computational power.

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.

Coordination-driven supramolecular assembly provides the ability to build molecular architectures of impressive complexity. Here, the authors use a series of linear metal-organic ligands with specific sequences to construct multiple generations of precisely-controlled, 2D fractal polycyclic supramolecules.

Methods for the enantioconvergent tertiary C–H functionalization are scarce, but desired for the construction of valuable compounds. Now, a highly enantioconvergent tertiary β-C(sp³)–H amination of racemic ketones with copper/chiral phosphoric acid dual catalysis is reported.

Solar-driven production of H₂O₂ and chemicals from O₂ and biomass is promising but hindered by inefficient photocatalysts. Here, the authors report composite photocatalysts of atomically dispersed Ta sites for broad-spectrum light absorption and selective biomass conversion in a three-phase system.

The germline is established during embryogenesis when primordial germ cells are first specified. Here they show that the RNA-binding proteins DND1 and NANOS3 function together to repress the translation of SOX4, restricting the germ cell lineage specification during embryonic development.

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.

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.

The O-alkylation of tertiary alcohols with racemic tertiary electrophiles to access chiral hindered dialkyl ethers has remained elusive. Now this synthetic challenge has been accomplished by copper-catalysed C–O cross-coupling between tertiary haloamides and alcohols using designed ligands.

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.

This paper determines the oxygen fugacity of the Chang’e-6 basalts from the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin on the farside of the Moon. The results show that the mantle beneath the farside SPA basin is more reduced than that beneath the nearside, as determined by the Apollo and Chang’e-5 basalts.

Using sequencing and haplotype-resolved assembly of 65 diverse human genomes, complex regions including the major histocompatibility complex and centromeres are analysed.

PINK1/Parkin-mediated ubiquitin-dependent mitophagy is a key regulator of browning in inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Here, the authors report that PNPLA7, an Endoplasmic Reticulum and mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) protein, inhibits browning of iWAT by promoting PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy upon cold challenge or adrenergic receptor agonist treatment.

Extreme Sr–Nd depletion in 2.8-billion-year-old basalt fragments from the lunar farside South Pole–Aitken basin suggests an ultra-depleted mantle source resulting from lunar magma ocean crystallization and/or later impact-related melt extraction.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MultiSTAAR provides a general and flexible statistical framework for functionally informed multi-trait rare variant analysis of biobank-scale sequencing studies by jointly analyzing multiple traits and incorporating annotation information.

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.

Atomically thin alloys are promising electrocatalysts but suffer from poor homogeneity. Here a multi-element metallene system is synthesized using an auto-catalytic method. The hexagonal close-packed intermetallic structure and isolated surface Ru–O₃ sites provide optimal adsorption of intermediates, contributing to high hydrogen oxidation activity and stability.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based docking and scoring methods demonstrate considerable potential for virtual drug screening. Gu et al. go further by assessing the structural rationality of AI-predicted complex conformations from various sources.

GWAS have identified more than 500 genetic loci associated with blood lipid levels. Here, the authors report a genome-wide analysis of interactions between genetic markers and physical activity, and find that physical activity modifies the effects of four genetic loci on HDL or LDL cholesterol.

Composites of MXene-bridging-liquid metal (MBLM) networks in aramid nanofiber/polyvinyl alcohol matrices are developed, achieving high electrical and thermal conductivity, along with EMI shielding of 74.6 dB at 22 μm thickness

Inhibitory receptors antagonize natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Ge and colleagues show that the scaffold protein β-arrestin 2 recruits the phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2 to the inhibitory receptor KIR2DL1 to enhance 'downstream' inhibitory signaling.