Using MODIS observations from 2003 to 2024, researchers evaluated candidate regions and seasonal windows for marine cloud brightening (MCB) worldwide by examining how key cloud properties varied with aerosol optical depth (AOD). Among five representative ocean regions, the North Pacific during boreal autumn (SON) showed a favorable coordinated pattern: cloud fraction and cloud optical thickness were positively sensitive to AOD, whereas cloud droplet effective radius was negatively sensitive. The study provides an observational basis for further evaluation of MCB candidate regions and seasonal windows. The findings were published in Science China Earth Sciences.

Many vitreoretinal disorders, including retinal detachment (rhegmatogenous, exudative, or tractional), macular holes, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, diabetic retinopathy, and vitreous hemorrhage, often require vitrectomy with retinal repair, followed by intraocular tamponade to stabilize the retina and preserve ocular integrity. The tamponade agents most used in clinical practice are expansile gases and silicone oil. Although these materials can effectively support postoperative retinal reattachment, they remain limited in terms of long-term stability and biosafety. Complications such as cataract formation, elevated intraocular pressure, intraocular inflammation, and retinal injury associated with silicone oil emulsification may still occur. To address this challenge, Prof. Jianhai Yang and Prof. Wenguang Liu (Tianjin University), together with Prof. Xiaorong Li and Prof. Xiaoli Xing (Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital) developed an injectable zwitterionic polymer hydrogel based on poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC).

Since the Last Glacial Maximum, the Earth’s climate system has undergone pronounced temperature and hydroclimatic changes. This long-term evolution provides an important context for understanding the natural background of modern climate change and the response of the climate system to external forcing. Over China, climate evolution exhibits substantial regional heterogeneity under the combined influence of the East Asian monsoon and the complex topography of the Tibetan Plateau. Using high-resolution dynamical downscaling simulations, Professor Liang Ning and colleagues at Nanjing Normal University systematically investigated millennial-scale climate evolution over China since the Last Glacial Maximum. The results show that the regional climate model provides a more detailed representation of the spatial heterogeneity of temperature and precipitation associated with complex terrain. In addition, the contrasting Holocene trends of summer cooling and winter warming over northern China, the Tibetan Plateau, and northwestern China provide a new seasonal perspective on the Holocene temperature conundrum between proxy reconstructions and climate-model simulations. The study was published in the 2026 Issue 8 of the Chinese and English editions of SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences.

Traditional manual design of Earth Observation Satellite Scheduling Problem algorithms costs massive expert labor. This research introduces AgentAD, an LLM-powered five-agent collaborative framework that converts natural language scenario descriptions into executable Python scheduling codes via four sequential phases. Tests prove its self-evolved algorithms outperform mainstream human-designed heuristics, with memory stream and chain-of-coding mechanisms stabilizing iterative optimization for both basic and complex satellite task scenarios.

Want to cut reliance on Earth supplies for Mars colonies? A new Engineering review explores mild-temperature CO₂ conversion tech ECO2R, a lighter, stabler alternative to NASA’s high-heat MOXIE oxygen generator. It turns Mars’ thick carbon dioxide atmosphere into rocket fuel and breathable oxygen via tailored electrodes and catalysts. Researchers also use CFD simulations and machine learning to fix space-specific hurdles like microgravity mass transport, mapping step-by-step plans to build fully self-sustaining Martian habitats down the line.

 

Photodetectors are the “eyes” of modern electronic systems, playing a vital role in fields ranging from optical communication and imaging to sensing. As technology advances, there is a growing demand for photodetectors that are not only highly sensitive but also capable of detecting a broad spectrum of light, responding rapidly, and distinguishing complex optical information. However, traditional photodetectors often face inherent limitations, such as low light absorption efficiency in thin materials, slow response speeds due to carrier trapping, and limited spectral ranges dictated by material bandgaps.

A study from Koç University shows that regional organizations such as the EU and ASEAN may ease, or aggravate, conflicts depending not only on where they draw their boundaries, but on how flexible, hierarchical and inclusive those boundaries are.

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Dr. Lee Ho Seong) has established purity analysis techniques and testing procedures for 15 high-purity gases used in semiconductor processes, and has developed six certified reference materials (CRMs) that verify measurement accuracy. This provides a foundation for objectively evaluating the quality of semiconductor gases domestically, moving beyond a reliance on the certificates of analysis provided by suppliers themselves.