Cadmium contamination in farmland has become a growing threat to crop quality and food safety, especially for vegetables whose edible tissues can readily accumulate toxic metals. 

Drought is becoming a growing threat to tea production, reducing both yield and quality as water shortages intensify under climate change. 

Study confirms public observations match professional records for common felid species, guiding better conservation monitoring.

Researchers from Jianghan University have developed a biocompatible zinc–oxygen (Zn–O₂) battery that operates stably inside the body, addressing corrosion and biosafety issues that limit traditional implantable power sources. The device uses a composite gel electrolyte to resist oxygen and moisture infiltration while maintaining excellent biocompatibility. When implanted in rats, it delivered stable voltage output sufficient to power biosensors. This work offers a safe and durable energy platform for future implantable medical devices and bioelectronic therapies.

The integration of nanotechnology with metal-based materials offers innovative strategies to significantly enhance therapeutic efficacy and targeting precision in drug delivery. Leveraging the unique properties of metal-based nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles, and metal-organic frameworks enables the development of sophisticated platforms for targeted delivery, controlled release, and integrated theranostics. These materials support diverse applications including drug delivery, photothermal therapy, radiotherapy sensitization, immunotherapy, and multimodal therapy. The promising prospects of these technologies underscore their transformative potential in advancing personalized medicine and diagnostic approaches.

This work presents efficient short-wave infrared (SWIR)–emitting InP quantum dots (QDs) synthesized through controlled core nucleation and copper doping, achieving a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 66% at 960 nm. When integrated into a liquid waveguide luminescent solar concentrator (LSC), these QDs enabled an optical efficiency of 7.36% through optimized light management and spectral alignment with the responsivity peak of silicon solar cells, demonstrating the potential of InP QDs as a sustainable and high-performance material platform for SWIR optoelectronics.

In response to dysregulated cholesterol metabolism in cancer, researchers have developed a nanozyme (AVA-COD@Fe) that depletes tumors of cholesterol and promotes ferroptosis. This strategy simultaneously inhibits cancer growth and metastasis while activating a robust antitumor immune response, which is further enhanced by anti-PD-L1 therapy to effectively combat both primary and metastatic tumors.

The rising global burden of cancer necessitates innovative therapeutic strategies, with immunotherapy demonstrating remarkable potential. However, its clinical efficacy remains limited by low response rates and non-specific (off-target) delivery. Authors in this review highlights natural polymer-based hydrogels as emerging delivery platforms engineered to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. These hydrogels exploit the biocompatibility and biodegradability of natural polymers, employing chemical or physical crosslinking to encapsulate and deliver immunotherapeutic agents. The versatility of these hydrogels is discussed in the context of oral, sprayable, injectable, and implantable formulations, adaptable to specific tumor sites. Their responsiveness to stimuli such as pH, temperature, and enzymatic activity enables controlled and sustained release of immunotherapeutic agents, including checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines, and Toll-like receptor agonists. These hydrogels can also modulate the tumor microenvironment by regulating pH, oxygen levels, and immune cell infiltration, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, immunotherapeutic hydrogels can act synergistically with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and phototherapies to enhance antitumor immune responses. Despite their potential, challenges such as degradation kinetics, bioactivity retention, and regulatory hurdles must be addressed to ensure successful clinical translation. This review provides insights into the rational design, development and application of stimuli-responsive hydrogels as next-generation platforms for effective cancer immunotherapy.

End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is characterized by a dramatic deterioration of liver function, frequently accompanied by systemic inflammatory storms and multiple organ failures. Central to the onset and progression of ESLD, systemic inflammation arises from complex interactions among various inflammatory signaling molecules and immune cells within and beyond the liver. As key inflammatory modulatory molecules, bioactive oxylipins have been increasingly recognized for their complex molecular mechanisms implicated in various diseases. This review aims to summarize recent findings regarding the molecular and immunological mechanisms through which oxylipins contribute to the development of liver injury and failure, with emphasis on both substantial intrahepatic and extrahepatic immune and inflammatory dysregulation associated with ESLD. Furthermore, this review discusses the translational potential of targeting oxylipins for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic intervention in ESLD.

Iowa State researchers have developed a "lab-on-a-drone" that can fly to remote, marshy areas of farm fields and collect real-time measurements of nitrates. The resulting maps of nutrient concentrations could provide "an evaluation critical for both economic and environmental sustainability," according to the researchers.