China's urban forests: Growing carbon pool
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Dec-2025 06:11 ET (21-Dec-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)
In a paper published in Science Bulletin, a Chinese team of scientists estimated carbon sequestration rates of urban forests in China from 1995 to 2060 under three climate scenarios.
A multicenter study across Japan found that ICU patients receiving more intensive rehabilitation regained independence faster after critical illness. Among 121 patients on mechanical ventilation, higher rehabilitation dose and mobility levels were linked to a lower risk of delayed recovery. The findings highlight that purposeful, early mobilization can improve outcomes and shorten recovery for ICU survivors.
The challenge of photosynthesizing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from water and oxygen lies in the high O–H bond dissociation energy in water molecules, which leads to sluggish kinetics in hydrogen donor reactions. This study presents a novel catalytic strategy by constructing single-atom palladium sites (Pd–CNO2) within a keto-form anthraquinone-based covalent organic framework (KfAQ-Pd), effectively promoting water oxidation reactions and achieving efficient H2O2 photosynthesis in neutral aqueous environments, with a high yield of 3828 μmol h−1 g−1. Experimental evidence and theoretical simulations reveal that the Pd–CNO2 sites enhance the hydrophilicity of KfAQ, disrupt the hydrogen-bond network in surface-adsorbed water clusters, and facilitate the cleavage of O–H bonds. The generated H3O+ can be reduced by photoexcited electrons, promoting the anthraquinone hydrogenation reaction and enabling the efficient H2O2 synthesis cycle. This study provides a new approach for solar-driven green hydrogen peroxide synthesis under neutral conditions.
Scientists from the City University of Hong Kong have found that nanoplastics can enter zebrafish via two pathways: waterborne exposure and dietary exposure. These tiny particles can cross biological barriers to enter the circulatory system, and then translocate to and accumulate in various organs, including the blood, brain, gills, liver, intestines, gonads, and muscles. The gills and intestines are the most important absorption organs, while the intestines serve as the primary excretion organ.
Developing accurate and cost-effective genotyping tools is essential for improving breeding efficiency in fruit crops with long juvenile periods. This study presents Litchi40K v1.0, a flexible liquid SNP chip generated using high-depth resequencing data from 875 litchi accessions. The chip demonstrated strong applicability across population structure analysis, genome-wide association studies, genetic mapping, and germplasm fingerprinting. It enabled the identification of key genomic regions linked to fruit quality, growth habit, and environmental adaptation, including haplotypes in LITCHI026966 that significantly influence soluble solid content. Additionally, a derived Litchi384 fingerprinting panel supports standardized digital identification of cultivars. This tool provides a practical platform for modernizing litchi breeding and germplasm resource management.
Strain engineering precisely tunes van der Waals materials' electronic and optical properties for flexible electronics. This review covers uniaxial, biaxial, and localized strain methods, analyzing their effects on band structure, carrier mobility, and phase transitions. Applications include high-performance sensors, transistors, memristors, photodetectors, and LEDs. Future challenges involve scalable material growth, efficient strain transfer, and integration toward intelligent wearable systems.