A research team has unveiled a non-destructive, highly accurate approach for determining the optimal timing of embryo rescue sampling.

As the world transitions to clean energy, hydrogen produced via water electrolysis offers a sustainable solution. However, sluggish reaction kinetics and catalyst instability under alkaline conditions hinder large-scale adoption. A breakthrough by researchers at China University of Petroleum, Beijing, introduces a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC)-enhanced homologous heterojunction (Ni₃S₂-MoS₂/NC) that overcomes these limitations. By optimizing the built-in electric field (BEF) strength, the catalyst achieves record-low overpotentials and long-term stability in alkaline environments. This work demonstrates how strategic electronic engineering can unlock the full potential of heterostructures for green hydrogen production.

A research team introduces Plant-MAE, a self-supervised learning framework designed to automate 3D segmentation of plant organs from point cloud data.

Aging leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), significantly impairing their osteogenic capacity—a critical barrier to bone regeneration in elderly populations. Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Peking University demonstrated that replenishing aged PDLSCs with functional mitochondria from young counterparts restores mitochondrial integrity, reduces oxidative stress, and reactivates osteogenic capacity. This breakthrough, mediated by the AKAP1/cAMP/PKA signaling pathway, highlights mitochondrial replenishment as a promising therapeutic strategy for age-related bone defects and broader regenerative medicine applications.

Low-frequency electromagnetic response in microwave technology exhibits unprecedented demand, benefiting applications such as 5G communications, Wi-Fi, and radar systems. To date, the purest low-frequency response materials are induced by magnetic metals. However, magnetic metals will demagnetize at high temperatures and cannot serve in high-temperature environments. Here, we introduced a SiC/CoSi/CeSi composite co-modified with transition metal Co and rare earth metal Ce, achieving a 14-fold increase in reflection loss (RL) from -4.74 dB to -66.48 dB. The effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL≤-10 dB) is 2.46 GHz. With the SiC/CoSi/CeSi composite, the effective absorption frequency is shifted to the low-frequency band (3.65 GHz), and the high-temperature stability (500 °C) is maintained, inheriting 94.5% effective absorption. Radar cross-section (RCS) simulation further confirms the excellent stealth capability of the composite, reducing the target reflection intensity by 22.7 dB m². Mechanism investigation indicates that the excellent EMW absorption performance of the composite is attributed to multiple reflections and scattering, conduction losses, abundant interface polarization, and good magnetic loss. This research supplies critical inspiration for developing efficient SiC-based absorbers with both low-frequency and high-temperature responses.

Targeted drug delivery remains a major challenge in cancer therapy, often limiting both efficacy and safety. Although microRNA sponges and short-hairpin RNAs show potential for gene-based cancer treatment, their clinical use is restricted by delivery inefficiency, off-target effects, cytotoxicity, and instability. Viral vectors offer high efficiency but are associated with issues such as immune responses, insertional mutagenesis, and limited cargo capacity. Non-viral carriers are safer and more affordable but suffer from poor transfection efficiency, instability, and inadequate endosomal escape. These limitations hinder the clinical application of RNA therapeutics. The Vir-inspired Biotechnical Vector (VIBV) is a novel hybrid platform that combines viral and non-viral elements with nanotechnology to enable personalized, tumor-specific gene therapy. Engineered with a spindle-shaped nanocore and a polyethylene glycolylated liposomal shell, VIBV ensures immune evasion, prolonged circulation, and controlled therapeutic release triggered by tumor microenvironmental cues such as acidity, hypoxia, and elevated glutathione levels. It delivers oncogenic microRNA sponges, short-hairpin RNAs, tumor-specific antigens, and cyclin-targeting RNAs to enhance gene silencing, immune activation, and tumor suppression. This review examines the limitations of current delivery systems and presents VIBV as a promising next-generation strategy with improved biocompatibility, targeting precision, and potential for cost-effective, personalized cancer therapy, while also addressing its remaining challenges and prospects.

Dr. Juchan Yang’s research team at the Hydrogen & Battery Materials Center, from the Energy & Environment Materials Research Division of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed a composite catalyst using the novel material MXene that suppresses the generation of chloride ions-one of the key challenges in seawater electrolysis. This research outcome is expected to accelerate the practical application of seawater electrolysis technology by enabling stable hydrogen production even in seawater.