In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Life Science, an international team of scientists provided a comprehensive overview of single-cell and spatial genomics. They review breakthroughs in single-cell multi-omics technologies, spatial genomics methods, and the computational strategies employed toward the analyses of single-cell atlas data. Additionally, they emphasize the progress in constructing cellular atlases and their clinical applications, particularly in the context of disease. Lastly, they discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

A research team led by Professor Ming Cai from Florida State University, in collaboration with researchers from Sun Yat-sen University, Peking University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently published a groundbreaking paper in National Science Review. Titled “Principles-Based Adept Predictions of Global Warming from Climate Mean States”, the study introduces a novel framework that accurately predicts the magnitude and spatial pattern of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, without relying on complex climate models or statistical analysis. For the first time, this study confirms that observed global warming is driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, independently of these conventional approaches.

In a study published in Science Bulletin, researchers developed a high-performance contactless solar evaporation design with a 3D solar-heating and vapor-escaping structure, addressing challenges in the scalable and durable contactless solar evaporation. The 3D design significantly improves the vapor transport, achieving a laboratory evaporation rate of 1.03 kg m^-2 h^-1 under one-sun illumination, 110% higher than conventional methods and 1.21 kg m^-2 h^-1 in outdoor tests under dilute solar flux (589.98 W m^-2). The design demonstrated excellent scalability, with minimal performance variation (3%) between small and large devices, offering a robust, contamination-resistant solution for sustainable water treatment.

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, a Chinese team of scientists revealed the complexities of hepatic SLC7A11 and the essentiality of SLC7A11-mediated nonessential amino acids in MASLD. Slc7a11 deficiency accelerated MASLD progression via classic cystine/cysteine deficiency–induced ferroptosis, while serine deficiency and a resulting impairment in de novo cysteine production were attributed to ferroptosis-induced MASLD progression in mice overexpressing hepatic Slc7a11. Researchers found that both serine supplementation and blocking ferroptosis significantly alleviated MASLD, and the serum serine/glutamate ratio might serve as a prognostic biomarker for MASLD in patients.

In a paper published in National Science Review, scientists present the first regional-scale assessment of the drainage effect on metal-organic carbon interactions in wetlands, an under-investigated mechanism mediating wetland soil carbon response to water-table drawdown. The team found that long-term drainage enhanced metallic protection of soil organic carbon in vascular plant-dominated (non-Sphagnum) wetlands in contrast to (Sphagnum) moss-dominated wetlands due to varied vegetational shifts.

In a paper published in National Science Review, a research team found a highly conservative and stable G-quadruplex (G4) in monkeypox virus (MPXV), which acts as a positive regulatory element for viral immunodominant protein expression. Furthermore, Λ enantiomer of metallo-supramolecular complexes MH3 Λ can selectively target mRNA G4 and enhance expression of the 39-kDa core protein encoded by the MPXV A5L gene. Given the pivotal role of the 39-kDa core protein in activating immune responses and facilitating virion maturation, modulation of MPXV G4 folding by MH3 Λ exhibits inhibitory effects on MPXV replication through enhancing immune response.

The year 2024 is on-track to be the hottest on record, and with it came some of the most challenging extreme weather conditions the modern world has witnessed.