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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.

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.

The herpes simplex virus lytic-latent balance is incompletely understood. In this study, the authors show that it is controlled by the relative abundance of host activating and repressive forkhead box (FOX) transcription factors that recruit epigenetic cofactors to the viral genome to remodel viral chromatin.

Grain number per panicle (GNP) is a yield-determining trait of rice. Here, the authors identify a GSK3-like kinase-encoding gene GNP2 and a bZIP transcription factor-encoding gene GNP5, demonstrating their synergistic regulation of GNP and showing that specific allele combinations of these genes enhance rice yield in field conditions.

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.

Rational design of gas diffusion layers (GDL) is critical for enhancing the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Here, the authors employ Bayesian machine learning to design aligned GDLs, achieving a limiting current density of 7200 mA cm^-2.

SK2 channel regulates the intrinsic excitability and firing frequency of excitable cells. Here, authors present the cryo-EM structures of human SK2 with apamin and three modulators, revealing the structural basis for activation and inhibition of SK2.

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.

The Huayuan biota exhibits extraordinary biodiversity, illuminating the impact of the Phanerozoic mass extinction around 513 million years ago and offering critical insights into the transformation of global ecosystems in the early Cambrian.

Grain number per panicle (GNP) is a critical yield component trait of rice. Here, the authors clone a MAPKKK encoding gene GNP3 positively regulating grain yield and show its role in rice panicle development by interacting and destabilizing ethylene biosynthesis related enzyme SADENOSYLMETHIONINE SYNTHETASE 1.

This study identifies a distinct Wnt5a high expression fibroblast population in the mouse sclera that protects against myopia progression by maintaining extracellular matrix homeostasis via Sparc pathway, offering potential therapeutic targets.

Morphology control of two-dimensional metastable phase nanomaterials is a core issue for catalyst design. Here, two-dimensional metastable-phase Ni hexagonal nanosheets are synthesized via a one-pot method, exhibiting competitive catalytic performance in the electrocatalytic acetone hydrogenation.

Earth-abundant cobalt-based catalysts have shown promise to replace iridium as anode catalysts in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysers, but unfortunately they exhibit high degradation rates. Now, a lanthanum and calcium co-modification of Co₃O₄ is presented, in which lanthanum tunes the water–surface interactions to suppress cobalt dissolution and improve stability, while calcium leaching creates coordinatively unsaturated cobalt sites, leading to enhanced activity.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a proinflammatory factor related to cancer progression that is synthesized as a precursor named pro-interleukin-1β (Pro-IL-1β). Here, the authors discover that Pro-IL-1β presents a IL-1β-independent pro-metastatic function through RACK1 regulation and modulation of actin cytoskeleton remodeling.

Induction of hypothermia during hibernation/torpor enables certain mammals to survive under extreme conditions. Here, the authors show that the natural product P57 induces hypothermia by targeting pyridoxal kinase and has a potential application in therapeutic hypothermia.

Global Burden of Disease estimates show that between 1990 and 2023, the prevalence and burden of drug use disorders, inclusive of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use, have been increasing in high-income countries, particularly in the USA.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

Chen, Wang et al. systematically examine the population distributions of six age-related functional impairments and their associations with mortality risk and life expectancy. The number of key impairments exhibits a dose-response relationship with mortality risk and contributes to an estimated loss of up to 17% in life expectancy at age 50.

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.

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.

Splitting water using sunlight is a promising route to green hydrogen, yet inefficient charge carrier utilization in photocatalysts limits their solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. Here the authors introduce excitonic quantum superlattices to prolong exciton lifetimes and optimize charge steering, achieving a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 3% under ambient conditions.

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.

Using activity-based chemical probes, oncogenic IDH1-R132H but not the wild type was found to acquire a unique autopalmitoylation at C269. This mutant-specific modification is critical for the enzyme’s abnormal activity in cancer.

Genomic analyses applied to 14 childhood- and adult-onset psychiatric disorders identifies five underlying genomic factors that explain the majority of the genetic variance of the individual disorders.

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.

A generative AI approach is developed for predicting materials synthesis recipes—a complex challenge in materials science. Using this approach, the authors experimentally synthesized a material using AI-generated synthesis recipes.

Tumor pericytes are located surrounding blood vessels, and can regulate tumor vascular structure. Here, the authors discover that a subpopulation of NKX2-3 high tumor pericytes modulates vasodilation and hemodynamics to promote metastasis.

Researchers report a spontaneous method that produces chlorine directly from chloride-containing brines by harnessing their inherent osmotic energy and chloride ions, without any external energy input.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Decreasing salt-to-solvent molar ratio without sacrificing electrochemical performance remains a challenge in high-performance lithium metal batteries. Here, authors show that compatibility of fluorobenzene-diluted 1,2-dimethoxyethane-based electrolyte with Li metal is reduced in smaller salt-to-solvent molar ratios and design a fluorobenzene-diluted dimethyl acetal-based electrolyte with significantly enhanced stability towards Li metal under a reduced Li salt concentration.

Hydrogen oxidation in alkaline media is limited by slow reaction kinetics. Here, the authors develop a family of bimetallic catalysts by theoretical analysis and reveal that RuIr achieves superior activity and durability through synergistic adsorption of hydrogen and hydroxyl intermediates.

The fluorooxoborate crystal NH₄B₄O₆F shows promise as a nonlinear optical material for vacuum ultraviolet light sources through second-harmonic generation, demonstrating record output energy and efficiency resulting from optimized arrangements of fluorine-based units creating asymmetric sublattices.

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.

Authors present a bispecific antiviral design targeting the virus and the host that simultaneously offers broad-spectrum protection against multiple existing transmissible human-pathogenic coronaviruses, including the Paxlovid-resistant SARS-CoV-2 mutants.

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.

Identifying jets originating from heavy quarks plays a fundamental role in hadronic collider experiments. In this work, the ATLAS Collaboration describes and tests a transformer-based neural network architecture for jet flavour tagging based on low-level input and physics-inspired constraints.

The rapid preparation of highly crystalline covalent organic framework membranes is challenging. Here, the authors show a reverse-phase microemulsion interfacial polymerization to rapidly prepare large-area covalent organic framework membranes in tens of seconds applied to protein desalination.

Low temperature is a major factor limiting productivity in rice. Here the authors show that theCTB4a gene confers cold tolerance to japonicavarieties adapted to cold habitats at the booting stage of development, and propose that CTB4a acts via an interaction with the beta subunit of ATP synthase.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction in acidic media offers a promising route for CO₂ valorization but faces challenges owing to competing hydrogen evolution and sluggish C–C coupling. Here the authors demonstrate that surface-adsorbed iodide ions enhance performance on Cu-based catalysts, doubling ethylene selectivity and reducing overpotentials.

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.

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.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.