Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a spectrum of liver conditions ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis (MASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis, represents a global health epidemic with no approved pharmacotherapies.

The liver plays a central role in maintaining systemic energy homeostasis during fasting by mobilizing lipid reserves, a process often accompanied by transient hepatic steatosis. Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 1 (DDAH1), a key enzyme metabolizing asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), has been shown to protect against NAFLD under nutrient-overload conditions. However, its role in the physiological context of fasting remained elusive.

The instability of anode catalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a central obstacle to commercializing proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. In the highly oxidative and acidic anode environment, catalysts suffer from dissolution, mechanical detachment, and impurity-driven degradation—failure modes that are tightly interconnected and cannot be solved through material optimization alone. This perspective evaluates these coupled degradation pathways and the limitations of current material, structural, and system-level strategies. We argue that durable acidic OER requires mechanistic insight under realistic operating conditions and the coordinated advancement of catalyst design, operando characterization, engineering improvements, and data-driven modeling. Such an integrated framework is essential for developing stable anodes and enabling large-scale, long-lifetime PEM electrolyzers.

Electronic devices face dual challenges of electromagnetic wave (EMW) interference and heat accumulation, yet achieving simultaneous EMW absorption and thermal conductivity in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remains difficult due to its electrical insulation. Here, a simple and scalable mechanochemical strategy is developed to modify inert h-BN flakes (BNFs) with liquid metal (LM), activating their surface to generate abundant interfacial polarization centers. The optimized H-BNF@LM composite delivers outstanding EMW absorption with a minimum reflection loss of -48.4 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.76 GHz. Moreover, when integrated into an aramid nanofiber (ANF) matrix, the composite film exhibits a thermal conductivity nearly five times higher than that of pure ANF film. Beyond superior EMW absorption and thermal management, the films demonstrate excellent flexibility and remarkable flame retardancy, ensuring reliable operation even under harsh conditions. This work provides an efficient route for designing multifunctional composites suitable for next generation electronics.

A research team from Lanzhou University, China, has improved tree-ring simulations of a widely used forest growth model, 3-PG, by adding a carbon storage component. The new model version significantly enhances the model’s ability to simulate variations in both tree-ring widths and stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C). The upgrade addresses a key limitation in previous versions and provides a more physiologically accurate picture of how trees grow and store carbon over time.

Published in Forest Ecosystems, a seven-year study of loblolly pine plantations shows that crowded forests favor big trees in diameter growth, while smaller trees grow faster in height. Thinning rows and removing weaker trees slowed this dominance, letting smaller trees catch up and creating a more balanced forest. This shift also boosted overall wood production, offering insights for smarter forest management.

A new study of European beech trees reveals that their root systems respond more to short-term changes in soil water than to the long-term wetness of their growing sites. During dry periods, beech trees grow thinner, longer roots with more tips, enhancing water absorption, while wetter conditions lead to shorter, thicker roots. This seasonal root flexibility allows the trees to adapt rapidly to fluctuating soil moisture, highlighting the importance of monitoring short-term water availability for understanding tree resilience to drought.

In an article published in Science China Earth Sciences, two senior scientists at China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and University of Science and Technology of China present comprehensive arguments for the past and present of intracontinental orogens, developing a holistic model of mountain building from intracontinental reworking of fossil plate margins. The intracontinental orogeny involves dual dynamic mechanisms via either far-field compressional stress transmission from remote plate margins or near-field extensional stress focus from local plate bottom. This provides new insights into the formation and evolution of continental tectonics with respect to inheritance and development in both structure and composition from preceding plate margins.

A research paper by scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology presented a carrier-free tumor-suppressing peptide–daunorubicin–siRNA (PDR) nanoassembly.