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The ureter has mechanical properties that vary along the anatomical length and change with age. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of ureter properties and discuss how understanding the mechanical forces that the ureter is exposed to during clinical interventions can be leveraged to improve surgical outcomes.

Ureteral stents are useful devices for urological management in pregnancy. However, stent encrustation occurs in up to 13% of patients and is related to increased indwelling time. Stent encrustation can be harmful for both the mother and the fetus, increasing their morbidity and mortality. Thus, whether prevention or cure is more cost effective is pertinent.

MRI and the Vesical Imaging-Reporting And Data System are highly accurate imaging tools for bladder cancer staging. A panel of experts have agreed on their efficacy in different clinical settings for cancer care, using the Delphi methodology. This Expert Recommendation will provide guidance for future research agendas.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize scientific publishing. The influence of AI could be disruptive or destructive and its influence remains to be seen, but balance between the convenience and accessibility offered by AI-driven tools and the essential skills of deep scientific inquiry and communication needs to be found.

The escalating global prevalence of urinary stone disease and its impact on public health reflects the need to synthesize ideas that can help with the development of critical research priorities. By bringing together a forum of endourologists with the support of a funding agency, the IDEA session aimed to identify important future research topics.

Genetic and ancestral factors, molecular pathways involving androgen and non-androgen receptor signalling, inflammation, epigenetics, the tumour microenvironment and tumour metabolism are posited as biological factors that potentially contribute to racial disparities in Black men with prostate cancer.

Sexual interactions between members of the same sex are common but the reasons for these behaviours are not always clear. Results from a study across mammals suggest that increased same-sex behaviour evolved with sociality and might reduce conflict, although increased male–male sexual interactions are associated with increased adult killing.

Senescent stromal fibroblasts exhibit a senescence-associated secretory phenotype, which can promote prostate cancer development, progression and resistance to therapy. Targeting senescent cells via senotherapeutics might be an attractive preventive or therapeutic option for prostate cancer.

Here, the authors describe the history of the efforts to expand knowledge of Wilms tumour biology, genetics, embryonal origin and associated syndromic and familial conditions, and to clinically apply prognostic biomarkers and development of preclinical models.

In this Expert Recommendation, the most pressing questions related to male reproductive health, spanning the spectrum of andrology, are identified. These questions encompass and highlight many opportunities to influence the wellness of future generations.

Much of the Y chromosome has remained obscure owing to the challenge of sequencing repetitive genomic regions. Recently, the Y chromosome has been fully sequenced, revealing extensive heterochromatic areas and 41 new protein-coding genes. Furthermore, 43 Y chromosomes have been sequenced, showing extensive multi-sample variation and providing promising insights into male infertility.

In this Review, the authors provide an overview of currently available diagnostic liquid biopsy biomarkers for renal cell carcinoma, comparing clinical potential and limitations of the three most promising liquid biomarkers: circulating tumour cells, extracellular vesicles and cell-free DNA.

In this Expert Recommendation, the authors provide a standardized nomenclature to improve the Human Phenotype Ontology tree with regard to the classification of non-syndromic male infertility. The implications of introducing this vocabulary in promoting communication across disciplines and institutions and in discovering novel genetic causes of non-syndromic male infertility are also discussed.