A new study published in Engineering offers fresh insights into how the combinations of foods we eat over the long term can influence cardiometabolic health. Researchers analyzed data from two large cohorts in the United States and China, finding that long-term food pairing patterns are independently associated with cardiometabolic traits and can modulate gut microbial functionalities. These findings suggest that the balance and imbalance of food intake, captured through food pairing patterns, may play a significant role in shaping cardiometabolic health beyond the effects of individual foods or dietary indices.

Electrochemical conversion of small organic molecules offers a promising route to simultaneously generate hydrogen or electricity and value-added chemicals—without emitting carbon dioxide. This dual-function strategy enhances energy efficiency and sustainability, especially when using waste-derived organics, alcohols, or biomass as feedstocks. A recent review highlights how cutting-edge catalyst design, advanced electrochemical reactors, and mechanistic insights are advancing this field. Innovations in non-noble metal catalysts and tailored device architectures have shown potential in overcoming challenges related to selectivity, stability, and scalability. This comprehensive progress positions electrocatalytic conversion as a key technology in carbon-neutral energy systems and green chemical manufacturing.

The Yangtze River is the mother river of the Chinese nation. It plays a crucial role in ecological functions and economic and social development. Dr. Dianchang Wang, from the National Engineering Research Center of Eco-environment in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China Three Gorges Corporation, led a research team to unveil the evolutionary characteristics of the water ecological pattern in the Yangtze River Basin from multiple dimensions, taking the past century as a temporal perspective. They identified different evolutionary stages of the basin’s water ecological pattern and their driving mechanisms, and proposed water system governance strategies for the new era that aim at harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

A group from Nagoya University in Japan has succeeded in performing a previously difficult-to-perform reaction to build the bases that make the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons used in organic LEDs, transistors, and solar cell technology. Their technique allows the creation of these complex molecules in a new, cleaner, more efficient way by linking multiple aromatic rings together with a carbon-to-carbon bond.

A new lab-grown material has revealed that some of the effects of ageing in the heart may be slowed and even reversed. The discovery could open the door to therapies that rejuvenate the heart by changing its cellular environment, rather than focusing on the heart cells themselves. The research, published recently in Nature Materials, was carried out by a team led by Assistant Professor Jennifer Young from the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Asst Prof Young is also a scientist at the NUS Mechanobiology Institute (MBI).