Physicists at Peking University have uncovered a new way to confine light far beyond conventional limits — without relying on metals and their inherent energy dissipation. By formulating the singular dispersion equation, the team discovered narwhal-shaped wavefunctions that trap light at deep-subwavelength volumes in purely dielectric materials. The advance, dubbed singulonics, could pave the way for ultra-efficient photonic chips, new quantum technologies, and imaging tools with unprecedented resolution.

Apples owe much of their health value to polyphenols—natural antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and chronic diseases. Yet centuries of domestication have quietly diminished these compounds in today’s sweeter, larger fruits. A research team has now traced this nutritional loss to a specific genetic mechanism. By integrating genome-wide association analysis with molecular experiments, they uncovered a powerful regulatory pair—MdDof2.4 and MdPAT10—that triggers the accumulation of procyanidins, the most abundant polyphenols in apples. The discovery reveals how a tiny promoter insertion reawakens a dormant metabolic pathway, opening a path toward breeding apples that are both delicious and rich in health-promoting compounds.

Soybeans grown alongside maize often face shading stress that reduces yield, yet some cultivars can thrive under low light. Scientists have now uncovered a comprehensive genetic network that controls this shade tolerance, moving beyond the traditional single-gene perspective. By integrating forward genome-wide association and reverse transcriptomic analyses, researchers identified more than 200 causal genes and over 7,800 expressed genes involved in soybean’s shade response. These genes function in a coordinated sequence—from light signal detection to metabolic adaptation—forming a multilayered regulatory system. The findings open a new pathway toward breeding high-yield, shade-tolerant soybeans for intercropping systems worldwide.

An ancient genetic event may hold the key to how plants survive in metal-contaminated environments. Scientists have discovered that a duplication of phytochelatin synthase (PCS) genes—crucial enzymes for detoxifying toxic metals—occurred millions of years ago and remains conserved in flowering plants today. These twin gene copies, known as D1 and D2, evolved distinct but complementary functions: while D1 plays a general role in detoxification, D2 exhibits exceptional catalytic activity against cadmium and arsenic. Functional tests in Malus domestica (MdPCS1, MdPCS2) and Medicago truncatula (MtPCS1, MtPCS2) revealed that both copies are indispensable for maintaining metal balance, unveiling a deep evolutionary strategy for resilience.

A new study by researchers from Sichuan Agricultural University and international collaborators provides the most comprehensive evidence to date that biochar, a charcoal-like substance made from organic materials, plays a crucial role in faster, cleaner composting.

A zero-shot comprehensive benchmark of 19 universal machine learning interatomic potentials re- veals that strategic training data and particularly non-equilibrium atomic configurations deliver five to seventeen times greater improvement than architectural sophistication for predicting cleavage en- ergies, a property governing surface stability critical for catalysis, electron emission devices, and next- generation battery interfaces.

Restoring degraded peatlands could play a vital role in tackling climate change, according to a new study led by researchers from Bangor University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The study shows that combining rewetting with biochar and iron sulphate additions can significantly slow down carbon loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from drained agricultural peat soils.

In a pioneering exploration of the evolving landscape of carbon fiber composite material recycling, researchers are leveraging bibliometric analysis to uncover the latest advancements and emerging hotspots in this critical field. The study, titled "Research Advances and Hotspot Evolution of Carbon Fiber Composite Material Recycling Based on Bibliometrics Analysis," is led by Prof. Da Chen from the Science and Technology Innovation Research Institute at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, China, and the Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Civil Aviation Energy-Environment and Green Development. This comprehensive analysis offers valuable insights into the current state and future directions of carbon fiber recycling research.