News from Science China Press

A study of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PanNETs) identified an AGR2^high endocrine subcluster enriched in high-grade tumors and showed that simple AGR2 immunohistochemistry serves as a clinically informative prognostic marker. Mechanistically, the transcription factor FOXM1 directly drives the proliferative transcriptional program of AGR2^high cells, while chemical inhibition of FOXM1 showed therapeutic benefit in tumor cells, patient-derived organoids, and xenograft models. Together, the findings provide a new approach for prognostic stratification and identify FOXM1 as a potential therapeutic vulnerability in NF-PanNETs.

Chemical composition and stoichiometry have long been regarded as the primary determinants of a material’s electronic properties. Yet in layered materials, atomic stacking can play an equally important role. Writing in National Science Review, researchers from China demonstrate that van der Waals materials can reconfigure into adaptive hetero-phase superlattices through coordinated interlayer and intralayer sliding. The resulting structural reconfiguration produces distinct superconducting states without altering chemical composition or stoichiometry, establishing stacking engineering as a powerful route for designing emergent quantum phases.

A new Perspective in Science Bulletin argues that the persistent gap between climate science and climate action stems from a conceptual blind spot: treating climate and social systems as separate domains rather than as one integrated, co-evolving entity. The authors introduce the Climate-Social Coupling System (CSS) paradigm and, by re-contextualizing the classic Environmental Kuznets Curve, sort national trajectories into “strong,” “weak,” and “de-coupling” states, showing that governance is the decisive, reversible steering mechanism that determines a country’s climate future.

In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers analyzed tidal data at 362,370 oceanic locations spotted by the Jason-3 satellite, revealing that the distribution of high and low tides directly contradicts the physical existence of two water bulges—a model that has been widely taught in textbooks. This discovery provides evidence for the recently proposed oceanic basin oscillation-driving mechanism of tides.

A study published in National Science Review shows that climate change is reorganizing China’s cropland nitrogen pollution. Although the humid south currently exports more nitrogen, rising rainfall may increase cropland nitrogen export from the arid and semi-arid north by 18.8%–53.2% by 2050. The findings call for source control in the north and stronger aquatic nitrogen removal in the south.