A research team led by Professor GU Hongcang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has published a comprehensive systematic review on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) technologies and their applications in lymphoma. 

A research team, led by Prof. HUANG Zhulin at the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully synthesized tungsten carbide (WC) and tungsten boride (WB₂) ceramics with excellent mechanical properties and ablation resistance.

A research team led by Prof. SI fuqi and Prof. LUO Yuhan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has uncovered surprising evidence of cross-border pollution reaching the Arctic, originating from an Icelandic volcanic eruption. The researchers used a cutting-edge combination of satellite and ground-based monitoring to track sulfur dioxide emissions from the Sundhnukagigar volcano, which erupted in 2023. This toxic gas traveled over 2,000 kilometers to reach the Svalbard Islands, causing severe smog in the region.

Recently, Prof. WU Zhengyan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Prof. ZHANG Guilong from Binzhou Medical University, has developed an innovative nano-immune agonist that significantly improves immunotherapy outcomes for melanoma—a highly aggressive and hard-to-treat form of skin cancer.

A research team led by Prof. ZHANG Zhirong from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a novel sensor that enabled simultaneous, highly sensitive detection of multiple stable heavy isotopes in exhaled carbon dioxide.

The First International Conference on Cyborg and Bionic Systems provide a free, open, and diverse platform for experts, scholars, students and industry professionals from the fields of robotics, biomedical engineering, neural engineering, and related domains. The conference aims to advance the development and real-world application of cutting-edge technologies.

Diagnosing and treating juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP)—a rare but recurrent, non-cancerous disease of respiratory tissues in children—remains a challenge in China due to the lack of locally tailored guidelines. Although experts issued the international guidelines for JORRP in 2020, these guidelines were more suited for Western healthcare systems. To address this, a multidisciplinary group developed the first China-specific guidelines, offering 24 key recommendations to standardize care and improve outcomes.

Objectives: Runners from East Africa including Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda have dominated middle- and long-distance running events, for almost six decades. This narrative review examines and updates current understanding of the factors explaining the dominance of East Africans in distance running from a holistic perspective.

Content: The dominance of East African distance runners has puzzled researchers, with various factors proposed to explain their unparalleled success. Four key elements emerge: 1) biomechanical and physiological attributes, 2) training characteristics, 3) psychological motivations, and 4) African diet. Runners from East Africa often exhibit ectomorphic somatotypes, characterized by lean body compositions which lead them to an extraordinary biomechanical and metabolic efficiency. Their sociocultural lifestyle, training regimens beginning at a young age with aerobic activities, seem crucial, as well as moderate volume, high-intensity workouts at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 meters. Psychological factors, including a strong motivation to succeed driven by aspirations for socioeconomic improvement and a rich tradition of running excellence, also contribute significantly. A multifactorial explanation considering these factors, without a clear genetic influence, is nowadays the strongest argument to explain the East African phenomenon.

Summary and Outlook: To unravel the mystery behind the dominance of East African distance runners, it is imperative to consider these multifaceted factors. The predominantly rural lifestyle of the East African population underscores the importance of aligning modern lifestyles with the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens, where physical activity was integral to daily life. Further research is required to explain this phenomenon, with a focus on genetics.

The emplacement mechanism of klippes along Longmen Shan foreland thrust belt has been long in debate. A pioneering study published in Science China Earth Sciences has unveiled critical insights into those controversial structures. Conducted by researchers from the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), the study employs structural analysis and low-temperature thermochronology to reveal the formation mechanism and emplacement time of the Longmen Shan klippes, thereby proposing a new tectonic model for the evolution of the klippes.

A research team from Westlake University has published a groundbreaking study in Science Bulletin, demonstrating the innovative use of thin-film deposition technology to create micron-scale metal patterns on the surface of tardigrades, often regarded as the "toughest creatures on Earth." This breakthrough not only adorns them with a "metallic armor" but also realizes the intriguing concept of artificially controlling biological movement. The study extends the boundaries of traditional fabrication techniques. Where precision nanotechnology intersects with billions of years of evolutionary wisdom, this extraordinary convergence may spark a technological singularity that redefines the boundaries of life and machine.