Although experimental evidence supports links between exercise and certain mental health indicators, epidemiological research has focused primarily on the dose–response effect of a single type of exercise, overlooking potential differences across exercise types in their associations with overall and specific mental health outcomes.To examine the associations between different types of exercise and multiple mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury, and to explore their dose–response relationships in terms of exercise frequency and duration.

Pulmonary vein isolation alone frequently yields suboptimal long‑term rhythm control for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, and manual substrate ablation produces inconsistent results across centers. This systematic review and meta‑analysis pooled data from three eligible studies enrolling 322 persistent atrial fibrillation patients, published in Cardiology Discovery. After the 3‑month post‑ablation blanking period, pooled 12‑month freedom‑from‑atrial‑fibrillation reached 87% (95% CI, 82%‑91%). One included randomized controlled trial demonstrated 89% arrhythmia‑free survival for artificial‑intelligence‑guided ablation versus 67% for standard pulmonary vein isolation alone. Authors caution that the small body of available evidence requires further validation in large‑scale multicenter trials.

A modelling study finds that banks form interbank networks by balancing the benefits of sharing liquidity risk against incentives to rely on other banks' reserves. As networks grow, risk-sharing can initially improve expected profits, but free-riding can later reduce them. The findings suggest that relatively small networks may be most efficient and offer insights into “too-big-to-fail” and “too-interconnected-to-fail” risks.

The fifth SynBio Challenges was concluded on August 23 in Shenzhen. The three-day event brought together more than 3,000 students and 500 teams from around the world to showcase scientific projects aimed at addressing future global challenges.

Scientists have recently reconstructed the ancestral karyotype of the banana family, revealing how chromosome numbers decreased stepwise from 17 to 9–11 over evolutionary time. The study was led by scientists from the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from Sichuan University and other institutions. The findings were published in Current Biology.

A dual-functional BSB-Me single-crystalline layer simultaneously serves as a stable hole-transporting layer and an efficient moisture/oxygen permeation barrier layer for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The approach yields record-high efficiencies among single-crystal OLEDs and extends the operational lifetime of blue OLEDs by more than 30 times relative to conventional amorphous counterparts.

A new global forest study that better reflects natural conditions has found that trees do not substantially alter their physiological traits to cope with prolonged drought. The study, led by researchers from the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is based on 40 throughfall reduction experiments conducted across forests worldwide and represents one of the most comprehensive field-based assessments of drought acclimation to date.

The 4-week individualized, dose-controlled HD-tDCS combined with foot core exercise intervention improved sensorimotor function, reduced cortical activation during dorsi-plantarflexion tasks, and enhanced functional connectivity (FC) within related brain regions in individuals with chronic ankle instability. Lower cortical activation and higher increased related FC are associated with better ankle force sense. These findings indicated that this kind of combined intervention—simultaneously targeting cerebral cortex and peripheral ankle dysfunction—offers greater benefits than traditional functional training alone.

This study provides the first comprehensive estimation of the lifetime risk (LTR) of digestive system cancers in China using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 data. With a 11.36% LTR for incidence and 8.28% for mortality, the findings highlight a profound public health challenge. Significant male-to-female and regional disparities—particularly the high burden in East China—underscore the urgent need for geographically tailored screening programs and primary prevention to mitigate this escalating health threat.