In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of carbon and silicon burial in a river-dominated estuary. This study provides a robust method for examining changes in carbon preservation associated with silicon under the increasing anthropogenic nutrient inputs in coastal water.

A recent study published in National Science Review conducted change detection in the youngest, topographically steepest, and theoretically most unstable regions on the lunar surface, revealing a large number of new landslides formed since 2009. Endogenic moonquakes rather than new impacts are the primary trigger, and the Imbrium basin may host an active seismic zone.

A research team led by Prof. Guo-Yong Xiang and Prof. Wei Yi from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has reported the experimental observation of chiral switching between collective steady states in a dissipative Rydberg gas. This phenomenon, underpinned by a unique "Liouvillian exceptional structure" inherent to non-Hermitian physics, allows the state of the system to be controlled by the direction in which it is tuned through the parameter space, much like a revolving door that only allows exit in one direction. The results were published in Science Bulletin.

The precise design of functional molecules is of great significance for regulating the microenvironment in the nanospace. Now, writing in the journal National Science Review, the researchers from Northwest University in China have reported a coordination cage for confined nanospaces with flexible aliphatic "grippers". These implanted flexible "grippers" offer an adaptive capture process involving numerous substrates and can achieve better stability through the weak interaction they provide.

Soft robots demonstrate significant potential for applications in complex environments due to their remarkable flexibility; however, the efficient integration of multiple responsive modes remains a major challenge. The team led by Prof. Chen Xin and Prof. Chen Yun at Guangdong University of Technology, in collaboration with Dr. Guo Yuanhui from Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, has developed an amphibious soft robot that responds to temperature, humidity, and magnetic fields. This work introduces a novel approach in soft robotics with its capability to operate in multiple modes, which is anticipated to find applications in practical situations like search, rescue, and smart logistics.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) represents a paradigm of targeted therapy in hematologic malignancies. Once regarded as the most fatal form of leukemia due to its rapid onset and severe hemorrhagic risk, APL was fundamentally transformed in the 20th century when Dr. Tingdong Zhang from Harbin Medical University, China discovered that arsenic trioxide (ATO) could effectively treat patients, achieving remission rates of up to 90% and converting it into the most curable acute leukemia. Extensive mechanistic studies have demonstrated that ATO exerts therapeutic effects by inducing apoptosis and promoting differentiation of APL cells. More recently, a study published in Science Bulletin using single-cell sequencing further revealed that ATO not only directly eliminates leukemic cells but also reshapes the tumor microenvironment through modulation of lymphocyte activity, underscoring its multifaceted role in APL treatment.

This study innovatively proposes using oxalic acid, a mild organic acid, as an activator to convert waste lignin into a high-performance metal-free porous carbon catalyst (OAL) via a one-step pyrolysis process. The goal is to investigate the performance and mechanism of OAL in activating PMS to degrade SMX, hoping to provide a new, efficient, safe, and sustainable approach to water pollution control, achieving "waste-to-waste" solutions.

The brain, one of the most sophisticated and complex organs, remains a mystery in many aspects of its function. Scientists in Switzerland and China developed a groundbreaking hybrid imaging platform—HyFMRI—to simultaneously capture the dynamic activity of neurons, astrocytes, and hemodynamic responses. The technology, demonstrated in a mouse model, enables unprecedented studies of brain activity, opening new frontiers for understanding neuro-glial-vascular coupling in health and disease.

This study provides valuable insights into the variability of tumor immune microenvironment across individuals and highlights the potential to enhance antitumor efficacy by targeting immunosenescence.

Flexible fiber sensors, with their excellent wearability and biocompatibility, are essential components of flexible electronics. However, traditional methods face challenges in fabricating low-cost, large-scale fiber sensors. In recent years, the thermal drawing process has rapidly advanced, offering a novel approach to flexible fiber sensors. Through the preform-to-fiber manufacturing technique, a variety of fiber sensors with complex functionalities spanning from the nanoscale to kilometer scale can be automated in a short time. Examples include temperature, acoustic, mechanical, chemical, biological, optoelectronic, and multifunctional sensors, which operate on diverse sensing principles such as resistance, capacitance, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, photoelectricity, and thermoelectricity. This review outlines the principles of the thermal drawing process and provides a detailed overview of the latest advancements in various thermally drawn fiber sensors. Finally, the future developments of thermally drawn fiber sensors are discussed.