In a newly published review, Professor Xiao-Jun Huang's team at Peking University People's Hospital explore how haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT), once limited by severe immune complications, has transformed into a routine treatment and a unique platform for studying the restoration of immune homeostasis.

Identifying the molecular basis of obesity has been a cornerstone in metabolic research. Building on this, a research team from Chonnam National University Medical School, Republic of Korea, discovered a new role of Ret finger protein (RFP) in driving fat cell formation and metabolism. They found that mice lacking RFP resisted weight gain and had better metabolic profile even on a high-fat diet—highlighting RFP as a promising target for obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Doenjang, a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste, contains natural umami and kokumi-active compounds. A new study from Jeonbuk National University found that monosodium glutamate (MSG) and nucleotide-based seasonings affect doenjang soup differently. Nucleotides mainly boost umami, while MSG strongly enhances both umami and kokumi, resulting in higher consumer acceptance.

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures can be used to control thermal conductivity in thin film solids, report researchers from Japan. Their innovative method, which leverages high-speed laser ablation, produces parallel nanoscale grooves with unprecedented throughput that is 1,000 times stronger than conventional approaches, strategically altering phonon scattering in the material. This scalable and semiconductor-ready approach could make it possible to mass-produce thermal engineering structures while maintaining laboratory-level precision.

Road accidents often stem from failing to notice vehicles. A recent study introduced a method for detecting distant vehicles with over twice the accuracy of existing systems. Instead of using road markings, it analyzes the motion of nearby vehicles to estimate the road’s trajectory and vanishing point, capturing distant road areas. By enlarging distant regions, the system can more accurately detect faraway vehicles, thereby enhancing safety by providing distant-vehicle information to drivers and pedestrians.