A research team led by Prof. ZHOU Xuyu from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from Beijing Ditan Hospital and Capital Medical University, has identified ANKRD11 as a key regulator that reduces the activity of CD8⁺ T cells during chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and cancer. The researchers found that ANKRD11 suppresses the AP-1 signaling pathway, which usually helps CD8⁺ T cells mount effective responses against infections and tumors.

In a major step forward in wearable technology, researchers have used machine learning to reveal how stretching flexible materials impacts their electrical performance. The study shows that pulling a material in one direction can boost conductivity by over 50%, while pulling it in another can hinder it, providing a crucial design guide for future electronic skin and sensors.

A review of over 200 studies reveals that bacteria—especially when partnered with plants—can effectively break down herbicide and petroleum hydrocarbon pollution. The research highlights promising new techniques including rhizoremediation, metagenomics, and CRISPR, while showing that herbicides are generally easier for bacteria to degrade than petroleum hydrocarbons.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers paired an ultrafast picosecond laser with a recurrent neural network that acts as an automated optical sculptor to address an enduring dilemma: devices sensitive enough to register a faint arterial pulse usually max out under moderate contact, while sensors built for heavy loads fail to detect gentle touch.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) responds poorly to immune checkpoint blockade, largely because of an immunologically cold tumor microenvironment (TME) characterized by deficient antigen presentation and impaired cytotoxic T cell responses. Analysis of numerous HCC clinical cohorts, including our institutional datasets, reveals that stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway activity is positively correlated with patient survival, enhanced antigen presentation capacity, and an immune-activated TME. However, achieving effective and controllable STING activation in immune-cold HCC tumors remains challenging. Here, we develop a biomimetic nanomedicine that integrates photothermal therapy (PTT), STING pathway activation, and immune checkpoint blockade to treat refractory HCC. A coordination nanomedicine MCI-NP is engineered by co-encapsulating the STING agonist MSA-2 and indocyanine green (ICG) via Cu²⁺-mediated chelation, enabling stabilized PTT-induced immunogenic cell death together with robust STING-driven innate immune activation. Further cloaked with PD-1-overexpressing cell membranes, MCI-NP@mPD-1 achieves an approximately fivefold increase in tumor accumulation compared with uncoated MCI-NP and enables localized PD-1/PD-L1 axis blockade. Following a single treatment, MCI-NP@mPD-1-based photothermal immunotherapy effectively suppresses primary tumor growth and significantly prolongs survival by remodeling the TME toward an immune-active state, while inducing durable systemic immune memory that effectively limited postoperative lung metastasis. Without introducing additional nanocarriers or excipients, MCI-NP@mPD-1 offers a promising therapeutic paradigm for photothermal immunotherapy of immune-cold HCC.

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.

Deep fast-charging capability has become the core pursuit for practical applications of aqueous zinc metal batteries, yet it is critically impeded by unfavorable interfacial field evolution at the electrode/electrolyte interface under high-current–density conditions. The coexistence of sluggish Zn²⁺ desolvation, competitive H₂O reduction corrosion, uneven electric field, and concentration field collectively leads to poor rate performance. To tackle these issues, a bolstered interfacial field chemistry strategy was developed via sulfosuccinic acid to precisely regulate the physicochemical and electrochemical properties within the inner Helmholtz plane. The tuned interfacial field comprises a homogeneous distribution of interfacial ions and electric fields, promoting fast desolvation and interfacial electron transfer. Consequently, the modified Zn||Cu asymmetric cells deliver an outstanding average Coulombic efficiency of 99.48% over 1600 cycles at 2 mA cm⁻² and 1 mAh cm⁻². Furthermore, the modified Zn||Zn symmetric cells demonstrate exceptional stability under challenging conditions of 5 mA cm⁻², 2 mAh cm⁻² (over 1600 h), and 10 mA cm⁻², 10 mAh cm⁻² (over 675 h, depth of discharge = 17.08%). Impressively, a substantial cumulative capacity of 3500 mAh cm⁻² is attained at 10 mAh cm⁻² and a 56.93% Zn utilization rate. Besides, the enhanced Zn (10 µm) ||I₂ (10.87 mg cm⁻²) full cell sustains over 1490 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹ with 77.13% capacity retention and a harsh N/P ratio of 2.31. Remarkably, the Zn (10 µm) ||I₂ pouch cell achieves over 680 cycles with an ultralow N/P ratio of 2.04.

Rapeseed is one of the world’s most important oil crops, but improving seed oil content and other complex traits still depends on finding genes that can be tested directly in breeding-relevant plants. 

Rootstocks can do more than support a grafted tree; they can reshape the growth program of the shoot above them.

How does a plant survive extreme cold while still producing flavorful, nutrient-rich fruit? New research on blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea) reveals a sophisticated metabolic strategy: the plant actively reallocates resources between two compound classes—anthocyanins and iridoids—to balance protection and palatability.