A recent study published in National Science Review has introduced a policy-specific assessment framework featuring a novel Synergy Index, designed to uncover how air pollution control and carbon mitigation can move in harmony or fall out of step. Drawing on China’s on-road transportation sector as a case study, the research quantifies both the realized and untapped synergies in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and improving air quality. The findings paint a compelling picture: from 2010 to 2020, China’s on-road transportation emission control policies achieved lower GHG emissions, cleaner air, and substantial public health benefits. However, behind this progress lies an unexpected finding showing that policy synergies have been weakening, highlighting the urgency of robust structural transitions to maintain long-term carbon and air-pollution co-control, to advance a sustainable pathway toward the Sustainable Development Goals, and to fullfil the newly announced NDC target.

A research team proposes a three-dimensional quantum anomalous Hall effect (3D QAHE) in Weyl semimetals (WSMs) by introducing Rashba spin-orbit coupling. This new state supports chiral surface and hinge states along different spatial directions, with Hall resistance switching between 0, h/e², and ±h/e², offering potential for energy-efficient devices and in-memory computing.

Writing in the journal National Science Review, researchers present a multichamber magnetic capsule robot for performing multiple tasks in the digestive tract. By applying external programming magnetic fields, its four independent chambers can be selectively opened, allowing for sampling bodily fluid or releasing drug at multiple sites or times via one-time oral intake. This design significantly improves patient comfort and procedural efficiency, demonstrating promising potential for clinical application.

A new review highlights major advances in bio-hydrovoltaic technology, marking a shift from traditional non-living materials to living biological systems that generate electricity through metabolic processes. This revolutionary energy approach offers self-regulation, environmental adaptability, and biodegradability, with strong potential in wearables, environmental monitoring, and distributed energy networks. Future directions include a “hydrovoltaic internet,” “hydrovoltaic intelligence,” and “hydrovoltaic ecology,” while key challenges remain in material stability, scalable manufacturing, and biosafety.

Under ultraviolet irradiation, water molecules can generate highly oxidative hydroxyl radicals (Ultraviolet-water/UV-W), which can scissor polymer chains. The study results reveal that by first introducing water passages into the polymer membrane and subsequently applying the UV-W process, tunable angstrom-sized channels can be created, enabling precise ion sieving.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynecological disease that affects women of reproductive age and is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, and polycystic changes in the ovaries. In recent years, along with irregular menstruation and infertility, metabolic abnormalities associated with PCOS have garnered increasing attention. Insulin resistance is the most prevalent metabolic abnormality in patients with PCOS and is closely related to disease progression and severity.

Despite impressive progress being made in investigating the mechanisms underlying endometriosis, the pathophysiology of this disease remains unclear. Although typical methods used for diagnosing endometriosis such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and blood tests are available, these are also inefficient, and effective noninvasive diagnostic methods are lacking. The advances in high-throughput omics techniques have enabled metabolomics to become an effective approach for discovering promising biomarkers. The aberrant metabolism associated with serious symptoms of endometriosis in women has been revealed in recent years. Analyzing the global metabolic patterns in patients with endometriosis may help deepen the understanding of the disease mechanism and have a significant impact on future diagnostic and treatment methods for endometriosis. Herein, we reviewed relevant studies on metabolic changes in patients with endometriosis and discussed the changes in metabolites both in biological fluids and endometriosis tissues. The findings discussed in this review have potential diagnostic implications and will enhance the understanding of the pathophysiological processes underlying the disease.

Carbon superstructures with multiscale hierarchies and functional attributes represent an appealing cathode candidate for zinc hybrid capacitors, but their tailor-made design to optimize the capacitive activity remains a confusing topic. Here we develop a hydrogen-bond-oriented interfacial super-assembly strategy to custom-tailor nanosheet-intertwined spherical carbon superstructures (SCSs) for Zn-ion storage with double-high capacitive activity and durability. Tetrachlorobenzoquinone (H-bond acceptor) and dimethylbenzidine (H-bond donator) can interact to form organic nanosheet modules, which are sequentially assembled, orientally compacted and densified into well-orchestrated superstructures through multiple H-bonds (N–H···O). Featured with rich surface-active heterodiatomic motifs, more exposed nanoporous channels, and successive charge migration paths, SCSs cathode promises high accessibility of built-in zincophilic sites and rapid ion diffusion with low energy barriers (3.3 Ω s^−0.5). Consequently, the assembled Zn||SCSs capacitor harvests all-round improvement in Zn-ion storage metrics, including high energy density (166 Wh kg⁻¹), high-rate performance (172 mAh g⁻¹ at 20 A ^g−1), and long-lasting cycling lifespan (95.5% capacity retention after 500,000 cycles). An opposite charge-carrier storage mechanism is rationalized for SCSs cathode to maximize spatial capacitive charge storage, involving high-kinetics physical Zn²⁺/CF₃SO₃⁻ adsorption and chemical Zn²⁺ redox with carbonyl/pyridine groups. This work gives insights into H-bond-guided interfacial super-assembly design of superstructural carbons toward advanced energy storage.

Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that a considerable proportion of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently exhibit pronounced dyslipidaemia. However, the causal dynamics between MDD and dyslipidaemia remain elusive. To comprehensively disentangle the genetic causality between MDD and various phenotypes of blood lipids, thereby facilitating the advancement of management strategies for these conditions.

Antenatal anxiety (AA) is a common mental disorder during pregnancy and adversely affects the well-being of both pregnant women and their offspring. The prevalence of AA is exceptionally high in the first trimester, yet there is a lack of studies focusing exclusively on AA in the first trimester. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of AA among Chinese pregnant women during the first trimester.