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.

Understanding how fluoride moves from the soil into tea leaves is critical for both plant health and consumer safety.