A novel OsSBEIIb allele was identified in an indica rice mutant. The OsSBEIIb mutation increases the resistant starch (RS) content in raw rice flour, as well as in retrograded and heated rice. The chalk2 mutant serves as a valuable indica rice germplasm for breeding high-RS rice varieties.

An elite germplasm, G253, with superior morphogenic callus induction and proliferation capacity was identified. A stable Agrobacterium-mediated transformation platform enabling transgenic plant generation was established. An efficient protoplast transient transformation system was developed from the morphogenic callus.

Building upon their earlier platform Crop-GPA 1.0, a team of researchers in China developed Crop-GPA 2.0 to enable transferable SNP-level genotype–phenotype association prediction across crop species. Across multiple crop species, Crop-GPA 2.0 improved cross-species prediction performance, remained robust under limited training data, and identified biologically meaningful SNPs supported by previously reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) evidence.

Researchers have developed a scalable polyolefin bilayer membrane that helps roofs stay cool while resisting the loss of reflectivity caused by aging and dirt. The membrane achieved 94.1% solar reflectance and retained 83% after xenon-arc aging equivalent to ten years under the adopted testing protocol. Outdoor tests showed an average roof-temperature reduction of 9.4 degrees Celsius and a maximum reduction of 18.1 degrees Celsius, highlighting its potential for long-term building energy savings.

A Reusable Catalyst for Antibiotic Removal

Sulfamethoxazole, a widely used antimicrobial, can persist in aquatic environments and pose risks to ecosystems and human health. Researchers led by Xuejiao Tang at Nankai University developed millimeter-scale magnetic carbon beads, designated CoNC@cPAN/rGO-800, to address the limited recoverability and metal-leaching concerns associated with powdered cobalt catalysts. The material combines a polyacrylonitrile carbon framework, reduced graphene oxide, and cobalt-containing active sites.

Porous Structure, Rapid Degradation

The beads were prepared from a cobalt-containing zeolitic imidazolate framework, polyacrylonitrile, and graphene oxide, followed by calcination under nitrogen at different temperatures. Microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, surface-area analysis, electrochemical measurements, and density functional theory calculations were used to characterize the material and assess its catalytic behavior. Under optimized conditions, 0.1 g L⁻¹ of catalyst and 0.1 g L⁻¹ of peroxymonosulfate removed 100% of 10 mg L⁻¹ sulfamethoxazole within 20 min at pH 7.

Two Amendments, Two Pathways

Maintaining soil organic carbon is important for agricultural productivity and climate mitigation, yet organic amendments do not necessarily build soil carbon in the same way. A 10-year maize field experiment at Shenyang Agricultural University compared annual biochar application at 2.625 t ha⁻¹ with maize stover incorporation at approximately 7.5 t ha⁻¹, alongside an untreated control. The field plots received the treatments for ten consecutive crop seasons before soil was sampled at depths of 0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm.

Both amendments significantly increased soil organic carbon across the 0–60 cm profile. In the topsoil, carbon gains were similar for biochar and stover, at 49.70% and 48.87%, respectively. Stover produced larger increases in subsurface and deep-soil carbon, reaching 105.90% in the 20–40 cm layer and 32.35% in the 40–60 cm layer. Biochar produced corresponding increases of 72.81% and 4.74%. These contrasting depth patterns indicate that carbon accumulation depends on amendment-specific transport and stabilization processes.