Chemotherapy is often hindered by issues associated with deficient drug selectivity and ineluctable toxic effects. 

A research team uncovered the most comprehensive genomic landscape to date for the kiwifruit genus Actinidia, constructing a super pan-genome based on 14 haplotype-resolved genomes. 

The intricate structure of the brain at various scales is linked to its functional and biomechanical properties. Since understanding the biomechanical properties is vital for comprehending brain diseases, development, and injuries, measurements at different scales are necessary.

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) is a presynaptic protein primarily associated with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

ATP-sensitive potassium (K_ATP) channels are integral components in excitable cells, particularly in cardiomyocytes, serving as critical regulators of cellular metabolism and electrical excitability.

Salt stress, a major challenge to agriculture, impacts apple growth and fruit quality globally. 

Constructing efficient and stable organic solar cells is the prerequisite toward organic photovoltaics with practical applications. A research team from China has developed a vacuum-assisted thermal annealing method for organic solar cells, which optimizes the active layer and realizes a “p-i-n” structure. Achieving a maximum power conversion efficiency of 20.5% and an extrapolated lifetime exceeding 54,000 hours, providing a practical approach to overcoming the trade-off between efficiency and stability.

Described in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, the approach marries a soft RTV-VTES network to hierarchical ZnO roughness, cutting water uptake seven-fold and colour fading fifteen-fold compared with untreated wood. Superhydrophobic wood that laughs off desert sand, tropical humidity and peel-tape vandals has moved a step closer to outdoor reality. Chinese materials engineers have replaced the usual brittle fluorinated shell with a rubber-like silicone interlayer armoured by zinc-oxide nanorods that act as sacrificial bumpers. The dual-scale strategy keeps water contact angles above 150° after 25 sand-impingement cycles, 1000 adhesive-peel cycles and 33 days of non-stop ultraviolet light, performance previously seen only in fluorocarbon systems now on the environmental blacklist.