Researchers from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Northwestern University have turned to biology to potentially revolutionize how people make water safe to drink and remove harmful – or valuable – chemicals from oceans, lakes and rivers. Cell membranes selectively let in more ions of life-sustaining materials like potassium or sodium when the cell needs them and can shut off the flow before the chemical concentration gets too high. Inspired by this, the team fabricated angstrom-scale artificial solid ionic channels aiming to replicate these biological ion channels. By adding different amounts of lead, cobalt or barium ions, the team found it could vastly increase or limit the amount of potassium passing through an artificial membrane, mimicking cells’ abilities to act as their own biochemical bouncers. Among the team’s more remarkable findings was that just a 1% increase in the presence of lead ions doubled the amount of potassium coming through the channels.

Scientists have corrected gene mutations in mice causing an ultra-rare disease by editing DNA directly in the brain with a single injection, a feat with profound implications for patients with neurological diseases. In tests that also included patient derived cells, the cutting-edge technique not only fixed mutations causing alternating hemiplegia in childhood (AHC) — it also reduced symptoms and extended survival in mice that had AHC and were otherwise at risk of sudden death. The findings were published in Cell.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a versatile oxidant widely used in pharmaceuticals, environmental protection, and chemical manufacturing. However, conventional H₂O₂ production relies on energy-intensive processes and costly metal-based catalysts, raising economic and environmental concerns. As a sustainable alternative, photocatalytic H₂O₂ synthesis harnesses solar energy, water, and oxygen under mild conditions. This research group summarizes recent advancements in the development of metal-free organic semiconductors for photocatalytic H₂O₂ generation. Notably, it delves into novel surface reaction mechanisms, including anthraquinone intermediate, peroxy acid intermediate, bipyridine intermediate, and dual channel synergistic mechanisms for optimizing photocatalyst performance. They also highlight the critical role of advanced characterization techniques, including in-situ characterizations and computational simulations, in understanding structure-property relationships and real-time catalytic processes. By proposing new strategies for material modification and potential device-based applications, this review aims to stimulate further research and promote the industrialization of photocatalytic H₂O₂ production, contributing to sustainable chemical processes.

The application of CAR-T cell therapy against solid tumors is often hindered by the dense and rigid tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). While combining CAR-T with hyaluronidase (HAase) to reduce ECM is apparent, the efficacy is limited because of low accumulation and penetration efficiency of HAase inside the tumor tissue. Herein, the stimuli-responsive HAase-loaded nanogels (H-NGs) which are conjugated on the surface of CAR-T cells were designed for synergistically improving HAase accumulation, ECM degradation and CAR-T cell efficacy. The conjugation of H-NGs on the T cell surface was achieved through metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE) in a semi-quantitatively controlled manner. Intravenous injection of H-NGs armed CAR-T cells resulted in more ECM degradation than co-injection of CAR-T cells and free H-NGs, leading to an 83.2% tumor inhibition rate and relieves tumor suppressive microenvironment in the Raji solid tumor model. Proteomic analysis of the harvested tumor tissues indicated that the combining of H-NGs and CAR-T cell collaboratively reduces cell adhesion and enhanced leukocyte transendothelial migration. Overall, this work simultaneously boosts the efficacy of hyaluronidase and CAR-T cells in combating solid tumor, which has broad application potential in cancer combination therapy.