In California’s Death Valley, where summer temperatures regularly soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, life seems almost impossible. Yet among the cracked earth and blinding sunlight, one native plant not only survives — it thrives. That plant, Tidestromia oblongifolia, has helped Michigan State University scientists uncover how life can flourish in extreme heat, revealing a potential blueprint for engineering crops that can adapt to our changing climate. In a new paper published in Current Biology, Research Foundation Professor Seung Yon “Sue” Rhee and Research Specialist Karine Prado report that T. oblongifolia grows faster in Death Valley’s summer conditions by rapidly adjusting its photosynthetic system to withstand the heat. 

This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the electromagnetic shielding mechanisms, advanced synthesis techniques, and material optimization strategies for ceramic-based electromagnetic shielding materials. Meanwhile, this review discusses the research progress of traditional ceramics (such as oxides, carbides, borides, nitrides and ferrites) and emerging ceramics (such as polymer-derived ceramics, MAX phase ceramics and high-entropy ceramics). Furthermore, the review outlines future research directions in four key areas: microstructure engineering for high-efficiency electromagnetic shielding ceramics, advanced manufacturing technologies, multifunctional integration of shielding properties, and the development of artificial intelligence-driven design approaches for ceramic materials.