A new pregnancy health cohort study, led by BGI Genomics in collaboration with medical centers from 12 cities in China, has identified common complications, high-risk groups, and geographical trends through biological samples collected across China.

In a paper published in MedComm-Oncology, an international team of scientists present evidence of fossilized cell nuclei and chromosomes within preserved cartilage in a baby duck-billed dinosaur. This dinosaur belongs to Hypacrosaurus and comes from a nesting ground discovered in 1988 by paleontologist Jack Horner in Late Cretaceous sediments of Northwest Montana.

Ischemic injury causes dynamic damage to the native extracellular matrix (ECM), which plays a key role in tissue homeostasis and regeneration by providing structural support, facilitating force transmission, and transducing key signals to cells. The main approach aimed at repairing injury to ischemic tissues is restoration of vascular function. Due to their potential to form capillary niches, endothelial cells (ECs) are of greatest interest for vascular regeneration. Integrin binding to ECM is crucial for cell anchorage to the surrounding matrix, spreading, migration, and further activation of intracellular signaling pathways. In this study, we proposed to establish an in-situ engineering strategy to remodel the ECM at the ischemic site to guide EC endogenous binding and establish effective EC/ECM interactions to promote revascularization. We designed and constructed a dual-function molecule (LXW7)₂-SILY, which is comprised of two functional domains: the first one (LXW7) binds to integrin αvβ3 expressed on ECs, and the second one (SILY) binds to collagen. In vitro, we confirmed (LXW7)₂-SILY improved EC adhesion and survival. After in situ injection, (LXW7)₂-SILY showed stable retention at the injured area and promoted revascularization, blood perfusion, and tissue regeneration in a mouse hindlimb ischemia model.

Researchers led by Prof. HU Zheng from SIAT, uncovered a polyclonal origin of tumors, challenging the traditional clonal evolution theory. Using a DNA barcoding system in mouse models and genomic analysis of human colorectal samples, they demonstrated that colorectal precancers often arise from multiple distinct cellular lineages, which later transition to monoclonality as tumors progress. These findings, published in Nature, provide critical insights into the early evolution of colorectal cancer and offer new opportunities for preventing malignant transformation.

Military and civilian emergency thermochromic applications require rapid visible-light stealth (VLS); however, concurrent smart solar transmission and rapid VLS is yet to be realized. Inspired by squid-skin, a new mechanism of biomimetic thermal phase transformation coupled with forced-induced morphology transformation to regulate full-dimensional (frequency, space and angle) thermal radiation was constructed. It has solved the difficulty of compatibility between smart photothermal regulation and rapid VLS, and shortened the response time from traditional 180 seconds to 1 second.

A team led by Prof. LU Zhengtian and Researcher XIA Tian from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) realized Schrödinger-cat state with minute-scale lifetime using optically trapped cold atoms, significantly enhancing the sensitivity of quantum metrology measurement.

Recent research confirms that the gut microbiome plays a causal role in various chronic diseases, including infections, cancer, and inflammatory disorders, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target. This review synthesizes evidence from randomized controlled trials, showing how microbiome therapies such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can reduce infection recurrence, improve immunotherapy response, and support remission in inflammatory conditions. The findings emphasize the microbiome’s promising role in future, non-invasive treatments for chronic disease management.