Sir2, an enzyme belonging to sirtuins, has been effectively involved in the deacetylation of proteins. A tandem allosteric effect of reactant and product is responsible for the efficient deacetylation cycle of the Sir2 enzyme, reveal researchers from Science Tokyo. This finding reveals a new target for modulating Sir2, an enzyme that is essential for many biological processes, including aging, metabolic regulation, and cancer suppression. This finding could potentially lead to new therapeutic applications, including novel cancer treatments.

Dark matter accounts for approximately 85% of the universe’s total mass, yet its “invisibility” continues to challenge our understanding of physics. While the Standard Model has successfully described the structure of the visible universe, its limitations have driven scientists to explore ultralight exotic bosons—such as axions and dark photons—as motivative candidates for dark matter. Theoretical studies suggest that such new bosons could mediate exotic spin-dependent interactions beyond four fundamental forces, providing new avenues for detecting ultralight dark matter. However, terrestrial exotic-interaction searches have long been constrained by a fundamental trade-off: enhancing the signal of exotic spin interactions requires simultaneously increasing both the number of polarized spins and relative velocity, parameters that are inherently inversely coupled under laboratory conditions, leaving vast regions of theoretical parameter space unexplored.

Professor Xinhua Peng and Professor Min Jiang from the University of Science and Technology of China, in collaboration with multiple research institutions, have proposed the SQUIRE (Space-based QuantUm sensing for Interaction and exotic bosons Research Exploration) program—a space-based dark matter detection project. For the first time internationally, SQUIRE plans to deploy ultrasensitive quantum sensors aboard the China Space Station to search for potential exotic interactions mediated by dark matter candidate particles between the Earth’s geoelectron spins and the sensor spins. The scheme is projected to improve detection sensitivity by more than 7 orders of magnitude compared to terrestrial experiments. Furthermore, SQUIRE is expected to pave the way for a “space-ground integrated” quantum sensing network, opening new pathways for dark matter exploration in deep space. This paper was published on September 22 in National Science Review under the title “Quantum Sensors in Space: Unveiling the Invisible Universe.”

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, led by Professors Jian-Wei Pan, Hai-Feng Jiang, and Qiang Zhang, have developed a bistatic dual-comb ranging (BDCR) method achieving nanometer-level absolute ranging over 113 km—the longest verified distance to date. Published in National Science Review, this breakthrough extends the measurable range 2.5× beyond traditional systems, attaining 82 nm precision at 21 s, and promises major advances for satellite constellations, gravity mapping, and space telescope arrays.

People drive significantly less in European cities with a metro system than in cities that only have trams or no rail-based public transport at all. This is shown by a new study from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), published in Nature Cities.

A team led by Xiao-Ming Chen and Pei-Qin Liao at Sun Yat-Sen University has created an electrolyzer with a MOF-based membrane. It enriches CO₂ from air (0.04% to 2.05%) and flue gas (15% to 82.5%), then converts it to pure formic acid, achieving record efficiency and cutting costs by 15% vs. pure CO₂ feedstocks.

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that a research team led by Professor Hyun Oh Song from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has developed a new AI technology called “KVzip” that intelligently compresses the “conversation memory” of large language model (LLM)-based chatbots used in long-context tasks such as extended dialogue and document summarization.