Search

Currently, there is a lack of clear understanding on how glioma cells exploit neural electrophysiological signaling to drive hyper-invasive behavior. Here, the authors integrate custom microfluidics with machine learning-based signal decoding to uncover a mechanism by which tumors actively reprogram neural firing patterns, synchronizing with their microenvironment to enhance invasiveness.

Strongly coupled light–matter systems could offer enhanced manipulation of topological phenomena. Now, tunable non-Hermitian effects are demonstrated with exciton–polaritons induced by a twist degree of freedom.

A reinforcement learning-based virtual reality system, implementing a series of sport sessions with coaching, was as effective as standard physical activity in reducing fat mass in adolescents, with positive effects on cognition.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of lung adenocarcinoma but known susceptibility variants explain only a small fraction of the familial risk. Here, the authors perform a two-stage GWAS and report 12 novel genetic loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians.

In this Perspective, members of the Aging Biomarker Consortium outline the X-Age Project, an Aging Biomarker Consortium plan for building standardized aging clocks in China. The authors discuss the project roadmap and its aims of decoding aging heterogeneity, detecting accelerated aging early and evaluating geroprotective interventions.

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.

Low-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations in X-ray data are thought to trace the accretion flow in X-ray binaries. Here, the detection of 200 keV oscillations probes the innermost regions of MAXI J1820+070, revealing the precession of a small-scale jet.

Single-atom catalysts enhance wastewater ozonation but face limitations from symmetrical coordination. Here, asymmetrical Fe-N₃P₁ sites significantly boost catalytic ozonation by modulating electronic structures, enabling efficient pollutant removal.

Achieving generality in asymmetric catalysis with highly reactive radicals is a challenge. Now it is shown that a sequential copper-catalysed approach enables the efficient, enantioselective cross-coupling of over 50 diverse radicals, providing unified access to C-, P- and S-chiral products and advancing the asymmetric synthesis of challenging molecular architectures.

Difunctionalization of readily available alkenes is a powerful method to quickly build molecular complexity. Here the authors report a three-component, oxidative carboamination between alkenes, alkyl nitriles and amines, producingγ-amino alkyl nitriles.

Polyploidy and subsequent post-polyploid diploidization (PPD) contribute to evolutionary success of plant species. Here, using 11 genomes from all nine subfamilies of Malvaceae as an example, the authors provide evidence to support the “polyploidy for survival and PPD for success” hypothesis.

It is uncertain how much life expectancy of the Chinese population would improve under current and greater policy targets on lifestyle-based risk factors for chronic diseases and mortality behaviours. Here we report a simulation of how improvements in four risk factors, namely smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and diet, could affect mortality. We show that in the ideal scenario, that is, all people who currently smokers quit smoking, excessive alcohol userswas reduced to moderate intake, people under 65 increased moderate physical activity by one hour and those aged 65 and older increased by half an hour per day, and all participants ate 200 g more fresh fruits and 50 g more fish/seafood per day, life expectancy at age 30 would increase by 4.83 and 5.39 years for men and women, respectively. In a more moderate risk reduction scenario referred to as the practical scenario, where improvements in each lifestyle factor were approximately halved, the gains in life expectancy at age 30 could be half those of the ideal scenario. However, the validity of these estimates in practise may be influenced by population-wide adherence to lifestyle recommendations. Our findings suggest that the current policy targets set by the Healthy China Initiative could be adjusted dynamically, and a greater increase in life expectancy would be achieved.

The authors summarize the data produced by phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, a resource for better understanding of the human and mouse genomes.

Li Dong Wang and colleagues report a genome wide association study for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the Chinese population. They identify two risk loci at PLCE1 and C20orf54.

A quantum microsatellite, with a payload weighing only 23 kilograms, in combination with portable ground stations that weigh merely 100 kilograms, is capable of performing space-to-ground real-time quantum key distribution.

An analysis of 140 floras from China reveals that high species diversity exists in granite and mixed landforms, while low species diversity is found in karst, Danxia, and desert landforms. Based on these findings, the authors provide new clues for understanding the assembly and differentiation of mountain floras, highlighting the role of bedrock and landform processes.

Boron-containing drug candidates have garnered increasing attention due to their pharmacological properties and application in boron neutron capture therapy. Here, the authors report a transition metal-free anti-addition of pinacolborane to alkynes, facilitated by the counteranion effect for the facile construction of bora-butenolide bioisosteres.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is involved in mammalian reproduction, but several studies have suggested a role of FSH and its receptor in extragonadal tissue. Here, the authors show that FSH orchestrates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) via its receptor on pancreatic β-cells, with pre-menopausal FSH levels dose-dependently promoting GSIS and postmenopausal FSH levels inhibiting this effect.

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.

The emergence of superconductivity under pressure is reported in a chromium-based kagome metal, CsCr₃Sb₅, which has strong electron correlations, frustrated magnetism and characteristic flat bands close to the Fermi level.

The Chinese tree shrew, Tupaia belangeri chinensis, has been proposed as a potential animal model in biomedical research and drug safety testing. This study presents the full genome of the Chinese tree shrew, identifying common features between the tree shrew and primates.

A cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and a longitudinal follow-up study of patients with COVID-19 suggest that SARS-CoV2-specific IgG or IgM seroconversion occurs within 20 days post symptom onset.

Efficient photoprotection is vital for the maintenance of photosynthetic efficiency during photodamage. Here, the authors reveal that m⁶A writer VIRILIZER acts as a molecular switch of photoprotection by post-transcriptional regulation in plants.

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.

Accumulation of β-amyloid plaques contributes to neuronal cell death in Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, Leng et al. describe a role for hexokinase 2 in metabolic reconfiguration in microglia that promotes phagocytosis and supports amyloid plaque clearance.

A stereotaxic atlas of the whole mouse brain, based on a Nissl-stained cytoarchitecture dataset with isotropic 1-μm resolution, achieved through continuous micro-optical sectioning tomography, promises to be a versatile brainsmatics tool for studying the whole brain at single-cell level.

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.

In a randomized phase 2 trial comparing anti-PD-1 plus anti-VEGF plus an HDAC inhibitor versus anti-PD-1 plus an HDAC inhibitor in patients with MSS/pMMR colorectal cancer, the triplet combination led to significantly better 18-week progression-free survival.

Jun Wang and colleagues report the genome sequence of the cucumber. The cucumber genome is the seventh plant genome sequence to be reported and was assembled with a combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation sequencing methods.

Using molecular markers is a useful way to predict the prognosis of cancer patients. Here, Wei et al.describe a five gene methylation signature that can predict the prognosis of renal clear cell cancer and validate its use in multiple patient cohorts.

The authors characterized m⁶A dynamics in primate tissue aging and revealed a new role for the METTL3–m⁶A–NPNT axis in maintaining skeletal muscle homeostasis, thereby providing insight into the epitranscriptomic machinery underlying primate aging.

Although irrigation expansion during the 20th century masked or even reversed local warming trends over some intensely irrigated regions, the exposure to moist-heat extremes of local population has increased due to higher air humidity.

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.

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 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.

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.