This review examines how indigenous water-harvesting systems have helped dryland communities manage scarce water for centuries. It shows that many are now declining due to groundwater pumping, migration, climate change, policy shifts, weak maintenance, urbanization and natural disasters. The authors argue that revitalizing these systems can improve water access, agriculture, livestock production, groundwater recharge and flood control, while preserving traditional knowledge. Combined with appropriate modern technologies and supportive policies, these systems can strengthen water resilience in arid and semi-arid regions.

A research team led by Prof. WANG Hongzhi at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has found a novel role of prostaglandin E synthase 3 (PTGES3) in liver cancer, revealing how it drives both tumor growth and immune suppression.

With the increasing clinical use of anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibodies in Alzheimer’s disease in China, some patients have completed or are approaching the predefined treatment period, leading to emerging clinical questions regarding post-treatment maintenance, discontinuation, monitoring, and retreatment. However, no consensus has yet been established on long-term management or sequential-like treatment strategies after anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibody therapy. Based on current clinical evidence and the practical experience of Renji Cognitive Center, this article proposes an experience-based protocol for sequential-like management of anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibody therapy. The protocol uses amyloid PET-derived Centiloid values as the core objective reference and recommends stratified management according to clinical clearance status and prior amyloid clearance rate. This protocol is intended to provide a clinical reference and requires further validation and optimization through real-world studies and long-term follow-up.

Scientists have discovered that the electroactive bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens can extract electrons directly from stainless steel to power its metabolism. Surprisingly, this is accomplished without destroying the metal’s protective chromium-oxide passive film, revealing a new mechanism by which microbes can accelerate corrosion of materials widely used in infrastructure and industry.

New research shows commute stress can affect workplace behavior—and how a simple habit like listening to relaxing music can help employees reset before the workday.

Fibrotic scarring is one of the major reasons why the injured spinal cord struggles to repair itself. 

Medical advancements over the last several decades have made great strides in the treatment of HIV. Pharmaceutical treatments are able to contain and reduce a patient’s viral load to the point where it is nearly undetectable. But a cure remains frustratingly elusive due to the virus’s ability to evade the immune system. Researchers from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, who specialize in modulating immune responses, have offered a new approach — one that’s likely familiar to anyone who has dealt with pest removal: setting a trap.

Lung cancer, with high global mortality, requires more precise therapies. The tumor microenvironment (TME) promotes immune evasion, disease progression, and treatment resistance, while nanomedicine targeting immune cells provides a promising approach to reprogram the immunosuppressive TME and enhance anti-tumor immunity. Currently, nanomedicines have flourished in terms of targeting strategies, drug design, and material selection, yet systematic discussion of their mechanisms and efficacy is still lacking. Meanwhile, the clinical translation of nanotherapeutic strategies faces numerous challenges.

In the modern era marked by rapid technological advancements, ferroelectric materials have gradually emerged as highly promising candidates for a wide range of applications, due to their distinctive polarizationcharacteristics. A common strategy to address the low ferroelectric polarization caused by lattice mismatch between the substrate and ferroelectric film is the insertion of a buffer layer. By precisely controlling the thickness of the buffer layer, the maximum polarization was increased from 126.3 μC/cm² to 142.6 μC/cm², providing robust support for accurate recognition in an intelligent traffic-intersection recognition system.

A dynamically modulated radar/infrared stealth composite is integrated by combining polyimide (PI) foam in its bottom, PI foam/carbon nanotube (CNT)/anisotropic iron (Fe)/vanadium dioxide (VO₂) in its middle, and VO₂ coating on its top. The unique phase transition characteristic of VO₂ effectively promotes significant changes in the conductivity, emissivity, and electromagnetic parameters of the composite foam, thereby motivating the intelligent regulation of radar/infrared stealth performance. Moreover, the bottom-designed polyimide thermal barrier layer can effectively block thermal radiation, thereby contributing to reducing surface temperatures. Meantime, VO₂ coating on the surface exhibits lower infrared emissivity after phase transition. The synergistic effect of reduced surface temperature and infrared emissivity contributes to the realization of intelligent infrared stealth. The present work proposes a promising strategy for designing actively adjustable stealth materials to cope with multi-band military detection in complex operational scenarios.