Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) represents a paradigm of targeted therapy in hematologic malignancies. Once regarded as the most fatal form of leukemia due to its rapid onset and severe hemorrhagic risk, APL was fundamentally transformed in the 20th century when Dr. Tingdong Zhang from Harbin Medical University, China discovered that arsenic trioxide (ATO) could effectively treat patients, achieving remission rates of up to 90% and converting it into the most curable acute leukemia. Extensive mechanistic studies have demonstrated that ATO exerts therapeutic effects by inducing apoptosis and promoting differentiation of APL cells. More recently, a study published in Science Bulletin using single-cell sequencing further revealed that ATO not only directly eliminates leukemic cells but also reshapes the tumor microenvironment through modulation of lymphocyte activity, underscoring its multifaceted role in APL treatment.

For the first time, researchers at Umeå University have observed the same type of programmed cell death in microalgae as in humans. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, shows that this central biological process is older than previously thought.

High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL), also known as “good cholesterol”, remove excess cholesterol from the body’s tissues and transport it to the liver. This process is known to prevent atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque in the walls of arteries. Atherosclerosis is associated with deadly symptoms, including heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, and blood clots. Despite the importance of HDLs, scientists still have a limited understanding of how they are made.

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells, though dominating the photovoltaic market, are nearing their theoretical power conversion efficiencies (PCE) limit of 29.4%, necessitating the adoption of multi-junction technology to achieve higher performance. Among these, perovskite-on-silicon-based multi-junction solar cells have emerged as a promising alternative, where the perovskite offering tunable bandgaps, superior optoelectronic properties, and cost-effective manufacturing. Recent announced double-junction solar cells (PSDJSCs) have achieved the PCE of 34.85%, surpassing all other double-junction technologies. Encouragingly, the rapid advancements in PSDJSCs have spurred increased research interest in perovskite/perovskite/silicon triple-junction solar cells (PSTJSCs) in 2024. This triple-junction solar cell configuration demonstrates immense potential due to their optimum balance between achieving a high PCE limit and managing device complexity. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of PSTJSCs, covering fundamental principles, and technological milestones. Current challenges, including current mismatch, open-circuit voltage deficits, phase segregation, and stability issues, and their corresponding strategies are also discussed, alongside future directions to achieve long-term stability and high PCE. This work aims to advance the understanding of the development in PSTJSCs, paving the way for their practical implementation.

Researchers provide a near-complete genome map of Northern wild rice, uncovering evolutionary history and valuable genetic insights

The research team found that the supplementation of n-3 fatty acids significantly enhances lactation performance even in non-inflammatory states, suggesting the existence of an unexplored direct regulatory mechanism.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have applied stochastic optimal control theory to biological systems, studying how these systems behave. By using concepts and tools from information theory, they successfully converted the nonlinear optimization problem into a reasonably solvable form. The optimal control strategies for problems such as biodiversity and epidemics are found to exhibit “mode-switching” phenomena, where sharply transitioning from weak to strong control provides the most effective solution.