In a review published in SCIENCE CHINA Chemistry, opportunities for industrializing Photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction (PEC-CO₂R) by minimizing reaction energy consumption to improve reaction efficiency and selectivity are explored. This review summarizes recent advancements in developing Si-based photocathodes for PEC-CO₂R.

In a paper published in National Science Review, several international teams of scientists present a low latency carbon budget that reveals an unprecedented decline in the global land carbon sink in 2023. Using dynamic global vegetation models, satellite fire emissions data, an atmospheric inversion based on OCO-2 measurements, and emulators of ocean biogeochemical and data-driven models, the study provides a fast-track analysis of the 2023 carbon budget. The research highlights how extreme heat, wildfires, and a moderate El Niño contributed to a significant reduction in the land’s ability to absorb CO2, calling for urgent action to address this growing imbalance.

An international team, led by Tongji University and Beijing Institute of Technology, together with University of Oviedo, demonstrates the possibility of converting linear incident polarization to any polarization state on demand and over a broadband frequency range. In particular, the appearance of chiral dipoles at the exceptional point presents a new degree of freedom for manipulating hyperbolic polaritons.

Researchers from Nanjing University and the Army Engineering University of PLA have published a review in ExRNA, shedding light on the critical role of exosomes in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Exosomes are nanoscale vesicles involved in cell-to-cell communication and carry bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and microRNAs (miRNAs), which are essential in DCM progression. This paper summarizes the underlying mechanisms of DCM and discusses exosomes as potential diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets.

In a paper published in the National Scientific Review, researchers used 25 years of data to build machine learning models. They analyzed the spatial and temporal variation in soil microbial-derived carbon (MDC) stocks, and predicted MDC stocks under different shared socioeconomic paths in the future.This work revealed that every 1°C temperature increase leads to 6.7 Pg decline in global soil MDC in predictable regions. Projected future MDC stocks are expected to decline globally, with a drop of 6-37 Pg by 2100, depending on socioeconomic pathways. They recommend integrating the response of MDC stocks to warming into socioeconomic models to enhance confidence in selecting sustainable pathways.