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The 2021 drought across northern high-latitude Eurasia reduced summer methane emissions by 20%, mainly from wetlands due to lower liquid water content, according to an analysis using a greenhouse gas monitoring inversion system and a merged satellite dataset.

Fanjiang Kong, Zhixi Tian, Xingliang Hou, Baohui Liu and colleagues report the cloning and functional characterization of J, the locus underlying the long-juvenile (LJ) trait that has enabled tropical cultivation of soybean. They show that J, an ortholog of Arabidopsis ELF3, downregulates the expression of E1, thereby promoting flowering under short-day conditions.

Liu et al. report Chinese normative lifespan brain charts showing later neurodevelopmental milestones than those detected in Western cohorts. Individual deviations from these norms are valuable in assessing clinical risk and outcomes.

Integration of twist-phase-matched van der Waals flakes on optical fibre ends enables efficient nonlinear optical processes, including second-harmonic generation and parametric downconversion, and the fabrication of a frequency-doubling ultrafast laser.

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.

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.

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.

This study analyses how older adults across the USA access key services such as health care, food and housing, revealing geographic disparities and highlighting the need for more equitable planning as the population continues to age.

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 authors show that, by tuning the occupation of moiré-trapped interlayer biexcitons in WS₂/WSe₂ heterostructures, their valley polarization can reach 55% at 120 K, highlighting the potential for valleytronic devices.

Incomplete premelting at the edges of monolayer colloidal crystals is triggered by a bulk solid–solid phase transition and truncated by a mechanical instability that induces homogeneous bulk melting of the crystal; these observations challenge existing theories of two-dimensional melting.

Isotropic tissue magnification is integrated with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging to enable untargeted spatial proteomics at micrometre resolution and with high protein identification rates in multiple tissue types.

A recombinant adeno-associated virus system for restricted gene expression in brain endothelial cells enables cerebrovascular disease modelling.

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.

Vaccines are the most effective tool in managing infectious disease and characterizing features of protective epitopes could help in prediction methods. Here the authors use protein language and geometric deep learning frameworks to investigate primary sequence features and structural features to identify and predict potential antigens, showing prediction of a protective mpox epitope using this method.

A vital contribution from the Pacific Decadal Oscillation modifies the North Pacific since the 1950s. This effect is likely to conceal anthropogenic fingerprints until the late-21^st century.

Previous ophthalmic foundation models have struggled to generalize effectively to diverse and rare fundus diseases, restricting their clinical applicability. Here, the authors introduce a vision-language foundation model that demonstrates superior performance in diagnosing both common and rare fundus conditions.

Urban heat islands and rising cooling demands highlight the need for sustainable nature-based solutions. A meta-analysis of 373 studies shows nature-based solutions cut daytime temperatures by 2.04 °C and cooling loads by 1.32%, with green infrastructure being the most effective across most climates.

Monitoring crystal melting at a single-atom level is challenging because of the small spatial and temporal scales involved, especially for a bulk process. Wang et al. report the melting dynamics of a colloidal crystal with emphasis on the growth of critical nuclei upon different degrees of superheating.

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.

Phospholipase C β (PLCβ) exhibits immuno-modulatory functions but its role in antiviral innate responses is unclear. Here, the authors provide evidence that PLCβ2 down regulates enterovirus-induced pro-inflammatory responses via inhibition of TAK1 activation, and suggest PLC as a potential therapeutic target.

The authors achieve a high electrocaloric effect in barium titanate ceramics with a defect dipole engineering strategy. As a result, defect dipole engineering enables BaTiO₃ to achieve an electrocaloric effect over a wide temperature range.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting rice growth and development. Here, the authors identify a dsRNA-binding protein positively regulates rice drought resistance through promoting stability of OsNCED4 mRNAs, transcript of a key gene for the biosynthesis of abscisic acid, via protein phase separation.

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.

Premelting refers to the formation of a thin liquid film on a crystal’s surface before it properly melts. Now, a similar mechanism is shown to occur before solid–solid transitions in colloidal crystals: the formation of a polymorphic crystalline layer.

A differentiable design framework that integrates both geometrical and magnetomechanical analyses to inversely program the shape morphing in magnetically actuated kirigami is proposed, achieving intricate shapes and multistate transitions.

Ultrafast electron sources are essential for time-resolved electron microscopy techniques, but they usually suffer from limited stability and short lifetimes. Here, the authors report the fabrication of ultrafast hot-electron sources consisting of graphene films integrated on a single-mode optical fibre, showing enhanced stability and longevity.

The self-assembly of nanocrystals into checkerboard lattice patterns is difficult to control. Here, the authors investigate the formation of such patterns from hydrophilic/hydrophobic bifunctionalized Ag nanocubes and use multiscale simulations to understand the effects of physical forces.

To establish a structural signature of slow dynamics as a system approaches the glass transition is challenging. Here, the authors identify, by performing video microscopy experiments and simulations, two structural signatures for the rotational and translational dynamics in monolayers of colloidal ellipsoids.

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.

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.

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.

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.