Tea plants are known for their ability to accumulate aluminum (Al), a trait that is beneficial for growth at optimal levels but may pose health risks when consumed in excess. This study identifies a key gene, CsWRKY17, that plays a crucial role in the accumulation of aluminum in the leaves of tea plants. By enhancing pectin deesterification in the cell walls, this gene helps facilitate the binding of aluminum, which is essential for managing Al toxicity. This discovery provides a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating aluminum accumulation in tea plants, offering potential strategies for breeding tea varieties with reduced aluminum content and improved safety.

Flowering time is essential for regulating production cycles and commercial value in chrysanthemum. Researchers have identified a photoperiod-regulated mechanism in which the gene CmARF3 suppresses the transcription factor CmTCP7, relieving inhibition of the floral transition pathway. Silencing CmTCP7 leads to earlier flowering, while CmARF3 overexpression accelerates floral initiation. Reduced CmTCP7 protein level enhances activity of the CmFTL3–CmFDL1 complex and promotes the expression of the floral meristem gene CmCDM111L. This work outlines a multilayer regulatory network controlling short-day flowering and offers potential molecular targets for breeding early-blooming cultivars.

Recently, Professor Fei Wang's research group at Nankai University developed an aromatic radical substitution reaction based on aniline protonation-induced polarity reversal, achieving the direct meta-selective amination of aromatic amines to synthesize m-phenylenediamine compounds. The authors transformed the amine group, originally an ortho/para directing group, into a strongly electron-withdrawing ammonium functional group with meta-directing effects through aniline protonation. Simultaneously, they combined this with aryl hydrocarbon amination mediated by highly reactive ammonium radical cations/pyridinium radicals, thus solving the challenge of meta-selective hydrocarbon amination of aniline compounds. The article was published as an open access communication in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A new study published in Biochar reveals that biochar, a carbon rich soil amendment widely used to improve soil health and reduce pollution, continues to influence the movement of veterinary antibiotics in farmland soils even after five years in the field. The work shows that biochar’s ability to retain pollutants changes in surprising ways over time, shifting from adsorption driven effects in the first year to soil structure driven mechanisms after long term aging.

Indoor air contains countless microscopic particles, including bacteria and viruses that can affect human health. A new study from the Jiangsu Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides the most detailed comparison to date of four commonly used microbial aerosol samplers. The findings offer practical guidance for researchers and public health agencies working to monitor airborne pathogens in homes, hospitals, schools, and other indoor spaces.

Researchers have discovered that microplastics floating in rivers, lakes, and oceans continuously leak a complex mixture of dissolved organic chemicals that evolve over time, especially under sunlight. The work provides the most detailed molecular-level view to date of how this microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter, or MPs DOM, forms and transforms in natural waters.

Recently, a team of researchers led by Prof. DU Zhixue from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIGCAS) has discovered that substantial amounts of water could have been efficiently "locked away" deep within the mantle as it crystallized from a molten state.

A new study published in Planet reveals a Micro-XRD method to quantitatively measure the ancient collision histories of meteorites. Researchers from China, Canada, and Japan have developed a quantitative technique to determine peak shock pressures in enstatite chondrites—rare meteorites chemically linked to Earth’s building blocks—using micro-X-ray diffraction (micro-XRD) method.

New experiments reveal jarosite’s selective bromine capture under Mars-like conditions, offering a fresh lens to decode the Red Planet’s aqueous past and halogen cycling.

Researchers in Beijing have generated a transcriptomic atlas comparing human fetal tooth germs from the upper and lower jaws at the critical cap stage of development. Previous studies of tooth development mainly focused on mandibular teeth, while this study uncovers gene expression patterns of maxillary teeth and their differences from mandibular tooth germs.