Toughening glass matrix ceramics remains a challenge due to their intrinsic brittleness, yet high-toughness ceramics are crucial for various applications, especially dental restoration. Dental glass ceramics require a toughness above 5 MPa∙m¹/² to prevent fractures and extend lifespan. The key challenge is enhancing mechanical properties without sacrificing translucency. In this study, ZrO₂-SiO₂ glass ceramics were doped with amorphous Al₂O₃ at the nanointerface and nano-domains. This modification significantly improved mechanical performance, achieving a flexural strength of 960 MPa and a toughness of 8.05 MPa∙m¹/². Despite these enhancements, the material maintained excellent translucency, demonstrating its potential for dental restoration and other structural applications.

Thaxterogaster is the second largest genus within the family Cortinariaceae, comprising nearly 200 species worldwide. However, the diversity of the genus in China remains largely unknown. Based on morphological evidence and phylogenetic inference of a five-locus dataset, 112 species belonging to seven subgenera and 23 sections of Thaxterogaster, were analyzed. The authors describe 15 of those present in China, including eight species new to science, namely T. crassimultiformis, T. lavendulaceus, T. flavocapitatus, T. pallidopurpurascens, T. atricapitatus, T. cupreus, T. sordidus, T. alboparvus, and one species new to China, viz. T. indopurpurascens. Two new combinations, Thaxterogaster subgenus Vibratiles and Thaxterogaster tenuipes, are further introduced.

In a paper published in Mycology, the research team from the Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted the study on the phylogeny and species diversity of Geoglossomycetes in China. In this study, the team examined 34 samples from China, representing four genera. Based on ecological comparisons, morphological studies, and phylogenetic analyses of combined internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the large subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene (LSU), the research team proposes ten new species of Geoglossomycetes and identifies four known species. Additionally, they combined ITS and LSU sequences to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of Geoglossomycetes. Furthermore, they summarized the sexual morph characteristics of the two largest genera in the class, Geoglossum and Trichoglossum.

This study investigated the heterogeneity of host-microbiome interactions at the single-cell level by integrating six single-cell transcriptomic datasets using single-cell analysis of host-microbiome interactions in lung cancer.

A research team led by Prof. CHEN Wei at University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has introduced a new chemical battery system which utilizes hydrogen gas as the anode. The study was published in the Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

A team led by Prof. Guo Guangcan from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has demonstrated the ability to electrically manipulate the spin filling sequence in a bilayer graphene (BLG) quantum dot (QD). This achievement, published in Physical Review Letters, showcases the potential to control the spin degree of freedom in BLG, a material with promising applications in quantum computing and advanced electronics.