Cement production, responsible for 7.5% of global CO₂ emissions, faces decarbonization challenges. A novel strategy uses methane to co-produce syngas and clinker via a steel waste-derived iron-based catalyst, mimicking cement's inherent components. This approach slashes emissions by about 80% versus conventional methods and eliminates catalyst separation. Future integration with green power promises further reductions, positioning industrial waste as a potential player in sustainable cement manufacturing.

A metasurface-based approach is proposed for single-shot optical imaging that simultaneously captures all the three parameters of optical fields with arbitrary intensity, phase, and polarization distributions.

A pioneering study uncovers crucial immune dynamics in hepatitis B, offering new insights into how immune responses evolve throughout the different clinical phases of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Researchers analyzed liver and blood samples from patients in various clinical phases—acute hepatitis B (AHB), immune tolerant (IT), immune active (IA), and inactive chronic infection (ICI)—using single-cell RNA and TCR/BCR sequencing. The findings highlight critical immune cell subsets and potential molecular mechanisms that drive disease progression, providing valuable targets for the development of future immunomodulatory therapies.

Traditional educational systems focused on prescribed, curriculum-defined courses of study impose societal expectations and limit student autonomy and personalized learning. To propose radical transformation to current educational systems, a team of researchers conducted an ecological analysis. Their proposed ‘school within a school’ approach can aid the utilization of artificial intelligence tools in education and equip students to face the challenges of the modern age.

Neurite outgrowth and synapse formation constitute the cellular basis for the establishment and plasticity of neural networks, crucially involved in cognitive functions. However, the techniques currently available to effectively and specifically modulate these processes remain limited. In this work, we propose a non-drug and non-thermal terahertz (THz) photon modulation approach that enhances neuronal growth and synaptogenesis. Our results suggest THz photon stimulation as an effective and specific method for neuromodulation, promising for future applications in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction.