Researchers have uncovered the initial adaptive mechanisms of Bacillus velezensis C5 when exposed to polyethylene microplastics. Using comparative transcriptomics, the study revealed a robust, polymer‑specific transcriptional program distinct from general starvation or surface‑contact responses. Exposure to polyethylene triggered massive upregulation of genes involved in biofilm formation and sporulation, while genes associated with canonical degradation were not induced. The bacterium remained viable without growth, formed dense biofilms, and increased surface hydrophilicity but caused only subtle physicochemical changes to the plastic. This survival‑first strategy represents a critical initial phase that must be overcome to enable efficient biodegradation.

Researchers have developed a hierarchical catalyst (NiNP‑BCN@C) featuring nickel nanoparticles encapsulated within a nitrogen‑doped carbon shell on a hollow‑rod carbon substrate. The hollow architecture maximizes exposure of Ni nanoparticles, while the carbon shell suppresses the competing hydrogen evolution reaction and promotes CO₂ activation. The catalyst achieves a CO Faradaic efficiency exceeding 90 % in an H‑cell and >98 % at 300 mA·cm⁻² in a flow cell, with a turnover frequency of ~93,579 h⁻¹ and stable operation over 32 h. In situ FTIR confirmed enhanced *COOH and COO⁻ intermediates, highlighting superior CO₂ adsorption and activation.

Researchers have uncovered the initial adaptive mechanisms of Bacillus velezensis C5 when exposed to polyethylene microplastics. Using comparative transcriptomics, the study revealed a robust, polymer‑specific transcriptional program distinct from general starvation or surface‑contact responses. Exposure to polyethylene triggered massive upregulation of genes involved in biofilm formation and sporulation, while genes associated with canonical degradation were not induced. The bacterium remained viable without growth, formed dense biofilms, and increased surface hydrophilicity but caused only subtle physicochemical changes to the plastic. This survival‑first strategy represents a critical initial phase that must be overcome to enable efficient biodegradation.

Researchers have developed a multi‑objective optimization framework (MO‑DIDC) that handles infeasible solutions in complex distillation process optimization through data‑driven identification and adaptive directed correction. By identifying promising infeasible solutions near Pareto‑optimal designs and correcting their most influential variables, the framework reduces unnecessary exploration of infeasible regions. Demonstrated on a side‑stream double‑column extractive distillation system and a four‑column extractive distillation system, MO‑DIDC achieves optimization time reductions of 35.3 % and 20.8 %, respectively, compared to a widely used genetic algorithm, while delivering superior or comparable process designs.

The generation of high-intensity, ultrashort, coherent terahertz pulses in the 5-15 THz frequency range presents a formidable challenge in ultrafast science. Recently, researchers have introduced a novel scheme for generating intense, broadband THz pulses over a gapless wide spectral range based on collinear phase matched Raman-resonance-enhanced four-wave mixing (R-FWM) in strained diamond, providing a scalable route toward high-field THz sources for driving and interrogating complex dynamics in matter.