Birefringence provides a powerful optical window into hidden anisotropic features, stress states, and microscopic structures in transparent media. In a new review in Light: Advanced Manufacturing, scientists in China systematically summarize polarization optical metrology for linear birefringence, covering physical mechanisms, measurement models, polarimetric modulation, interferometric techniques, and key applications in stress analysis, advanced materials, biomedicine, and optical device characterization.

This article pioneers a new endoscope architecture, reducing the size of ultrathin endoscopes to improve the access to thin luminal organs in endoscopic interventions. Using monolithic micro-3D-printing, a team of researchers integrate a ring-illumination module around a miniaturised multi-lens microscope at the tip of an imaging fiber bundle, with a total device diameter of only ~500 micrometres. The researchers demonstrate the feasibility in lab-scale experiments, and outline the potential of this new endoscopic architecture to produce thinner endoscopes for less invasive future diagnostics.

With the development of next-generation energy storage systems focusing on green, safe, and sustainable devices, aqueous magnesium (Mg)–air batteries have emerged as promising candidates owing to the intrinsic merits of the Mg metal anode, including low cost, large volumetric capacity, a highly negative electrode potential, and excellent safety. However, the high self-discharge rate and formed discharge products substantially impair the practical discharge performance of Mg anodes with poor anode utilization efficiency and low cell voltage. While anode alloying and electrolyte additive strategies can help mitigate this issue, designing highly efficient electrolyte additives that are compatible with the established anode remains a challenge. This review summarizes recent progress toward understanding the role of electrolyte additives for aqueous Mg batteries, provides insights into the discharge mechanism of Mg-based anode materials in different types of additive-containing electrolytes, and offers strategies for designing high-efficiency mixtures of electrolyte additives. Moreover, a highly promising direction of AI-supported and robotic workflows for the future fast design of advanced electrolyte additives for aqueous Mg batteries is discussed.

A research team led by Ji-Min Yang from the College of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported a novel class of monophosphine ligands based on the norbornene skeleton. This work introduces the design concept of "three-dimensional (3D) isosteric benzene rings" from medicinal chemistry into phosphine ligand development, using rigid norbornene to simulate the benzene ring core in traditional biarylphosphines. While maintaining key geometric features, this approach endows the ligand with superior stereo and electronic properties. The catalytic system based on this ligand achieves highly efficient C–N coupling with extremely low palladium loadings (down to 2 ppm), achieving a maximum conversion number (TON) of 490,000, the highest reported to date for this type of reaction. The article was published as an open access Research Article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A tiny deletion in a single gene can dramatically reshape the appearance—and development—of crape myrtle. 

Corneal disorders remain a leading cause of visual impairment worldwide, with limited treatment options for many conditions including severe dry eye disease, corneal ulcers, scarring, and dystrophies. Exosomes, nanoscale extracellular vesicles carrying diverse bioactive molecules, have emerged as a promising therapeutic modality for corneal disease. This comprehensive review examines the current landscape and future outlook of exosome-based therapies in ophthalmology, focusing on corneal disorders. The authors summarize the fundamental biology of corneal exosomes and their roles in maintaining corneal homeostasis and driving disease processes. Robust preclinical evidence demonstrates that exosomes can promote epithelial wound healing, modulate inflammation and fibrosis, and support tissue regeneration across major corneal conditions. Emerging clinical studies are beginning to assess safety and feasibility in human patients. The review also addresses critical aspects of exosome isolation, characterization, engineering, and delivery strategies relevant for clinical translation. Despite encouraging findings, major challenges remain in standardizing manufacturing and quality control, ensuring long-term safety, and achieving consistent therapeutic efficacy. Future research should prioritize optimization of exosome production and delivery, rational engineering to enhance performance, and exploration of exosomes as diagnostic biomarkers, collectively paving the way for transforming corneal disease management.

Bupleuri Radix (BR), a cornerstone traditional Chinese medicine, has been used for millennia to treat liver and intestinal disorders, yet its dual nature as both a hepatoprotective agent and a potential hepatotoxin demands rigorous scientific examination. This innovative review systematically synthesizes the bidirectional effects of BR through the lens of the gut-liver axis, a biological framework that has transformed our understanding of drug metabolism and toxicity. Saikosaponins, the principal bioactive constituents of BR, undergo biotransformation by gut microbiota into metabolites with enhanced bioavailability, enabling them to regulate intestinal flora composition, strengthen intestinal barrier integrity, and alleviate inflammation through key signaling pathways including NF-κB, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, and STAT3. Simultaneously, BR and its components exert hepatoprotective effects through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic regulatory mechanisms. However, the review also critically examines evidence that saikosaponins and volatile oils may induce hepatotoxicity via oxidative stress and apoptotic pathways. The authors identify critical evidence gaps regarding the systematic interplay between BR's multi-component actions and the gut-liver axis, the toxicity of microbial metabolites, and clinical hepatotoxicity risk, proposing a future research agenda to optimize the safe and effective clinical application of this important medicinal herb.

Hematopoietic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) has emerged as one of the most prevalent somatic genomic alterations in aging males, yet its biological significance extends far beyond a mere marker of aging. This comprehensive review synthesizes current understanding of LOY, from its molecular origins in mitotic chromosome mis-segregation to its far-reaching clinical implications. Advances in detection technologies, including single-cell sequencing and bulk genomic approaches, have enabled robust identification of LOY across population scales. The review examines how inherited genetic variation, environmental exposures, and aging collectively contribute to LOY pathogenesis. Large-scale genome-wide association studies have revealed compelling epidemiological links between hematopoietic LOY and cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative conditions, immune disorders, and cancer. Mechanistically, LOY drives altered gene expression, immune dysregulation, and clonal expansion of affected hematopoietic cells. Critically, CRISPR-based mouse and cellular models have recapitulated key disease phenotypes, establishing LOY as a functionally consequential form of somatic mosaicism with profound implications for disease susceptibility and male health disparities.