Intestinal Stem Cells (ISCs) derived from a patient's own cells have garnered significant attention as a new alternative for treating intractable intestinal diseases due to their low risk of rejection. However, clinical application has been limited by safety and regulatory issues arising from conventional culture methods that rely on animal-derived components (xenogeneic components). A KAIST research team has developed an advanced culture technology that stably grows ISCs without animal components while simultaneously enhancing their migration to damaged tissues and regenerative capabilities.

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), led by Dr. Hookyung Lee, have developed an electrified heat treatment technology that replaces fossil fuels with electricity in the metal heat treatment process used in galvanized steel-strip production for automobiles and household appliances. The technology is expected to be broadly applicable across energy-intensive industries such as steelmaking, supporting decarbonization of industrial processes.

A research team led by Prof. QIAN Peiyuan, Chair Professor of the Department of Ocean Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), and the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), has achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding the adaptive strategies of the deep-sea black coral Bathypathes pseudoalternata (B. pseudoalternata) and its symbiotic microbiome. The study has been published in the top international journal Cell Host & Microbe.

The therapeutic use of human calcitonin (CT) in humans is limited by rapid receptor desensitization (tachyphylaxis), which requires short-term dosing despite the need for long-term treatment. In contrast, fish CT-CT receptors (CTR) exhibit extraordinary resistance to desensitization, enabling lifelong calcium regulation in high-Ca²⁺ marine environments. Here, we analyze the evolutionary, structural, and functional distinctions between fish and human CT systems. We propose that the unique molecular structure of fish CT and CTR may provide templates for engineering durable therapeutic agents to overcome tachyphylaxis.

Harnessing solar energy to enhance the rechargeable zinc–air batteries (RZABs) performance is a promising avenue toward sustainable energy storage and conversion. Simultaneously enhancing light-absorption capacity and carrier separation efficiency in nanomaterials, as well as improving electrical conductivity and configuration for electrocatalysis, presents a formidable challenge due to inherent trade-offs and interdependencies. Here, we have developed a Janus dual-atom catalyst (JDAC) with bifunctional centers for efficient charge separation and electrocatalytic performance through a bipolar doping strategy. The in situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure and Raman spectroscopy analyses demonstrated that the Ni and Fe centers in JDAC not only function as effective sites for oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction, respectively, but also serve as efficient hole and electron enrichment sites, effectively suppressing photoelectron recombination while enhancing photocurrent generation. As a result, the assembled JDAC-based light-assisted RZABs exhibited extraordinary stability at large current densities. This work delivers pivotal insight to design Janus dual-atom catalysts that efficiently convert solar energy into electric and chemical energy.