Diagnostic laboratories are central to disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness, yet poor adherence to biosafety and biosecurity protocols can put laboratory staff, communities and the environment at risk. This study assessed biosecurity and biosafety practices in 96 public and private biomedical and veterinary laboratories in Benin. Using a cross-sectional design, biomedical laboratories were evaluated with the Biosafety and Biosecurity in Laboratory Tool, while veterinary laboratories were assessed using the Laboratory Mapping Tool. Data were collected through KoBoCollect and analysed using R. Most laboratories showed poor compliance with established guidelines: 42% were classified as very high risk, 38% as high risk, 15% as moderate risk and only 5% as low risk. Strengthened policies and targeted capacity-building for laboratory staff and managers are urgently needed.

Spinal cord injury is often seen as damage to the nervous system, but a new review argues that paralysis is only the visible tip of a much larger iceberg. The authors map how spinal cord trauma can disrupt autonomic control, immunity and metabolism, triggering complications across distant organs and reshaping long-term recovery.

This study reviews ecological operation practices in China's Tarim and Irtysh River Basins, focusing on innovations such as multiscale reservoir ecological operations, ecological infiltration irrigation, and ecological water conveyance strategies. These approaches have effectively restored riparian vegetation, enhanced groundwater recharge, and improved biodiversity while balancing socioeconomic demands. The paper also discusses persisting challenges like climate variability and competing water demands. Lastly, the paper proposes an integrated framework combining reservoir regulation, ecological flow reconstruction, and targeted water delivery technologies to enhance sustainable water management in arid regions.

A team led by Professor Yanhao Yu at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) designed a high‑barrier viscoplastic encapsulation interlayer composed of polyisobutylene (PIB) and maleic anhydride‑grafted polypropylene (MAPP). Leveraging chain slippage and permanent disentanglement mechanisms, the interlayer achieves intimate conformal adhesion and hermetic encapsulation for various non‑planar electrodes (e.g., microwires, micropillars, and serpentine electrodes). It extends the in vivo signal fidelity of stretchable bioelectronic devices to 45 weeks.

A recent study published in National Science Review reveals that the spring Southern Annular Mode (SAM) underwent a marked spatial shift around 1998. Since then, its wave-like features have strengthened, enhancing its delayed impact on Antarctic summer sea ice. The 2022 and 2023 record-low events both followed strong spring positive SAM anomalies. The study further suggests that ENSO, through more frequent positive SAM-La Niña co-occurrence, may amplify SAM’s influence on Antarctic sea ice.

A team led by the Beijing Institute of Technology presents a unified framework in National Science Review for personalized healthcare termed self-powered intelligence. It describes how on-device AI, flexible electronics, and body-based energy harvesting can be co-designed into wearable patches and implantable sensors, enabling them to analyze physiological signals in real time, predict health risks, for continuous and personalized healthcare.