A research paper just published in Science China Life Sciences reports that tree diversity enhances the diversity and network complexity, but not alters the contributions of different ecological processes in community assembly of leaf associated epiphytic and endophytic fungi in a subtropical forest experiment.

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, a Chinese team of scientists made a significant breakthrough in major depressive disorder (MDD) research by identifying a novel role of circular RNA (circRNA) with protein-encoding potential. It finds circFKBP8(5S,6) as an MDD-associated circRNA that is primate-specific and encodes a protein with 127 amino acids. The circFKBP8(5S,6)-encoded protein promotes stress sensitivity by inhibiting glucocorticoid receptor nucleus translocation. These results provide crucial insights into circRNA functions in MDD and open the door to innovative treatment strategies.

“How is plant growth controlled?” and “What is the basis of variation in stress tolerance in plants?” were among the 125 most challenging scientific questions, according to the journal Science in 2016. Strigolactone (SL) is an important plant hormone that plays essential roles in regulating branch number, a key growth and development trait for plants. Recently, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have uncovered the mechanism behind SL perception and its key role in the tillering response to nitrogen.

In operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), molecular residual disease (MRD) detection via circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising approach to identify individuals at high risk of disease recurrence and potentially guide adjuvant therapy decisions. A recent prospective observational study conducted at Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, China, aimed to elucidate the role of MRD detection in patients with operable NSCLC harboring oncogenic fusions, MET exon skipping, or de novo MET amplification following surgical resection and explore the association between postoperative MRD mutations and clinical outcomes.

Researchers have implemented the enhanced YOLOv7 in the state identification of railway sliding chairs. This approach is capable of precisely discerning the states of the sliding chairs, thereby enabling the formulation of corresponding maintenance strategies.

Recent advances in optoelectronics have propelled 3D imaging technology into new realms of application, particularly in sectors such as industrial inspection, solid mechanics, and biomedicine. Nevertheless, the 3D imaging speed is fundamentally limited by the intrinsic frame rate of the imaging sensor. Overcoming this barrier is essential for the development of high-speed or even ultra-high-speed 3D imaging capabilities, thereby pushing the boundaries of current 3D imaging technologies. Leveraging frequency multiplexing and deep learning, this study substantially increases the 3D imaging speed of the traditional fringe projection profilometry (FPP) technique, exceeding the detector frame rate by nearly an order of magnitude without compromising the spatial resolution. This new 3D imaging paradigm opens a gate for slow-scan cameras to quantitatively study a multitude of dynamic processes with both high spatial and temporal resolution.