Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed a lipid nanoparticle that delivers mRNA to cells five times more effectively. By attaching a sulfur-containing ring structure—a cyclic disulfide—to lipid molecules, they found that significantly more mRNA can escape from cell components that normally destroy genetic material. When tested as a cancer vaccine in mice, the new delivery system stopped tumor growth. The study, published in the journal RSC Medicinal Chemistry, demonstrates the first successful use of cyclic disulfide-containing lipids to improve mRNA delivery in animals and suppress tumor growth.

A research group led by Prof. DING Weixin from the Institute of Soil Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has utilized a newly developed dynamic global wetland water level (WL) dataset to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of wetland carbon sequestration from 2000 to 2020.

As global climate change intensifies, ocean acidification is becoming a ‘relentless killer’ threatening coral reef ecosystems. Recently, a research paper published in the international authoritative journal Research has revealed diverse survival strategies of reef-building corals in response to ocean acidification, providing a new perspective for understanding and protecting this fragile marine ecosystem.

Kyoto, Japan -- As the demand for more secure data transmission increases, conventional communication technologies are facing limitations imposed by classical physics, and are therefore approaching their limits in terms of security. Fortunately, quantum communication may help us overcome these restrictions.

Quantum communication harnesses the quantum nature of light by utilizing single photons as information carriers. This is a fundamentally different approach from conventional communication technologies and has the potential to lead to the development of secure, high-performance communication systems.

These future quantum technologies will require new single-photon emission sources. Recently, extremely thin two-dimensional semiconductors with a thickness of only a few atomic layers have shown great potential due to their excellent electrical and optical properties. Although increasing the efficiency of such single-photon generation is extremely important, the capacity of these materials and its strategy had not been thoroughly explored.

A sweeping literature review of 66 studies published in Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts shows that minimally processed olive oil residues—particularly pomace and stones—can strip 90–99 % of heavy metals, dyes and pharmaceuticals from real wastewater at capacities up to 230 mg g⁻¹, rivaling activated carbon while slashing disposal costs and emissions.

A new material developed by researchers from University of Toronto Engineering could offer a safer alternative to the non-stick chemicals commonly used in cookware and other applications. 

The new substance repels both water and grease about as well as standard non-stick coatings — but it contains much lower amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of chemicals that have raised environmental and health concerns. 

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have created the world’s simplest artificial cell capable of chemical navigation, migrating toward specific substances like living cells do.

This breakthrough, published in Science Advances, demonstrates how microscopic bubbles, called vesicles, can be programmed to follow chemical trails. This breakthrough reveals the bare essentials needed to make synthetic life move with purpose.

Decoding how vesicles navigate reveals how cells communicate and transport cargo, and provides a blueprint for engineering targeted drug delivery systems