A research team led by Dr. Seo, Jae hwa at Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Advanced Semiconductor Research Center, working with Professor Yoon, Young jun’s team at Gyeongkuk National University, has achieved Korea’s first demonstration of a silicon carbide (SiC)-based betavoltaic cell designed to generate electricity for more than 50 years without recharging or replacement even in extreme environments such as space and the polar regions. The findings have drawn international attention, having been published in the International Journal of Energy Research, a leading global journal in the energy field ranked in the top 3.6% by JCR and second in its subject category.

Nitrilases are critical industrial biocatalysts for converting nitriles into high-value carboxylic acids, yet their application is often hindered by the formation of insoluble inclusion bodies during heterologous expression. A new study introduces a robust engineering strategy utilizing superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) fusion to screen for solubility-enhancing mutations. By targeting surface hydrophobic residues, researchers successfully developed a triple mutant, PD1Mut3, which exhibits significantly improved soluble yield, thermostability, and catalytic efficiency, offering a generalizable platform for optimizing enzyme production.

Announcing a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI  10.29026/oea.2026.250281.

Announcing a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI  10.29026/oea.2026.250299.

Researchers have developed a novel chemo-biological hybrid system that enables the direct synthesis of polylactic acid from CO₂, water, and renewable energy. By engineering Escherichia coli to utilize ethanol and acetate, this study establishes a sustainable route for bioplastic manufacturing that decouples agricultural feedstocks. The work highlights a synergistic cofeeding strategy that significantly enhances PLA titer, offering a promising solution to the environmental challenges associated with fossil-fuel and crop-based plastics.

A recent study published in Protein & Cell by researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) provides critical structural and functional insights into the UBR4-KCMF1-Calmodulin (UKC) complex, revealing its pivotal role in protein quality control, cancer cell survival, and stress adaptation. The work, led by Professors Renhong Yan and Baotong Zhang, elucidates how this complex assembles and functions as an E4 ubiquitin ligase, extending ubiquitin chains on pre-tagged substrates to regulate protein degradation.

 

This work was funded by Key Research and Development Program, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2022YFA1103103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32488101, 32330030, 32370870, and 32170801), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (22120250336), and Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of Education of China (JYB2025XDXM508). The authors thank the Peak Disciplines (Type IV) of Institutions of Higher Learning in Shanghai, and the Frontier Science Research Center for Stem Cells, Ministry of Education for their support.; 4) Method of Research: experimental study; 5) Subject of Research: cell.