Driven by a new wave of technological revolution, materials science is transforming. To capture this momentum, the International Conference on Advanced Functional Materials and Technologies (ICAFMT) will be convened in Dongguan, China, from October 23-25, 2026.

ICAFMT26 is dedicated to bridge the gap between advanced materials and intelligent science. By providing a platform for in-depth discussion on new trends, it aims to promote international collaboration and drive global innovation.

Industrial oily wastewater discharges and marine oil spills pose a serious threat to ecosystems. A new strategy for efficient and controllable oil–water separation is provided by smart-responsive wettability materials, owing to their ability to dynamically switch surface wettability in response to external stimuli. Under this premise, we reviewed the research progress and applications of such materials. First, we described the theoretical basis of wettability and the mechanism of oil–water separation. Subsequently, we comparatively analyzed the structural characteristics and separation properties of four types of special wettable materials. We focused on eight categories of smart response wetting materials: temperature, pH, light, electricity, gas, ion, solvent, and multi-response. For each type, we analyzed the response mechanisms, advantages, and limitations in oil–water separation. In addition, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of key preparation techniques such as layer-by-layer self-assembly, electrostatic spinning, and surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Finally, we summarized the current research status and challenges in the field of smart-responsive wetting materials and looked forward to future development directions.

Biochar is often described as a climate-smart soil amendment because it can improve soil quality while storing carbon for long periods. But once biochar is added to soil, it does not stay unchanged. Rain, drying, minerals, oxygen, and microorganisms gradually alter its surface, chemistry, and environmental functions. For saline soils, where salt stress already limits crop production across many agricultural regions, scientists have had limited information about how biochar changes over time.

Tea is one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages, but the soils that sustain tea plantations are under growing pressure. Long-term fertilizer use, monocropping, soil acidification, nutrient loss, heavy metal contamination, and climate stress are threatening both tea productivity and environmental safety. A new review published in Biochar examines how biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by heating biomass under limited oxygen, could become a practical tool for more sustainable tea cultivation.

Rice feeds billions of people, but flooded paddy fields are also an important source of methane, a greenhouse gas far more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. A new five-year field study suggests that the way biochar is applied may determine whether rice farming can achieve durable climate benefits.

A recent review provides an overview of the purinergic receptor P2Y2 and its involvement in cancer-related processes. The article discusses how extracellular nucleotide signaling may influence tumor cell behavior and the tumor microenvironment, and evaluates the potential of P2Y2 as a biomarker and therapeutic target.

Prolonged nutrient deprivation drives motif-specific DNA methylation changes in Flavobacterium columnare, a major fish pathogen. Using advanced Nanopore sequencing, researchers found that specific methylation patterns—especially demethylation of a 6mA-modified motif—serve as epigenetic signatures of starvation adaptation. Temperature also influences these changes. The findings reveal a novel survival mechanism in bacteria and provide a valuable methodological reference for bacterial epigenetics.

Downy mildew is a persistent threat to Brassica vegetable production, but the molecular triggers that help plants resist this disease have remained difficult to define.