News from Science China Press

To address the long-standing challenges of difficult mass-production and low phase purity in high-entropy sodium vanadium fluorophosphates (HE-NVPF), this study developed a microfluidic system integrated with in-situ Raman spectroscopy. This setup allows for the high-throughput optimization of reaction conditions, achieving an iteration efficiency 400 times higher than traditional methods. Based on these insights, the author developed a microfluidic-assisted spray drying technique, enabling the kilogram-scale production of various HE-NVPF cathode materials . The resulting cathodes demonstrate record-breaking rate performance in sodium-ion batteries, proving the universal potential of this microfluidic synthesis platform.

Photocatalytic production of H₂O₂ from air and water represents a promising green strategy, yet its efficiency is limited by sluggish water oxidation kinetics. Here, three donor–acceptor conjugated polymers were designed to tune water oxidation sites, achieving efficient H₂O₂ generation in pure water. Notably, the bipyridine-based polymer exhibits a high rate of 6687 μmol g^-1 h^-1, benefiting from enhanced charge separation and accelerated reaction kinetics. This work provides a molecular-level design strategy for efficient photocatalysts.

Researchers at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics have developed an interface-anchoring strategy for solar thermal storage. By continuously circulating photothermal core-shell phase-change particles, the approach keeps the phase-change front anchored at the irradiated surface and suppresses the thermally resistive liquid layer that limits conventional diffusion-limited systems. Under concentrated solar irradiation, this strategy achieves a solar thermal storage efficiency of 49.7%, a 26-fold improvement over the conventional 1.9%. Published in Science Bulletin, the work opens a viable pathway toward continuous, high-temperature solar thermal energy storage.

Recently, Prof. Haiwen Liu’s group systematically studied novel superconducting phases in Ising superconductors. Based on the Lawrence–Doniach model, They showed that bulk layered Ising superconductors can develop a finite-momentum pairing configuration under in-plane magnetic fields, and developed a quantitative method to compute the Josephson vortex lattice melting line. The work clarifies the impact of orbital effects shape the high-field phase diagram and provides a theoretical basis for understanding vortex phase transition.

Recently, the archaeometry team from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with National Center for Archaeology, Key Laboratory of Archaeological Sciences and Cultural Heritage, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, utilized paleoproteomic technology to reveal that the feather decoration unearthed from Tomb No. 1 at Wuwangdun (Tomb of King Kaolie of Chu) of the late Warring States period (the late 3rd century BCE) were crafted from the feathers of multiple bird species, and that the used animal glue originated from the extinct short-horned water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles). This research not only fills the gap in the scientific analysis of archaeological feather remains in China but also extends the known survival time of the short-horned water buffalo by at least 700 years. The related findings were published in Science Bulletin entitled "Proteomic characterization of feather decorations and extinct buffalo glue during early Iron Age China".

A research paper just published in Science China Life Sciences reports that a bacterial effector, delivered via a type IV secretion system, directly disarms a competitor’s type VI secretion system by hijacking its core structural component VgrG1, thereby blocking the competitor's antibacterial defense without killing it — a "win without battle" strategy.

Alterations in the bacterial composition in various anatomical sites of the human body have been associated with tumorigenesis and the progression of multiple cancers; however, divergent results regarding enriched bacteria have been reported across studies of the same disease, indicating cohort-dependent bacterial compositional variance. To move beyond this inconsistency, a research team led by Professor Na Liu from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center proposes a fundamental shift in perspective. The team argues that it is the functional repertoire of bacterial communities, rather than their taxonomic identity, that serves as the core driver of tumor progression. The team proposes the unified nomenclature of bacterial functional constituents as “tumor-associated bacterial effectors” (TABEs), categorizing them into six functional classes according to their chemical nature, conserved structural features, and analogous mechanisms of action in regulating host cells. The researchers believe that exploring the mechanisms of TABEs in cancer represents a critical step toward harnessing their biological potential in real-life clinical settings.

A recent review published in Science Bulletin outlines the evolving landscape of metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), emphasizing a suite of non-invasive genetic, metabolic and microbial markers that improve disease detection and prognosis, and summarising the clinical significance of the recent FDA‑approved drugs, resmetirom and semaglutide, along with a robust pipeline of late‑stage therapeutics. Crucially, the review addresses the substantial hurdles to clinical translation in newly developed biomarkers, including validation, standardization, and cost, and proposes a roadmap for translating these scientific advances into effective, personalized patient care.