A major global study has found that pentoxifylline does not improve survival in patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (sAH) complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI). Researchers analyzed 525 patients from 20 centers across eight countries and found no significant benefit in short- or long-term mortality outcomes with pentoxifylline use. The study underscores the limitations of this anti-inflammatory drug in the management of this critically ill population and highlights the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Key predictors of mortality included age, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and need for renal replacement therapy, not pentoxifylline administration.

A research paper by scientists at Kyushu University presented a novel needle-free reagent injection method that improves the depth of reagent injection by reflecting shock waves through microbubble dynamics.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor with a high risk of metastasis and poor survival outcomes. To delineate the metastatic microenvironment, researchers in China have developed an explainable machine learning model that identifies key immune cells and cytokine markers linked to tumor dissemination and prognosis. Their model offers a transparent, data-driven approach that could help clinicians better assess risk and personalize treatment for children with this life-threatening disease.

A team of researchers from West China Hospital of Sichuan University has uncovered a critical epigenetic mechanism that drives the development of osteoarthritis (OA), a debilitating joint disease affecting millions worldwide. Published in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, their study reveals how articular cartilage, due to its shared developmental origin with growth plate cartilage, inherits epigenetic features that make it prone to degeneration. The findings also point to a promising new treatment strategy targeting a key epigenetic enzyme.

As the most seismically active regions in the world, oceanic subduction zones show contrasting seismicity in different regions. A review by a team from Nanjing University explored the relationships among the thermal structure, metamorphism, deformation and fluid activity of oceanic subduction zones. The thermal structure of subduction zones not only controls dehydration depths of hydrous minerals, but also affects the mechanical coupling state of the subduction plate interface, eclogitization of the subducted oceanic crust, and phase transition of olivine in the subducted lithospheric mantle. Fault stick-slip behavior is the major mechanism of shallow earthquakes (<70 km), while dehydration embrittlement of hydrous minerals and other mechanisms may trigger intermediate-depth earthquakes (70–300 km). The amounts of earthquakes decrease sharply below 160 km in warm subduction zones, but below ~300 km in cold subduction zones where hydrous minerals release water at greater depths. Cold slabs could carry water down to depths >300 km, resulting in localized water enrichment in the mantle transition zone. More studies are needed to decipher how the fluid activity triggers slow earthquakes and deep-focus earthquakes. The review is published in Science China Earth Sciences.

The gigantic-oxidative atomic-layer-by-layer epitaxy (GOALL-Epitaxy) method substantially augments the oxidation power by orders of magnitude, enabling atomically precise construction of artificially designed metastable complex oxide structures.

Achromatic metasurface waveguide technology is revolutionizing augmented reality (AR) displays by addressing the longstanding issue of chromatic aberration. Developed by a research team from China, this innovative approach combines inverse-designed metasurface couplers with a high refractive index waveguide, achieving superior color accuracy and uniformity across a wide field of view. The technology promises to enhance the visual experience in compact AR systems, paving the way for advanced applications in various fields by overcoming the limitations of traditional diffractive waveguides.