With the continuous advancement of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, L-band SAR has come to play an increasingly important role in Earth observation; however, its imaging, interferometric, and polarimetric performance are susceptible to ionospheric disturbances. In equatorial nighttime data, amplitude streak artifacts induced by equatorial plasma bubbles frequently occur and have traditionally been regarded as interference factors in SAR imaging. Nevertheless, these artifacts essentially carry critical information on ionospheric irregularities and can be exploited to retrieve physical parameters such as scintillation intensity and turbulence spectral indices. Existing methods either rely on comparisons between disturbed and undisturbed images or are limited to preliminary one-dimensional parameter estimation along the track, making it difficult to achieve two-dimensional fine-scale retrieval of scintillation structures, and lacking systematic validation of their spatial correlation with equatorial ionospheric anomalies. Therefore, how to extract the two-dimensional spatial distribution of ionospheric scintillation parameters from amplitude streak artifacts and reveal their intrinsic relationship with regions of enhanced electron density has become an important scientific question in the field of ionospheric remote sensing.

More than 2,000 years ago, massive stone jars were carved from bedrock and placed on a highland plateau in northern Laos. Today, they represent not only an archaeological mystery, but also a series of small, self‑contained ecosystems that now provide researchers from the University of Copenhagen with a unique opportunity to study how nature develops over millennia.More than 2,000 years ago, massive stone jars were carved from bedrock and placed on a highland plateau in northern Laos. Today, they represent not only an archaeological mystery, but also a series of small, self‑contained ecosystems that now provide researchers from the University of Copenhagen with a unique opportunity to study how nature develops over millennia.

Researchers have transformed lightweight balsa wood veneer into a flexible material that generates electricity when pressed. Using two eco-friendly solvent treatments, they removed rigid lignin and added zinc oxide nanoparticles, enabling a 1-mm-thick sample to produce 0.24 V, which over three times the output of untreated wood. Four stacked pieces in series reached 0.92 V, enough to power small smart-home sensors.

Researchers have developed a modular chemoenzymatic platform that efficiently produces six major bioactive alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian), a cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine. Published in Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing, the approach combines engineered enzymes with a simple chemical step to overcome longstanding bottlenecks in heterologous biosynthesis and chemical synthesis, achieving gram-scale preparation with yields up to 48%.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) affects approximately 25% of the global population and is typically linked to obesity. Notably, emerging evidence indicates that 12%–20% of MAFLD occurs in individuals with normal body weight or even in lean individuals, a condition termed lean MAFLD. These individuals often exhibit distinct clinical features, including lower insulin resistance but similar risks of liver fibrosis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and higher cardiovascular mortality. Despite its clinical significance, the underlying mechanism of lean MAFLD remains poorly understood due to the lack of representative animal models.

Liver fibrosis, a common pathological outcome of chronic liver injury, is a key precursor to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite its clinical importance, no effective antifibrotic therapies are currently available.