To assess the global, regional, and national burden and trends of endometriosis-related infertility in women of reproductive age. Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. We analyzed the number of cases, all-age and age-standardized prevalence rates, and relative changes globally, regionally, and nationally, stratified by age and sociodemographic index (SDI) quintiles. An age-period-cohort model was used to estimate net drifts, local drifts, and period/cohort-specific relative risks from 1990 to 2021.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers have developed a technique that uses electric fields to anchor and stretch liquid metal, allowing it to freeze in mid-air to form unsupported 3D circuits.

This review highlights microneedle-based cosmetic delivery as a minimally invasive strategy for overcoming the skin barrier and improving intradermal delivery of active ingredients. It summarizes advances in solid, coated, dissolving, hollow, and hydrogel-forming microneedles, together with their materials, fabrication methods, and delivery mechanisms. Key cosmetic applications include anti-aging, skin rejuvenation, pigmentation control, acne management, hydration, barrier repair, and hair-growth treatments. The review also discusses safety, regulation, consumer acceptance, commercialization, and emerging innovations such as smart, stimuli-responsive, personalized, wearable, and IoT-integrated microneedle systems, emphasizing their potential to transform conventional topical skincare into precise, controlled, next-generation dermal delivery platforms for aesthetic dermatology.

Reliable battery operation in sub-zero environments is critical for polar exploration, military missions, and space applications. However, conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) face inherent limitations at low temperatures by intrinsic hurdle of poor ionic mobility in liquid electrolytes. All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), which replace liquid electrolytes with non-flammable and non-freezing solid electrolytes, are considered promising alternatives because these solid electrolytes provide high ionic conductivity at low temperatures, superior temperature stability, and exceptional safety. ASSBs still face practical limitations at extremely low temperatures due to degradation caused by interfacial side reactions and mechanical instabilities that increase resistance and polarization. Addressing these challenges is critical to realize the advantages of ASSBs and enable their practical deployment in low-temperature applications. This review provides an overview of historical developments, critical challenges, and recent progress in advancing the low-temperature performance of ASSBs. The key components of ASSBs, including solid electrolytes, cathodes, and anodes, are systematically investigated to develop strategies for improving ASSBs at low temperatures. By highlighting future perspectives, we emphasize both the potential and necessity of ASSBs to overcome the intrinsic limitations of LIBs and ensure reliable energy storage in harsh environments.

In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers have now created a compact security component made of stacked metal oxides that produces reliable hardware fingerprints and cryptographic keys across a broad temperature span from -50°C to 150°C.

A research team has uncovered the genetic mechanism behind hairlessness in wucai, a leafy vegetable widely grown in southern China. 

DNA methylation typically silences genes, but in citrus, a surprising reversal occurs.

Malaria remains one of the most devastating infectious diseases globally, with Plasmodium falciparum responsible for the majority of malaria-related deaths, particularly among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite decades of intensive control efforts and the widespread deployment of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia and its potential dissemination to Africa represent an urgent threat to global malaria control, underscoring the critical need for novel antimalarial drugs with innovative mechanisms of action. This perspective article explores a novel therapeutic strategy targeting the hemozoin detoxification pathway in Plasmodium falciparum, a process that is essential for parasite survival within infected erythrocytes and that has been validated as a drug target by the clinical success of chloroquine and other quinoline antimalarials. The authors propose that chlorophyll derivatives, specifically chlorin e6 and related compounds, could act as tetrapyrrole mimics that disrupt hemozoin formation by interfering with the biomineralization process through which the parasite detoxifies the toxic free heme released from hemoglobin digestion.

Nipah virus (NiV), a highly pathogenic zoonotic paramyxovirus, has emerged as a significant global public health threat due to its high mortality rate, potential for human-to-human transmission, and the absence of licensed vaccines or specific antiviral treatments. Since its initial identification in 1998 during an outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore, NiV has caused recurrent outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, with case fatality rates ranging from 40% to over 90%, and has been classified as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. This perspective article provides a comprehensive international risk assessment of Nipah virus outbreaks and evaluates the medium- to long-term prevention and control prospects for China, a country that shares borders with endemic regions and possesses ecological conditions conducive to NiV transmission. The authors analyze the global epidemiology of NiV, including the natural reservoir (fruit bats of the Pteropus genus), transmission dynamics, and the factors driving outbreak emergence, such as deforestation, agricultural intensification, and increasing human-animal interface.

Gray mold can quietly follow blueberries from the field into storage, turning healthy-looking fruit into postharvest losses and narrowing the window for long-distance marketing.