The centromere is a unique chromosomal locus responsible for the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Disruption of centromere integrity frequently causes aberrant chromosome segregation and chromosome instability, a hallmark of cancers. The function of G9a/GLP-mediated H3K9me2 at (peri)centromeric heterochromatin remains elusive. A study published in Science Bulletin carefully investigated this topic and revealed an important role of H3K9me2 in protecting the centromeric chromatin landscape and thus ensuring accurate chromosome segregation.

Foraminifera (forams) are shelled microorganisms that are abundant in the Earth’s seabed. Analyzing different species of forams provides important information about climate change, the state of the marine environment, and suitable areas for carbon capture and storage.

Researchers from Nanjing Forestry University in China have developed a new freely-available computer software package called phylolm.hp that helps scientists better understand how evolutionary history and environmental factors influence plant traits. The package uses advanced statistical methods to separate the relative contributions of phylogeny and ecological predictors in comparative plant studies.

To address the Ohmic losses and limited integration of conventional topological metasurfaces, Chinese scientists developed a novel approach by harnessing on-chip all-dielectric metasurfaces to precisely extract optical guided waves, replacing the loss-inducing role of metals. This strategy enables the creation and control of topological exceptional points in an all-dielectric environment, overcoming traditional limitations while leveraging the low-loss and high-integration advantages of on-chip dielectric platforms.

In an era where autonomous systems demand pinpoint accuracy, navigation algorithms face a tough trade-off between precision and speed. 

For the first time, light itself has been sculpted into a toron—a 3D pinwheel-like chiral topology that marries skyrmion textures with paired synthetic magnetic monopoles. Using vector structured beams, the scientists create, image and continuously tune these “pinwheels of light,” and watch them morph into typical topologies such as hopfions and monopole pairs on demand. The platform promises topologically protected information channels in free space and new routes for light–matter interaction.

In a significant stride towards sustainable and cleaner energy, researchers from West Africa have conducted a comparative assessment of pollutant emissions between biofuel briquettes and charcoal.

Rechargeable metal–air batteries have gained significant interest due to their high energy density and environmental benignity. However, these batteries face significant challenges, particularly related to the air-breathing electrode, resulting in poor cycle life, low efficiency, and catalyst degradation. Developing a robust bifunctional electrocatalyst remains difficult, as oxygen electrocatalysis involves sluggish kinetics and follows different reaction pathways, often requiring distinct active sites. Consequently, the poorly understood mechanisms and irreversible surface reconstruction in the catalyst’s microenvironment, such as atomic modulation, nano-/microscale, and surface interfaces, lead to accelerated degradation during charge and discharge cycles. Overcoming these barriers requires advancements in the development and understanding of bifunctional electrocatalysts. In this review, the critical components of metal–air batteries, the associated challenges, and the current engineering approaches to address these issues are discussed. Additionally, the mechanisms of oxygen electrocatalysis on the air electrodes are examined, along with insights into how chemical characteristics of materials influence these mechanisms. Furthermore, recent advances in bifunctional electrocatalysts are highlighted, with an emphasis on the synthesis strategies, microenvironmental modulations, and stabilized systems demonstrating efficient performance, particularly zinc– and lithium–air batteries. Finally, perspectives and future research directions are provided for designing efficient and durable bifunctional electrocatalysts for metal–air batteries.

Label-free detection of biological events at single-cell resolution in the brain can non-invasively capture brain status for medical diagnosis and basic neuroscience research. We have developed a new label-free, multiphoton photoacoustic microscope (LF-MP-PAM) with a near-infrared femtosecond laser to observe endogenous NAD(P)H in living cells. We demonstrated the detection of endogenous NAD(P)H photoacoustic signals in brain slices to 700 μm depth and in cerebral organoids to 1100 μm depth.