Potatoes don't sprout by accident—timing is everything. A newly identified microRNA, named stu-miR319c, has been found to play a pivotal role in telling potato tubers when to break dormancy and start growing. 

How can additive manufacturing and metamaterials improve healthcare for aging populations? In a review published in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers examine how 3D printing technologies—particularly laser powder bed fusion and vat photopolymerization—are used to create personalized implants and tissue models using metals, polymers, and even living cells. Their work highlights the role of bioinspired lattice structures and mechanical metamaterials in addressing age-related biomedical challenges and advancing the future of regenerative medicine.

Approximately 10% of the human population is left-handed. Among them, one in five exhibits a peculiar brain phenomenon known as 'atypical language lateralization'. While most people attribute their language capability to their left hemisphere, this atypical group of left-handers utilises their right hemisphere to speak. One of the oldest questions in neuroscience is how this phenomenon impacts brain organisation and human behaviour.

The Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, led by researcher César Ávila, published an article in the eLife journal providing evidence that language and inhibitory function (typically lateralised in the right hemisphere) are programmed to be located in different hemispheres. It also supports the hypothesis that has linked the presence of atypical brain lateralization with some neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia, dyslexia, or the autistic spectrum.

Famed for its deep purple berries and potent antioxidant properties, black wolfberry (Lycium ruthenicum) thrives in harsh desert climates and holds significant nutritional and medicinal value. 

A new genomic study has unlocked the genetic secrets behind the breeding of flowering Chinese cabbage—a popular leafy vegetable in Asian cuisine. 

In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers analyzed spatiotemporal distribution, organizational modes of severe convective wind (SCW) events during the warm season (May to September) in North China. In addition, the environmental conditions before the occurrence of SCW convective systems and non-SCW convective systems were compared. It provides valuable insights to enhance the forecasting accuracy of severe convective weather events in this region.