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The authors conduct a national inventory on individual tree carbon stocks in Rwanda using aerial imagery and deep learning. Most mapped trees are located in farmlands; new methods allow partitioning to any landscape categories, effective planning and optimization of carbon sequestration and the economic benefits of trees.

The viscosity of tumour cells is shown to govern their ability to disseminate through the bloodstream and extravasate, establishing a key biomechanical factor of metastasis.

The [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement of allylic ethers is traditionally considered to proceed via formation and recombination of radical pairs. Now it has been shown that an alternative reaction cascade, involving initial enantioselective [2,3]-rearrangement followed by base-promoted anionic fragmentation–recombination that proceeds with high enantiospecificity, allows a catalytic enantioselective [1,2]-Wittig process.

The impact of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) on protein function and cancer risk remain unclear. Here, the authors focus on the functional impact of VUS of the PALB2 gene and identify defects in DNA damage repair by homologous recombination associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

In forests, trait expression is influenced by tree-tree interactions. Castro Sánchez-Bermejo et al. show how phenotypic variability of tree species decreases with tree diversity and contributes importantly to functional diversity in forests.

The alveolate alga Chromera velia is a close relative of parasitic apicomplexans that possesses an unusual Photosystem I. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structure of this complex, revealing several novel subunits, including a bound superoxide-dismutase heterodimer.

Authors combine neutron scattering and MD simulations to study psychrophilic bacteria, linking proteome dynamics to the state of the proteome folding in the context of differential thermal adaptation.

Anthropogenic changes, such as eutrophication from lake pollution, can lead to rapid evolution. Comparing Daphnia resurrected from generations adapted to historical pollution to contemporary, post-cleanup populations finds that Daphnia rapidly reversed their evolved resistance to harmful cyanobacteria.

Here the authors show how the DNA-sensing cGAS–STING pathway activates NF-κB and inflammatory gene expression with delayed kinetics via post-Golgi endolysosomal signaling.

A method to label cultured human embryos finds chromosome segregation errors in placenta-fated cells.

Using measurements from 139 global lakes, the authors demonstrate how long-term thermal habitat change in lakes is exacerbated by species’ seasonal and depth-related constraints. They further reveal higher change in tropical lakes, and those with high biodiversity and endemism.

Stress resilience is the maintenance of mental health despite adversity. Here, the authors show that how we typically evaluate adverse events is a key resilience factor and that improving it goes along with improved resilience.

Endothermy facilitated mammalian species radiation, but the events leading to sustained thermogenesis are not clear. Here, the authors report functional brown adipose tissue in a protoendothermic mammal, linking nonshivering thermogenesis directly to the roots of eutherian endothermic evolution.

Analysis of 20 chemical and morphological plant traits at diverse sites across 6 continents shows that the transition from semi-arid to arid zones is associated with an unexpected 88% increase in trait diversity.

Phylogenetic analysis shows that site-exclusion methods produce erratic phylogenetic estimates of mitochondrial origin and support an origin of mitochondria within Alphaproteobacteria.

Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, in intracellular aggregates. Colonization of gnotobiotic mice with bioaccumulating bacteria increases faecal PFAS excretion.

SARS-CoV-2 proteases are key targets for anti-viral drug development. Here the authors present modular tunable autoproteolytic gene switches for virus free cell culture screening of inhibitors.

Combining a large-scale dataset of 23 ungulate species (in which newborns follow contrasting tactics of predator avoidance) with continuous-time stochastic movement models, the authors reveal that there are multiple dimensions of maternal movement behaviour and space use.

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.

Habitats where environmental change occurs in a reliable order offer microorganisms the opportunity to prepare in advance. Here, in both the bacterium Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, stimuli that typically appear early in the ecology of the organism are shown to induce genes that are useful for coping with conditions that normally occur later, a process that is also shown to improve fitness.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected the global economy, environment, and political order. Here, the authors show that it also coincided with a temporary decline in psychological well-being across Europe.

DNA replication of repetitive sequences was recreated in a test tube using purified components. DNA alone was sufficient to induce stalling. Both stalling and recovery were dictated by the capacity of DNA to fold into unusual secondary structures.

Iterating mutagenesis and exposure to increasing light dramatically enhanced the light tolerance of a Synechocystis cyanobacterium strain. This involved over 100 mutations grouped around five haplotypes, as well as putative epistatic interactions.

Climate change is impacting mountain regions and the agricultural livelihood of residents, and will continue to do so. In this study, the authors survey farmers in ten African mountain regions to understand their perceptions of climate change impacts and identify adaptation opportunities and constraints.

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.

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.

Despite being a hallmark of cancer, the identification of targetable vulnerabilities of aneuploid cancer cells remains limited. Here, the authors develop RPE1-hTERT cell lines with varying degrees of aneuploidy to investigate the consequences of chromosomal imbalance, identifying CRAF as an aneuploid-selective therapeutically targetable vulnerability.

Over half the world’s rivers dry periodically, yet little is known about the biological communities in dry riverbeds. This study examines biodiversity across 84 non-perennial rivers in 19 countries using DNA metabarcoding. It finds that nutrient availability, climate and biotic interactions influence the biodiversity of these dry environments.

Invasive species are a leading driver of global biodiversity loss. Here, the authors show that the process of invasion itself can promote behavioral changes important to the success of widespread invaders, with implications for understanding the effects of alien species on invaded communities.

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.

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.

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.

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.