This study explored biosafety trends in synthetic biology through patent analysis. As an interdisciplinary field, synthetic biology brings innovation opportunities to society, but it is accompanied by risks, such as the leakage of biological materials and genetic contamination. The Derwent Innovations Index database was used to retrieve 90 relevant patents for in-depth analysis. Through thematic term identification and data cleansing, the patent landscape and technological advancements at the intersection of synthetic biology and biosafety were assessed. Four biosafety classifications were proposed – operational biosafety, technical cell-culture limitations, pathogenic microorganism biosafety and infrastructure and facility biosafety – providing an empirical basis for relevant policymaking and practice. Quantitative analysis showed that over half of the patents were filed between 2017 and 2022 and that US patents focus mainly on operational-level safety, while Chinese patents emphasise infrastructure innovation. This study highlighted the importance of the patent literature in revealing biosafety issues in synthetic biology and suggested that these patents could be used to guide further patent applications and disclosures to promote the safe development and regulation of synthetic biology.

This narrative review synthesizes current understanding of urban water ecological resilience and identifies three complementary enhancement pathways—technological, ecological, and governance—that are most effective when coordinated as an integrated social–ecological–technological transition. Led by Hua Zheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the study highlights a persistent "definition-to-decision gap" in which resilience concepts outpace measurable indicators and operational planning tools, calling for validated metrics, sustained monitoring, and adaptive governance to transform urban water management.

By tuning molecular rigidity and intermolecular interactions through the incorporation of spiro units, Lu and Chen at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, demonstrate through systematic photophysical and device characterizations that the multi-spiro strategy effectively suppresses aggregation-caused quenching and bimolecular exciton annihilation. Consequently, the emitters exhibit outstanding resistance to concentration quenching, enabling high photoluminescence quantum yields and device efficiencies to be maintained even at high doping concentrations.

Hard carbon (HC) represents the most industrially promising anode material for sodium‑ion batteries. However, the intrinsic correlation between its nanopore architecture and sodium-ion storage kinetics as well as cycling stability remains to be clarified. In this study, lignin‑derivatives and phenolic resin were adopted as precursors. By regulating the molecular aggregation and chemical composition of the lignin precursors, HC materials with different nanoporous structures were prepared. The hard carbon anode with small carbon microcrystal size, high content of sp³ hybrid carbon and relatively large pore size is prone to structural damage during large current cycle. The disorder degree of graphene layers increases and the pore volume decreases. The destruction of the graphene layer structure not only leads to a rapid decline of plateau capacity but also reduces the formation potential of sodium clusters and increases the safety risk of sodium dendrite precipitation. This work reveals the relationship between the structure of HC nanochannels, sodium-ion storage kinetics, and cycling stability, providing a theoretical basis for the design of hard carbon anodes for fast-charging, low-temperature, long-life, and high-safety sodium-ion batteries.

Researchers at Sun Yat-sen University have tailored the nitrogen environment around individual platinum atoms to improve the selective hydrogenation of sulfur-containing nitroarenes. The optimized catalyst combines high activity with sulfur tolerance, retaining more than 99% selectivity over five reuse cycles. Experiments and calculations link this performance to efficient hydrogen activation and weaker sulfur binding.