UK astronomers are a step closer to playing a leading role in NASA's search for alien life in the coming decades, after receiving £3million to continue developing one of the core instruments of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). The "exciting" mission – the US space agency's next flagship space telescope after the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – is expected to launch in the 2040s. The UK-led plans follow a series of instrument studies funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA), which have been shared with NASA and are helping to shape the mission as it moves into its next phase of development. "The Habitable Worlds Observatory is one of the most exciting space science missions now under development," said Professor Martin Barstow, of the University of Leicester, who is playing a leading role in the UK's involvement and gave an update on the mission at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Birmingham.

‘Collapsible scissored surfaces’ complete trilogy of metamaterial design principles

Recently, researchers presented a comprehensive Perspective on interfacial thermal transport in 2D heterostructures, systematically reviewing recent advances in the field and outlining future research directions. The article establishes an integrated framework for understanding interfacial heat transport by examining interface formation, thermal transport characterization, phonon transport mechanisms, interface engineering strategies, and thermal functional devices.

The low endosomal escape efficiency of endocytosis-based delivery has become a key barrier restricting therapeutic biomacromolecule applications in biomedicine. A review published in Biomedical Analysis highlights emerging non-endocytic transmembrane delivery strategies that bypass conventional cellular uptake pathways and enable direct cytosolic delivery of proteins, nucleic acids, and gene-editing tools. Led by Dr. Yang Liu from Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, the review summarizes recent advances in physical, biomimetic, and bioengineered delivery platforms and discusses their potential for gene therapy, drug delivery, and cellular engineering.

With the expansion of sustainable investments, understanding how green financial assets interact has become increasingly important. A quantile analysis of market data, under different market situations, revealed that green cryptocurrencies, particularly Cardano and Stellar, often act as major transmitters of risk, while traditional green assets tend to absorb rather than mitigate market shocks. This study highlights the evolving nature of risk management within sustainable finance.

T-cell engagers (TCEs) are an emerging class of immunotherapeutics that have demonstrated considerable clinical efficacy across a range of tumor types. However, their clinical application remains constrained by the challenge of balancing antitumor activity with acceptable safety, which is particularly prominent in solid malignancies. Multiple strategies have been explored to address this trade-off, including molecular engineering, dosing regimens, and patient selection. Nonetheless, within molecular design efforts, activity and toxicity are still largely optimized in isolation.

Despite the ultra-high theoretical capacity of silicon (Si) anodes, their practical application is severely hindered by drastic volume effect and an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). Atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) technology exhibits unique advantages in mitigating these challenges by constructing a stable and functionalized interface on Si anodes. This review summarizes recent advances and presents perspectives on ALD/MLD for Si anode interface engineering. Firstly, the existing interfacial challenges are analyzed: mechanical failure and structural degradation, complex/unstable SEI, and insufficient interfacial charge transfer. Subsequently, the key role and mechanism of ALD/MLD in enhancing the performance of Si anodes are elucidated from an atomic/molecular-scale interface engineering perspective. Crucially, three key aspects are emphasized: enhancing structural stability through mechanical confinement and stress dissipation, inducing the formation of stable SEI via ingenious interface chemical design, and constructing efficient ion/electron transport channels to optimize interfacial charge transfer kinetics. Finally, future research directions on ALD/MLD for Si anode interface engineering are proposed.