An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team investigated Escherichia albertii, what is known about this bacterium, and directions of future research to fill the knowledge gap. 

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have emerged as a significant class of materials promising for photocatalysis, and defect engineering offers an effective route for enhancing their photocatalytic performance. In this mini-review, a first-principles design perspective on defect engineering in 2D materials for photocatalysis is provided. Various types of defects in 2D materials, spanning point, line, and planar defects are explored, and their influence on the intrinsic properties and photocatalytic efficacy of these materials is highlighted. Additionally, the use of theoretical descriptors to characterize the stability, electronic, optical, and catalytic properties of 2D defective systems is summarized. Central to the discussion is the understanding of electronic structure, optical properties, and reaction mechanisms to inform the rational design of photocatalysts based on 2D materials for enhanced photocatalytic performance. This mini-review aims to provide insights into the computational design of 2D defect systems tailored for efficient photocatalytic applications.

The global transition to a hydrogen-based clean energy economy faces a critical bottleneck: current proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and water electrolyzers rely almost exclusively on scarce platinum group metals (PGMs) like platinum and iridium oxide. With platinum reserves accounting for only 5% of gold reserves worldwide, this dependency presents a major barrier to large-scale deployment. Nature, however, offers a compelling solution. Over billions of years, evolution has engineered highly efficient enzymes using only earth-abundant elements to manage energy metabolism. These biological catalysts achieve maximum metal atom utilization—where every atom participates in catalysis—unlike conventional nanoparticles where only surface atoms are active. They also demonstrate exceptional activity and operate in aqueous environments under mild conditions. Columbia University and Tsinghua University researchers argue that translating these enzyme design principles into synthetic electrocatalysts could revolutionize hydrogen energy technologies.

High-temperature stealth is vital for enhancing the concealment, survivability, and longevity of critical assets. However, achieving stealth across multiple infrared bands—particularly in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) band—along with microwave stealth and efficient thermal management at high temperatures, remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose a strategy that integrates an IR-selective emitter (Mo/Si multilayer films) and a microwave metasurface (TiB₂–Al₂O₃–TiB₂) to enable multi-infrared band stealth, encompassing mid-wave infrared (MWIR), long-wave infrared (LWIR), and SWIR bands, and microwave (X-band) stealth at 700 °C, with simultaneous radiative cooling in non-atmospheric window (5–8 μm). At 700 °C, the device exhibits low emissivity of 0.38/0.44/0.60 in the MWIR/LWIR/SWIR bands, reflection loss below − 3 dB in the X-band (9.6–12 GHz), and high emissivity of 0.82 in 5–8 μm range—corresponding to a cooling power of 9.57 kW m⁻². Moreover, under an input power of 17.3 kW m⁻²—equivalent to the aerodynamic heating at Mach 2.2—the device demonstrates a temperature reduction of 72.4 °C compared to a conventional low-emissivity molybdenum surface at high temperatures. This work provides comprehensive guidance on high-temperature stealth design, with far-reaching implications for multispectral information processing and thermal management in extreme high-temperature environments.

Rapid development of artificial intelligence requires the implementation of hardware systems with bioinspired parallel information processing and presentation and energy efficiency. Electrolyte-gated organic transistors (EGOTs) offer significant advantages as neuromorphic devices due to their ultra-low operation voltages, minimal hardwired connectivity, and similar operation environment as electrophysiology. Meanwhile, ionic–electronic coupling and the relatively low elastic moduli of organic channel materials make EGOTs suitable for interfacing with biology. This review presents an overview of the device architectures based on organic electrochemical transistors and organic field-effect transistors. Furthermore, we review the requirements of low energy consumption and tunable synaptic plasticity of EGOTs in emulating biological synapses and how they are affected by the organic materials, electrolyte, architecture, and operation mechanism. In addition, we summarize the basic operation principle of biological sensory systems and the recent progress of EGOTs as a building block in artificial systems. Finally, the current challenges and future development of the organic neuromorphic devices are discussed.

Objective: Transcription factor E2F7 exerts suppressive transcription effects and was validated as highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in our previous study. Based on the correlation between E2F7 and the dismal clinicopathological features in patients, we investigated the downstream regulators controlled by E2F7 in HCC progression and identified a potential E2F7/miR-218-5p axis facilitating HCC cell growth by stabilizing USP32, one of the important ubiquitin-specific peptidases.

Methods: The expression profiles of miR-218-5p and USP32 were detected in HCC cell lines and patients’ specimens, combined with the analysis of the public databases. The clinicopathological features of 95 HCC patients were analyzed. Cellular functional experiments through the expression regulation of these genes were conducted in vitro. The chromatin immunoprecipitation and the Dual-luciferase reporter assays were carried out to demonstrate the interaction between the candidate genes.

Results: USP32 was aberrantly overexpressed in HCC, and its high expression was positively associated with poor clinical outcomes and served as an independent risk factor. USP32 depletion impaired HCC cell growth and miR-218-5p targeted USP32 mRNA, thereby acting as a suppressive upstream regulator in HCC. E2F7 directly binds to the promoter region of miR-218-5p and suppressively modulates the transcription activity. Modulation of the E2F7/miR-218-5p axis significantly impacts USP32 transcription and HCC cell growth.

Conclusions:USP32 is a pivotal ubiquitin peptidase highly expressed in HCC and facilitates tumor development. The E2F7/miR-218-5p axis functions as an upstream regulatory mechanism that modulates USP32 expression through transcriptional suppression. These genes provide the possibility for innovative targets against HCC.

Plant polyphenol pterostilbene packed in pH-sensitive microbeads reaches the inflamed colon, calms immune attack, heals leaky lining and rebalances gut bugs—offering a promising, low-cost idea for ulcerative colitis care.

Radionuclide drug conjugates (RDCs) have emerged as transformative agents that integrate diagnosis and therapy into a single clinical workflow. 

Utilizing waste cotton fabric as a dual-functional flexible substrate and carbon source, this work enabled vapor-liquid-solid growth of high-entropy carbide nanowires. The resulting material achieved exceptional EMI shielding through synergistic electrical conduction loss, dipolar polarization loss, and interfacial polarization loss.

There are over 36,500 pieces of space debris of larger than 10 cm in orbit according to statistical model orbit provided by European Space Agency’s Space Debris Office at European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Any of those debris can pose a threat to operational satellites. Active debris removal (ADR) is conducted to solve the above problems for stabilizing the space debris environment. Unfortunately, the angular velocity of space debris exceeds the maximum angular velocity of 4 to 5 deg/s that can be directly captured by a robotic arm. Therefore, to stabilize the debris environment, the first task, i.e., de-tumbling tasks, is to reduce the initial angular velocity of the debris by applying an external torque. To ensure the safety of the de-tumbling tasks avoiding collision between the de-tumbling device and the uncooperative space target, many contactless methods have been studied. Among them, the contactless method based on electromagnetic eddy current method has received increasing attention due to the advantages of pollution-free and high safety performance.