While desalination is a key solution for global freshwater scarcity, its implementation faces environmental challenges due to concentrated brine byproducts mainly disposed of via coastal discharge systems. Solar interfacial evaporation offers sustainable management potential, yet inevitable salt nucleation at evaporation interfaces degrades photothermal conversion and operational stability via light scattering and pathway blockage. Inspired by the mangrove leaf, we propose a photothermal 3D polydopamine and polypyrrole polymerized spacer fabric (PPSF)-based upward hanging model evaporation configuration with a reverse water feeding mechanism. This design enables zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD) desalination through phase-separation crystallization. The interconnected porous architecture and the rough surface of the PPSF enable superior water transport, achieving excellent solar-absorbing efficiency of 97.8%. By adjusting the tilt angle (θ), the evaporator separates the evaporation and salt crystallization zones via controlled capillary-driven brine transport, minimizing heat dissipation from brine discharge. At an optimal tilt angle of 52°, the evaporator reaches an evaporation rate of 2.81 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ with minimal heat loss (0.366 W) under 1-sun illumination while treating a 7 wt% waste brine solution. Furthermore, it sustains an evaporation rate of 2.71 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ over 72 h while ensuring efficient salt recovery. These results highlight a scalable, energy-efficient approach for sustainable ZLD desalination.

Ceramic aerogels (CAs) have emerged as a significant research frontier across various applications due to their lightweight, high porosity, and easily tunable structural characteristics. However, the intrinsic weak interactions among the constituent nanoparticles, coupled with the limited toughness of traditional CAs, make them susceptible to structural collapse or even catastrophic failure when exposed to complex mechanical external forces. Unlike 0D building units, 1D ceramic nanofibers (CNFs) possess a high aspect ratio and exceptional flexibility simultaneously, which are desirable building blocks for elastic CAs. This review presents the recent progress in electrospun ceramic nanofibrous aerogels (ECNFAs) that are constructed using ECNFs as building blocks, focusing on the various preparation methods and corresponding structural characteristics, strategies for optimizing mechanical performance, and a wide range of applications. The methods for preparing ECNFs and ECNFAs with diverse structures were initially explored, followed by the implementation of optimization strategies for enhancing ECNFAs, emphasizing the improvement of reinforcing the ECNFs, establishing the bonding effects between ECNFs, and designing the aggregate structures of the aerogels. Moreover, the applications of ECNFAs across various fields are also discussed. Finally, it highlights the existing challenges and potential opportunities for ECNFAs to achieve superior properties and realize promising prospects.

We present a nanophotonic-engineered thermal protective window (NTPW) strategy that incorporates a visible-light transparent broadband directional thermal emitter and a low-emissivity (Low-E) coating into commercial polycarbonate windows. This NETPW can provide users with thermal protection and personal thermal comfort in complex high-temperature working environments. The team demonstrated this approach enables simultaneous control of the thermal emission spectrum and direction, allowing for customized radiative energy exchange in high-temperature environments.

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.