In a recent study published in Space: Science & Technology, a research team from Simon Fraser University and the University of Calgary, for the first time, adopted the brain vital signs framework to monitor cognitive and neurophysiological function in astronauts participating in a 17‑day mission to the International Space Station.

The rapid growth of electric vehicles, portable electronics, and renewable energy systems is increasing global demand for rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the market, but limited lithium resources and rising costs have intensified the search for affordable alternatives.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a low five‑year survival rate, largely due to difficult early detection. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, playing key roles in tumour progression and emerging as promising liquid biopsy biomarkers. This review summarises EV‑derived biomarkers (miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, mRNAs, proteins, and lipids) for HCC diagnosis, discusses multi‑omics integration, and addresses technical challenges in EV isolation, characterisation, and the need for standardisation.

A research team has found that plant-derived biochar can help restore acidified tea plantation soils, with coconut shell biochar showing the strongest overall effect. 

Apprentices in private, independent companies are more likely to fail their final exams, change contracts and not complete their training than apprentices who have contracts through a training agency.

A research team has developed an efficient, low-cost material designed to produce clean hydrogen gas from water. This research offers news perspectives and valuable insights into the development of efficient, stable, and economical noble metal-free electrocatalysts for green hydrogen production.

Current dithioester synthesis methods are cumbersome, inefficient and often toxic. A research team recently developed a green synthesis technique for dithioester generation using sulfide powder, alkyl bromides and aromatic aldehydes as precursor molecules in a photocatalysis reaction.

In recent years, rapidly advanced space technology has resulted in a growing number of objects in orbit, including both operational and decommissioned spacecraft, as well as space debris, which pose potential threats to China’s on-orbit spacecraft. To ensure the safe operation of spacecraft in near-Earth and high-orbit environments, a key research focus in the field of space technology is the high-resolution and high-accuracy detection and perception of environmental objects under strong backlight conditions. Such capabilities are critical for providing timely early warnings to on-orbit spacecraft. However, a plethora of studies have demonstrated marked challenges in imaging dark and weak targets under strong light backgrounds. It is essential to analyze the challenges of current backlight imaging technologies, summarize the working principles of existing backlight detection methods, and explore future development trends.

Absolute ages provide vital information in establishing the geological history of the Solar System’s solid bodies. For extraterrestrial bodies, only the Moon has been sampled in a few areas for radiometric dating in the laboratory. For the unsampled areas on the Moon, the widely used surface dating method is based on the crater size–frequency distribution (CSFD) technique. However, there are no returned Martian samples, so the above method cannot be directly applied for Mars. The Martian isochrons have usually been derived based on the production function (PF) and chronology function (CF) of the Moon. Many uncertainties cast a shadow on the reliability of the current Martian isochrons (e.g., the maximum age difference is up to ~1.0 Ga from meteor flux ratios of 2.04 and 3.0). Thus, obtaining the Martian crater PF directly from remote sensing observations is a necessary and significant task.