A new study led by Prof. BI Yuhai and Prof. George F. Gao (GAO Fu) from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered significant genetic and antigenic diversity among H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulating in poultry across China, highlighting the growing public health risk posed by H9N2 AIVs.

An international research team led by the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with collaborators, has achieved a breakthrough by using the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) technique for the first time to discover a super-Earth. The exoplanet, Kepler-725c, has 10 times the mass of Earth and is located in the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-725. The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy.

There is a growing body of evidence on the occupational health experiences of nail technicians. While these studies are vital to work towards safe worksites, they may inadvertently reduce nail salons to sites of hazards and harms as well as obscure the complexities of nail technicians' relationships to their work.

Using an arts-based approach, 19 Toronto-based nail technicians visualized their experiences of work and health on life-sized body-maps. The body-maps highlight multiple layers of emotion—in the nail technicians' framing of their work experiences, in their labor as beauty service workers, and in their body-map creation processes.

The arts-based body-maps allow for a more comprehensive story of nail technicians' resiliencies and relationships to their work, beyond hazard-focused narratives that may inadvertently reduce nail technicians and nail salon-based work to sites of hazard and harm. Through body-maps and follow-up interviews, the workers visually, textually, and orally demonstrate the complexities of their relationships to work – their joys, pains, strengths, stressors, and hopes.

 (1) Atmospheric transport affects glacial microbes; (2) Community assembly processes are dynamic as glacial microorganisms move downstream; (3) Glacial microbes participate in biogeochemical cycles and feedback to climate; (4) Impacts of mixed pollutants on glacier habitats deserve deeper attention; (5) Climate change, pollutants, and microbes combine to affect glacier habitats.

This technology lowers the technical barrier through a “human–robot collaboration” model—eliminating reliance on expensive vision systems and enabling farmers to operate it with minimal training. The modular design of the robotic arm allows for flexible replacement of joint motors, further enhancing maintainability. Tests confirm the system excels in complex terrains and small-scale orchards, adapting well to challenges like foliage occlusion and uneven lighting.

Research team used ProteinMPNN to expand the sequence space of synthetic binding proteins (SBPs), improving their solubility and stability, and showed ProteinMPNN-designed proteins outperform classical methods.

A review on machine learning-based prediction methods for drug side effects sorts out methods for predicting side effects caused by single drugs and DDIs, highlights the prediction of side effect frequency and severity, and discusses current challenges and future directions.

B lymphocytes exhibit dual roles in tumorigenesis, acting as both allies and adversaries in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Their anti-tumor functions include recognizing tumor-associated antigens, producing antibodies, activating cytotoxic immune responses, and forming tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) that enhance immune cell coordination. Tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) within TLS contribute to improved patient survival and immunotherapy responses by facilitating antibody class switching, somatic hypermutation, and cytokine secretion that recruit and activate T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells (DCs). Antibodies from B cells mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), directly eliminating tumor cells. Additionally, B cells present antigens to T cells and secrete cytokines like IFN-γ and CXCL13, amplifying anti-tumor immunity. However, regulatory B cells (Bregs) and other subsets suppress immune responses by secreting IL-10, TGF-β, and VEGF, promoting angiogenesis, recruiting immunosuppressive cells like myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs), and expressing immune checkpoints like PD-L1. This duality underscores the complexity of targeting B cells in cancer therapy.

Recent advances in cancer research have underscored the critical role of myeloid cells in shaping tumor microenvironments (TME), influencing tumor progression, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance. Myeloid cells, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), exhibit functional plasticity driven by interactions with tumor cells, stromal components, and metabolic adaptations. These cells not only directly promote tumor growth by enhancing angiogenesis, matrix remodeling, and metastasis but also suppress anti-tumor immunity through nutrient deprivation, oxidative stress, and cytokine-mediated inhibition of T and NK cells. Their dual roles—both pro-tumorigenic and occasionally anti-tumorigenic—highlight their complexity and context-dependent behavior across cancer types.