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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.

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.

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.

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.

Although enzymes are known to use diiron centres to cleave carbon–hydrogen bonds, preparing synthetic compounds that can break these strong, stable bonds has remained notoriously difficult. Now, converting a low-spin ‘diamond core’ iron–oxo biomimetic complex into its high-spin ‘open core’ counterpart has enhanced its C–H bond cleavage ability by over a million times.

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.

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.

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 European X-ray FreeElectron Laser Facility generates ultrashort hard X-ray pulses with megahertz repetition rate. Here, the authors probe the dynamics of dense antibody protein (Ig-PEG) solutions using megahertz X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy at the European XFEL.

POLG mutations impair mitochondrial DNA replication and cause diverse mitochondrial diseases. Here, the authors show that structural differences in the POLγB subunit between humans and mice modulate mutation severity.

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 authors present SVclone, a computational method for inferring the cancer cell fraction of structural variants from whole-genome sequencing data.

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.

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.

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.

Cytochrome c oxidase (CytcO) is the last enzyme of the electron transport chain, but how the electrochemical membrane potential affects CytcO is unclear. Here the authors show that proton uptake to the catalytic site of CytcO and presumably proton translocation was impaired by the potential, but electron transfer was not affected.

Heart pacing devices are bulky or rely on surgery. Here, the authors present an injectable cardiac stimulator based on a nanoparticle solution which attaches to the heart and forms a conductive path to the skin for external connection. It can regulate heartbeats and is thereafter cleared from the body.

Cost-efficient light-emitting electrochemical cells can deliver unique functions, but suffer because strong brightness has only been obtained at modest efficiency. Tang et al. report on rationally designed devices that are both bright and efficient, thus representing a major step towards commercialization.

Photoproduction of solar fuels and important chemicals is of significant interest. Here, the authors construct a cobalt single atom-based photothermal-photocatalytic heterostructure that realizes efficient hydrogen peroxide photosynthesis from earth-abundant seawater.

Members of the DUF368-containing and DedA transmembrane protein families have conditional roles in undecaprenyl phosphate translocation in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and may have a widely conserved function in the biogenesis of microbial cell surface glycopolymers.

Despite their vast potential, the practical deployment of MXenes has been hampered by their tendency to be oxidized. Here, the authors show that simply vibrating MXene films in just a minute can remove the oxide layer formed and restore their electrochemical performance close to its original state.

Single-atom metal catalysts offer maximized material efficiency, but there is large room to improve the intrinsic activity per metal atom for many reactions. Here, the authors demonstrate that the solution for CO oxidation is to tackle the issue of lacking neighboring Pt atoms in the single-atom Pt1/CeO2 system.

Blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and more than 200 genetic loci associated with BP are known. Here, the authors perform discovery GWAS for BP in East Asians and meta-analysis in East Asians and Europeans and report ancestry-specific BP SNPs and selection signals.

Diagnostic blood-based biomarkers of pediatric IBD are limited. Here, the authors demonstrate a diagnostic lipidomic signature, comprising only of two molecular lipids. Translation of this signature into a scalable test has the potential to support clinical decision making.

In order to find a general treatment for cancer, this study found that MTH1 activity is essential for the survival of transformed cells, and isolated two small-molecule inhibitors of MTH1, TH287 and TH588 — in the presence of these inhibitors, damaged nucleotides are incorporated into DNA only in cancer cells, causing cytotoxicity and eliciting a beneficial response in patient-derived mouse xenograft models.

Sebastian Nilsson and colleagues capture the 3D structure of a gliding arc plasma and simultaneously apply a single shot fluorescence lifetime imaging from which the physical properties linked to the chemistry and molecular collision dynamics can be extracted.

Extracting signals from noise is challenging in single-particle catalysis. Here, the authors use deep learning to enhance mass spectrometry, enabling detection of reactions on single nanoparticles.

In a large-scale proteomic study of biological aging of 11 organs from 44,498 individuals in the UK Biobank, the biological ages of the brain and immune system emerged as strong predictors of healthspan and longevity.

While the homo N-N coupling of two NH moieties to form the hydrazide N-N bond is well developed, the crossdehydrogenative hetero N-N coupling remains unevolved. Here the authors present an efficient, PhI(OAc)2-mediated intermolecular N-N cross-coupling of primary benzamides with primary and secondary amines.

Here authors investigate the effects of different metals incorporated in the structures and possible additional phases have on the CO₂ uptake of pyrene-based MOFs. Results show that when additional phases are present, the pore volume is reduced and CO₂ binding sites in the structure are different, leading to different adsorption properties.

Accurately computed chemisorption energies are essential for modeling catalytic conversions in heterogeneous catalysis, but are challenging to obtain. Here authors combine two approaches to improve this situation: standard DFT applied to the extended system, and small cluster models that can be treated with higher-level computational techniques to improve the description of chemical bonding.

CDNF is a clinical trial candidate in Parkinson’s disease but the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, the authors use SAXS and NMR techniques to resolve the structure of CDNF in complex with GRP78 and show that this interaction is required for the neuroprotective action of CDNF.

Can support polarisation introduce an extra degree of freedom in catalyst scaling relations? This research considers a computational approach for studying catalysts on polar supports and identifies the origin of broken scaling relations.

Autostereoscopic three-dimensional displays allow the perception of depth, by presenting offset images to the left and right eye, without the need for specialized glasses. Yoonet al propose a Luciusmicroprism array to control the directionality and intensity of light in three-dimensional displays.

The oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II converts water into oxygen during photosynthesis, but how this process occurs is not yet fully understood. Here, the authors use modified complexes with reduced reaction rates to study the process of oxygen evolution in more detail.

A growth strategy based on surface-accumulated excess electrons enables the realization of non-oxidized bare copper nanoparticles stable under ambient conditions.

It is challenging to realize doping and surface passivation simultaneously in colloidal quantum dot inks. Here Choi et al. employ a cascade surface modification approach to solve the problem and obtain record high efficiency of 13.3% for bulk homojunction solar cells based on these inks.

Here, the authors characterize a SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine candidate that contains full-length spike protein stabilized in its prefusion conformation, and show immunogenicity in baboons and protection in mice with Matrix-M adjuvanted vaccine.

The bark is the outermost defense of trees against microbial attack, largely due to toxicity of extractive compounds. Here, Ristinmaa et al. study microbial community dynamics and chemical changes during degradation of spruce bark over six months, showing that the microbial degradation of extractive compounds, such as resin acids, has a major role in shaping the microbial community.