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Genetic analyses in more than 15,000 individuals from across the Americas, including individuals with autism and family members, define the genetic landscape of autism in Latin American populations and identify significant overlap with other ancestries.

Lunar rocks, not subject to complex crustal dynamics, reveal evolutionary aspects of the Earth-Moon system. The authors find that lunar ilmenite (age: 3.78 Ga) can host excess titanium in a trivalent state due to redox conditions not found on Earth.

Experimental evolution of fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) in the same environment as a previous experiment with budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) reveals parallel evolution but distinct molecular mechanisms and targets of adaptation in the two species.

A pangenome reference for the phenotypically diverse crop sorghum aims to help accelerate future efforts to breed crops that are better adapted to changing environments.

In this study, long-read RNA sequencing achieves accurate single-nucleotide polymorphism calling, haplotype phasing and allele-specific expression analysis.

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.

Rice paddies contribute to atmospheric methane (CH₄) levels. Here the authors show that increasing levels of the rice plant hormone PSY can reduce CH₄ emissions by over 50% via alteration of microbial H₂ cycling in the rhizosphere.

¹³⁴Ce and ¹³⁴La have great potential as companion diagnostic isotopes for radiotherapeutics labelled with α-emitting ²²⁵Ac and ²²⁷Th. Now, by controlling the Ce^III/Ce^IV redox couple, the large-scale production, purification and characterization of ¹³⁴Ce- and ¹³⁴La-based radiolabels has been achieved and their use for in vivo positron emission tomography is demonstrated.

A genome assembly method called hifiasm (ONT) allows the assembly of chromosomes from telomere to telomere without the need for ultra-long reads, and outperforms conventional methods on most evaluation metrics.

Failure caused by dendrite growth in rechargeable batteries with lithium metal anodes has prevented their widespread applicability. A microtomography study on lithium–polymer–lithium cells now reveals that at the early stage of dendrite formation dendritic structures lie within the electrode, underneath the polymer/electrode interface.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

Success with a new route to producing superheavy elements paves the way to making the elusive element 120.

Plastids, photosynthetic organelles in plants and algae, originated from cyanobacterial endosymbiosis. Here, Shrestha et al. use metagenomics to expand plastid diversity and provide evidence for two independent origins of secondary red-algal plastids.

A multiscale photoproximity labeling proteomics workflow captures dynamic neighborhoods of extracellular and intracellular epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor interactomes during early, middle and late signaling upon activation by EGF.

Data on beetle, bird, plant and mammal occupancy of woodland sites in UK agricultural landscapes demonstrate how contemporary spatial spillovers and legacies of past land use interact to affect species richness and community composition.

A renewable barcoding system reveals the evolutionary dynamics of laboratory budding yeast, showing that fitness changes over time in a travelling wave of adaptation that can fluctuate owing to leapfrogging events.

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.

This Consensus Statement presents the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

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.

This study reveals that excitatory–inhibitory imbalance in Alzheimer’s disease is diverse including both impaired long-range synaptic integration and altered local excitability, with distinct links to β-amyloid and tau pathology.

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.

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.

Using data from the CoVPN 3008 study, the authors show that the neutralizing antibody correlate of risk holds in people living with HIV. However, the nAb correlate was weaker and shorter-lived in a vaccine-immunity versus hybrid-immunity population.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Using multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and fine-mapping, 298 loci and 36 credible genes are identified in the aetiology of bipolar disorder.

The Human Microbiome Project Consortium has established a population-scale framework to study a variety of microbial communities that exist throughout the human body, enabling the generation of a range of quality-controlled data as well as community resources.

A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.

These newcomers are making their mark in science across the disciplines.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

A non-precious metal cobalt phosphide hydrogen evolution catalyst is found to be active and durable in a commercial-scale polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser.

The catalytic power of DNA polymerases for artificial genetic polymer (XNA) synthesis remains underdeveloped. Now, the evolution and structure of an α-l-threofuranosyl nucleic acid polymerase is described that achieves XNA synthesis with ∼1 nt s⁻¹ and >99% template-copying fidelity.

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 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.

Plans to build ‘exascale’ machines are moving forward, but still face major technological challenges.

Climate change is expected to impact microbes degrading organic matter in northern peatlands. Here, using a warming experiment, the authors show that communities remain stable after three years of warming, likely due to metabolic versatility and an ability to obtain electron acceptors from organic matter cleavage.

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.

The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reports the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.

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.

Public untargeted metabolomics data hold great promise for discovery but are difficult to access across repositories. Here, the authors develop universal identifiers and harmonized metadata to integrate major databases, enabling streamlined analysis and expanded research possibilities.

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.

In this immunological ancillary study of the PREVAC trial, the authors show that approved Ebola virus vaccines induce memory T-cell responses that persist during the five year follow-up after initial vaccination.