Salidroside, the key active compound of Rhodiola plants with anti-hypoxia and anti-fatigue properties, is highly valued in medicine, health products, and cosmetics. A new study demonstrates an efficient dual-enzyme cascade system combining sucrose synthase and glycosyltransferase that achieves one-pot biosynthesis of salidroside with 90% conversion rate. Through solubility enhancement and thermostability engineering, the system produces 13.61 g/L salidroside within just 10 hours, establishing a practical platform for industrial-scale green production.

In a significant advance for carbon-negative biotechnology, researchers have engineered the chemolithoautotrophic bacterium Cupriavidus necator H16 to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) directly into p-coumaric acid (p-CA), a high-value phenolic compound. Published in Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing, this study marks the first demonstration of light-independent, de novo synthesis of p-CA from CO₂, presenting a sustainable alternative to traditional plant extraction and petrochemical synthesis methods.

This review systematically examines recent key advances in machine learning for carbon dots research, highlighting its current capabilities and limitations, and proposes a future-oriented pathway toward the interpretable and rational design of CDs.

A new defect-chemistry-informed phase-field model helps explain how charged defects at grain boundaries guide grain growth in oxide ceramics. Applied to Fe-doped SrTiO₃, the model shows that solute drag alone can produce skewed grain-size distributions and highly varied grain-boundary potentials, offering a route for microstructure design.

Silicon anodes have intrinsically low electronic conductivity and severe volume changes, leading to nonuniform reaction kinetics and progressive structural degradation in both lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). To overcome these limitations, we develop a silicon nanocomposite anode via a scalable and facile synthesis route. The nanocomposite (Si/a-Sn/CoSi₂/G/C) consists of ultrafine Si nanocrystallites integrated with a well-deformable, electronically conductive amorphous Sn; a mechanically robust and elastic CoSi₂ framework; a highly Li-reversible, electronically conductive, stress-mitigating graphite scaffold; and a highly elastic, electronically conductive PVC-pyrolyzed amorphous carbon shell. This hierarchical and synergistic architecture integrates uniform nanocrystalline Si dispersion, continuous electronic conduction, and mechanically rigid and elastically buffering matrices that accommodate volume expansion, thereby establishing a robust Si nanocomposite anode platform compatible with both LIBs and ASSLBs. The anode has a high reversible capacity, stable long-term cycling performance, high Coulombic efficiency, and improved rate capability. In LIB systems, a Si/a-Sn/CoSi₂/G/C|NCM811 full-cell achieves an energy density of 434.4 Wh kg^–1 with durable cycling stability. In sulfide-based ASSLB systems employing Li₆PS₅Cl, the full-cell has an energy density exceeding 300 Wh kg^–1, with structural and electrochemical stability. Thus, Si/a-Sn/CoSi₂/G/C is a practical and scalable Si-based anode platform for next-generation LIBs and ASSLBs.

A research team has developed an ethanol-assisted method for preparing manganese oxide-modified activated-carbon (MnOₓ/AC) catalysts that remove nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) efficiently at low temperatures. 

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma often progresses through metastasis, yet its cellular basis remains unclear. This study maps the pan-metastatic landscape of HNSCC and identifies a WDR54-driven cell identity reshaping axis. WDR54 epigenetically activates TGF-β-mediated pEMT, enhancing invasion, immune evasion and metastatic potential, offering new insight into prognosis and precision therapy.

A research team developed iron- and zirconium-modified carbon nanofibers that accelerate carbon dioxide (CO₂) release from monoethanolamine (MEA), a widely used solvent for post-combustion carbon capture.