A new study has raised alarms over the potential health risks of recycled paper food contact materials (FCMs), showing that they can release dangerous levels of toxic metals—including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum—into food.

A recent study shows that low-oxygen storage significantly enhances the health-promoting compounds in broccoli rabe, such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and lactic acid (LA). 

Researchers at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) have made a breakthrough in cancer treatment by developing a new therapy, called photosensitive hybrid γδ-T exosomes (hybrid γδ-T-Exos). This therapy targets and destroys cancer cells, while promoting the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and boosting the subsequent antigen-specific immune response. In laboratory tests and animal studies, this innovative hybrid therapy showed a significant reduction in melanoma growth, leading to more effective and safer treatments for cancers. The findings were published in the scientific journal ACS Nano.

Catalyst–support interaction plays a crucial role in improving the catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here we modulate the catalyst–support interaction in polyaniline-supported Ni₃Fe oxide (Ni₃Fe oxide/PANI) with a robust hetero-interface, which significantly improves oxygen evolution activities with an overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and specific activity of 2.08 mA cmECSA⁻² at overpotential of 300 mV, 3.84-fold that of Ni3Fe oxide. It is revealed that the catalyst–support interaction between Ni₃Fe oxide and PANI support enhances the Ni–O covalency via the interfacial Ni–N bond, thus promoting the charge and mass transfer on Ni₃Fe oxide. Considering the excellent activity and stability, rechargeable Zn-air batteries with optimum Ni₃Fe oxide/PANI are assembled, delivering a low charge voltage of 1.95 V to cycle for 400 h at 10 mA cm⁻². The regulation of the effect of catalyst–support interaction on catalytic activity provides new possibilities for the future design of highly efficient OER catalysts.

Barrier islands, which cover a majority of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, protect coastal infrastructure, beach towns and ecosystems — such as marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows — from damaging storms and high-energy waves. In a recent study, researchers from Texas A&M University led by Dr. Orencio Duran Vinent gained a better understanding of what makes a barrier island a “barrier.” 

In a new development, researchers have successfully created an efficient two-line system for hybrid seed production in Brassica napus (rapeseed) using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing combined with the RUBY visual reporter. 

By studying bumblebee exposure to particulate air pollutants scientists at the University of Leicester have determined that the diversity and behaviour of the bee gut microbial community is altered when exposed to black carbon found in air pollution, disrupting the beneficial bacteria that live there.

When seawater penetrates concrete in road tunnels, a biofilm is formed that breaks down the concrete. This can lead to high costs and the risk of damage if stone and concrete drop from the tunnel roof.  In a new study, led by a team of researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, research reveals the mechanisms behind the degradation, and its unexpectedly rapid progression.

In a paper published in National Science Review, an international team of scientists reports dramatic, reversible p-n switching during the semiconductor-to-semiconductor phase transition of BiI₃ under pressure. They propose a novel method for determining carrier polarity based on the self-driven photocurrent dominated by the photothermoelectric effect. The study further reveals the correlation between the switching of positive and negative photoconductivity and the carrier type under high pressure.