A case report published in UroPrecision describes how clinicians removed a broken silicone rod from a 71-year-old man’s bladder using cystoscopy alone, showing how tailored endoscopic technique and preoperative imaging can resolve a urological emergency without open surgery.

 A new review provides an integrated perspective on two-dimensional (2D) and quasi-2D lead-free halide double perovskites (LFHDPs), an emerging class of materials for more sustainable optoelectronic technologies. The review connects crystal structure with optical and electronic properties and device performance, covering solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and photodetectors. It also highlights current challenges and emerging strategies for improving efficiency, stability, and scalable fabrication, providing a roadmap toward next-generation lead-free optoelectronics.

Sunflower is valued as an oilseed crop and as a resilient plant that can grow where many crops struggle. 

A groundbreaking new review article, titled “Recent advances in precise synthesis, functional modification and multidisease theranostic applications of layered double hydroxide nanomaterials,” offers a definitive roadmap for the next generation of smart nanomedicine. Published in Frontiers of Materials Science, this comprehensive study synthesizes decades of research to highlight the transformative potential of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in treating complex diseases ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders.

Scientists recently discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating back to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the forearm.

Potatoes are a staple food worldwide, yet boosting their vitamin C content through conventional breeding has proved exceptionally difficult. 

Scientists developed a strategy to mitigate this backflow hazard by sculpting tiny and self-regulating "liquid diodes" directly inside the ultra-narrow tips of flexible catheters. Published in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Beijing Institute of Technology inscribed three-dimensional Tesla microvalves inside 100-micrometer channels using ultrashort laser pulses.

Hard carbon (HC) anodes are promising for sodium-ion batteries, yet achieving high initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), large plateau contribution, and fast charge-transfer kinetics remains challenging due to insufficient control of micro–nanostructure and interphase chemistry. Here, we present a precursor-level molecular engineering strategy that simultaneously regulates sodium desolvation and interphase chemistry in HC. An iodine-mediated oxidative cross-linking process converts starch into spherical HC with uniformly distributed ultramicropores and carbonyl-rich surfaces. These nanoconfined pores are proposed to act as molecular sieves, preferentially excluding bulky solvent molecules while allowing PF₆⁻-coordinated Na⁺ access, thereby favoring anion-enriched electrolyte structures under confinement. Surface carbonyls exhibit strong PF₆⁻ affinity, which may promote fluorine-rich inorganic interphases on pore surfaces. The synergistic effects of anion-selective adsorption and confined desolvation are suggested to favor thin and robust NaF-rich interphases at external surfaces and within nanoconfined pore regions, contributing to reversible interfacial reactions and rapid Na⁺ storage kinetics. Consequently, the HC delivers an ICE of 88.4%, a reversible capacity of 352.9 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1C, excellent rate capability (288.9 mAh g⁻¹ at 5C), and 95.6% capacity retention over 200 cycles. This work offers a molecular-level design paradigm integrating efficiency, capacity, and kinetics in HC anodes.