Search

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.

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.

This study reports graphene–amorphous carbon with interwoven networks, achieving a flexural strength of 203 MPa. Microscopy shows that crack deflection at graphene/amorphous interfaces underlies its superior performance.

The application of Li-metal batteries (LMBs) is impeded by unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and uncontrollable Li dendrites growth. Here, the authors present an YF₃/PMMA composite layer to achieve high-performance LMBs via the synergetic regulation of SEI mechanics and Li crystallography.

Long-term stability is a key challenge for ruthenium-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. Here, the authors present a RuO2/LiCoO2 catalyst with dynamic Li dissolution, which weakens the covalency of the Ru-O bond to prevent the lattice oxygen mechanism, thereby ensuring stable acidic OER.

Breaking the geometric symmetry of metal-N₄ sites and boosting catalytic activity are significant but challenging. Here, using chlorination engineering, authors convert the Zn-N₄ site with low activity and selectivity for the electroreduction of CO₂ into highly active Zn-N₃ site with broken symmetry.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Establishing optimal metal-support interactions is crucial for creating efficient catalysts for water splitting. Here, stable Ti–O–Ru interface formation and minimal work function difference between Ru nanoparticles and non-stoichiometric Ti4O7 lead to exceptional bifunctional activity of Ru/Ti4O7 for both HER and OER across pH-universal environments, maintaining stable operation for 500 h.

Non-fused ring electron acceptors may have low synthetic costs but also exhibit poor crystallinity in organic solar cells. Zeng et al. use a binary solvent system to control the crystallization and phase separation of donor and acceptor materials, achieving over 19% efficiency.

Rational regulation of electrochemical reconfiguration and exploration of activity origin are important for electrocatalysis. Here, a novel CoC₂O₄@MXene tubular catalyst is rationally designed to achieve rapid complete reconfiguration engineering during the hydrogen evolution reaction process.

Ternary-blend organic photovoltaics enable solar cell performances exceeding binary blends due to the multiple light-harvesting materials, yet challenges remain in controlling their morphology. Now, Zhou et al. exploit hierarchical morphology to build all-small-molecule ternary-blend devices with high performance.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Genomic analyses of 2,191 global common wheat accessions and over 47,000 yellow rust (YR) response data points across several environments and pathogen races provide a genome-wide landscape of YR resistance genes and effective alleles.

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.

Designing and enhancing the performance of metal single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) through atom-pair engineering is important yet difficult. Here the authors develop the atom-pair engineering of Zn-SA/CNCl SAzyme by concurrently creating Zn-N₄ sites as catalytic sites and Zn-N₄Cl₁ sites as catalytic regulators.

Reducing non-radiative energy loss is critical to improving power conversion efficiency in organic solar cells. Jiang et al. show that alkyl side-chain engineering in acceptors reduces the free volume ratio, lowering non-radiative decay, to achieve 18.6% efficiency in bulk-heterojunction binary cells.

A model of the effects of different non-pharmaceutical interventions on the spread of COVID-19 in China suggests that a strategy involving the rapid implementation of a combination of interventions is most effective.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to interrupt COVID-19 transmission may also impact the spread of other infectious diseases. Here, the authors estimate that influenza activity in China and the United States reduced by up to 80% when NPIs were in place in the 2019–2020 season.

Leptin can rescue hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms for this effect are not clear. Here, the authors report that leptin action is mediated by inhibition of the heightened activity of arcuate GABA neurons in murine models of type 1 diabetes through restoring nutrient sensing.

III-V group semiconductor has garnered attention in photothermoelectric field. Here, the authors present a GaON/GaN nanowire-based ultraviolet photothermoelectric detector and describe the physical process of the observed bipolar impulse response.

Ovarian metastases of gastric cancer are more likely to occur in young premenopausal women. Here authors show that estrogen regulates ovarian fibroblasts to promote ovarian metastasis of gastric tumors.

Here, the authors propose a superlattice cathode with co-(de)intercalation chemistry in a rechargeable aluminum ion battery. The proposed cathode exceeds the theoretical capacity for conventional oxide electrodes with single cation shuttling.

Realizing an efficient turnover frequency by modifying the reaction configuration is crucial in designing single-atom catalysts. Here, authors report a “single atom–double site” concept, which involves activating inert atom redox chemistry.

Designing carbon-defect engineering is significant for boosting the catalytic performance of metal single-atom sites catalysts. Herein, the authors report a self-carbon-thermal-reduction strategy for carbon defect engineering to boost the Fenton-like activity of single Fe-N₄ sites.

TMEM16F is a Ca²⁺ activated ion channel and lipid scramblase involved in cell fusion. Here authors determine cryo-EM structures of TMEM16F with or without bound blockers, such as the FDA-approved drug niclosamide.

Here, the authors develop a graphene plasmonic infrared sensor to probe the secondary structure of nanoscale assembly intermediates and the morphological evolution of silk nanofibrils, the fundamental building blocks of silk fibres.

Analysis of whole-genome sequencing data across 2,658 tumors spanning 38 cancer types shows that chromothripsis is pervasive, with a frequency of more than 50% in several cancer types, contributing to oncogene amplification, gene inactivation and cancer genome evolution.

The annual microbial N₂O flux is 2.9 Tg/yr from the ocean, with ODZs accounting for more than half. Geographically, AOA are the most widely distributed contributors, while heterotrophic denitrification mainly occurs in ODZs and contributes the most.

Efficient, large-scale genomic analysis is facilitated on the cloud by a computational tool with error-diagnosing and self-healing capabilities.

Little is known about nitrogen loss processes in deep-sea cold seeps. Here, the authors report that cold seeps are potential hotspots of nitrogen loss, revealing high rates and a diverse range of nitrogen loss genes across multiple microbial phyla.

Analysis of mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) by using whole-genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancer samples across 38 cancer types identifies hypermutated mtDNA cases, frequent somatic nuclear transfer of mtDNA and high variability of mtDNA copy number in many cancers.

Pd, Pt and Au nanoparticles are encapsulated in ZIF-8. The progressive atomic dispersion of these PGM atoms as single sites in the N-doped carbon derived from ZIF-8 pyrolysis is observed.

Biocompatible and degradable silk materials with programmable mechanical properties can be directly obtained from regenerated amorphous silk using thermal moulding.