Fe-N-C interfacial engineering on commercial Pt/C catalysts, via unique 5d-3d/2p orbital hybridization, enables a breakthrough in fuel cell durability and performance. The engineered PtFe/C@Fe-N-C catalyst maintains 97.3% of its activity after 30,000 accelerated stress cycles. This exceptional stability and its high mass activity decisively surpass both the performance of pristine Pt/C and the U.S. Department of Energy's 2025 technical targets.

In a review published in Immunity & Inflammation, Prof. Chen-Yu Zhang from the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Nanjing University has synthesized two decades of progress in extracellular RNA biology. Their article, titled “EV-encapsulated extracellular microRNAs as orchestrators of systemic communication in immunity and inflammation,” traces the remarkable evolution of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) from stable biomarkers in biofluids to active orchestrators of long-range immune regulation and inter-organ crosstalk. The review positions EV-encapsulated miRNAs as a sophisticated “molecular postal system” and “hidden language” that coordinates systemic communication in metabolism, tissue repair, and immune homeostasis.

Wastewater treatment protects rivers, cities, and public health, but it also carries a hidden climate cost. 

Inspired by insect compound eyes, Prof. Ji Chen’s team from Southeast University proposes a bioinspired motion detector based on planar metalens arrays. It realizes an ultra-wide 135° field of view and achieves high-precision perception of moving targets’ velocity and direction. The design effectively detects tiny and slow-moving objects in complex backgrounds and enables intelligent motion trajectory prediction. Featuring high integration and lightweight structure, it provides solid technical support for autonomous perception, industrial early warning and unmanned intelligent systems.

A new study shows that hydrochar, a carbon-rich material made from wet biomass, can improve soil structure and help soils store more carbon more effectively than several common organic amendments.

A new study published in Biochar reports a sustainable membrane technology that converts microalgae-derived biochar into an advanced material for municipal wastewater treatment, offering a promising route to cleaner water and waste valorization.

Traditional Ti₃C₂T_x MXene rich in -F terminals suffers from poor hydrogen evolution activity. Researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University and collaborators developed a n-butyllithium-induced strategy to realize controllable conversion from -F to -O terminals and revealed the working mechanism of different terminals. The optimized Pt/Ti₃C₂T_x and MoS₂/Ti₃C₂T_x catalysts achieve greatly enhanced HER performance. This facile terminal regulation method paves the way for low-cost, high-efficiency MXene-based catalysts toward large-scale green hydrogen production.

Luminescence saturation and severe thermal accumulation remain major challenges for high-brightness laser lighting. To address these issues, a novel PiGF@ZS color converter with a ZrO₂ microsphere-embedded reflector was developed to recycle unabsorbed blue light and enhance heat dissipation simultaneously. Benefiting from the synergistic opto-thermal design, the optimized converter achieved a high luminous efficacy of 240.5 lm/W and a maximum luminous flux of 3782 lm under 25 W laser excitation. Moreover, the surface temperature was reduced to 54.6 ℃ under 3 W excitation with a 5 mm spot diameter. This work provides a low-cost and high-efficiency strategy for next-generation laser lighting, projection displays, and high-power illumination applications.

A 7-year study reveals the endangered Key Largo woodrat has plummeted post-Hurricane Irma and python invasion, while the co-occurring cotton mouse unexpectedly increased—offering critical insights for island biodiversity conservation.