Gastric cancer remains a major global health challenge, and therapeutic resistance continues to limit the effectiveness of existing HER2-targeted treatments. A research team from Jiangsu University has developed a bispecific cellular nanovesicle platform that simultaneously targets CD16-positive natural killer (NK) cells and HER2-positive gastric cancer cells. The engineered nanovesicles enhance NK cell recruitment, activation, cytokine secretion, and tumor-killing activity, providing a promising strategy for next-generation cancer immunotherapy.

An ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolyte highly compatible with high-voltage LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ (LNMO) cathodes is developed. Two insights that go against conventional understanding are uncovered, i.e. contrary to the common belief that EC decomposes readily under high voltage, it demonstrates outstanding high-voltage stability; and LNMO cycles in this electrolyte without forming a typical cathode/electrolyte interphase, experiencing instead a unique surface restructuring.

Approximately one-third of fresh fruit is lost along the supply chain, with harvesting and grading representing major sources of loss. Inspired by the deformation mechanism of octopus suckers, the researchers developed a soft robotic gripper integrated with three-axis triboelectric tactile sensors. The system independently resolves normal and tangential forces and, within a single picking cycle, simultaneously assesses fruit firmness, enables damage-free harvesting, and measures fruit weight. Field trials demonstrated the feasibility of integrating non-destructive harvesting with in-field quality grading, offering a new pathway to reduce post harvest losses, streamline fresh-produce supply chains, and improve operational efficiency.

A review published in Nano Research systematically examines how acid treatment engineers the optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, confronting the long-standing trade-off between optical enhancement and electrical performance. Superacid treatment boosts photoluminescence quantum yields toward unity by passivating sulfur vacancies, yet often degrades field-effect transistor transport. The authors rationalize this paradox with a sulfur-vacancy-mediated hopping transport model and assess strategies from two-step thiol–acid passivation to Lewis acid substitutional doping that decouple optical and electronic responses. Future directions include machine-learning-assisted atomic-scale characterization and defect-diverse studies, aiming to transform passive defect passivation into active functionality design.

The global push to transition from fossil fuel dependence to low-carbon sustainable energy systems has spurred urgent research into advanced functional materials that address critical performance gaps in energy storage and conversion technologies. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an emerging class of porous crystalline materials with ultrahigh surface areas and precisely tunable pore structures, have exhibited outstanding advantages across electrochemical energy storage, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis, offering transformative solutions to advance the deployment of next-generation clean energy technologies.