Strobilurin farm fungicides are showing up from wheat fields to pregnant womens urine, and a new scientific review warns that these “modern” crop protectants may carry hidden risks for ecosystems and human health.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team conducted a review that summarized key advances in nanopore fabrication, surface modification, and integration with chip-based nanofluidic devices. 

Plants are quietly absorbing microplastics from soil and air, and those particles can work their way into our food and ecosystems, according to a new review by researchers at Nankai University in China. The study pulls together the latest evidence to show how plastic fragments and fibers enter plants through roots and leaves, how they travel and accumulate inside tissues, and what this means for crop health, soil microbes, and global food security.

In a landmark study from the Journal of Sport and Health Science, an international team of researchers has gathered evidence from 27 reviews and 135 studies to provide a first global consensus on the definition and classification of short bouts of accumulated exercise. They expect its implementation to empower populations to avoid sedentary behavior, such as prolonged sitting, and move increasingly often, promoting improvements in public health.

A nationwide, multicenter trial in China compares tegoprazan-based (TACB) and esomeprazole-based (EACB) triple therapy plus bismuth for Helicobacter pylori. TACB has 93.5% eradication in the full analysis set, superior to EACB’s 86.4%, with comparable safety and high compliance.

A new study published in Biochar reveals that alkaline biochar, a type of carbon-rich soil amendment, significantly improves microbial carbon use efficiency and nutrient cycling in saline-alkali soils. These findings could help farmers and land managers restore degraded soils in arid and semi-arid regions around the world.