In a study published in MedComm - Oncology, researchers report that the enzyme O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT) plays a key role in driving liver cancer linked to Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD-HCC). The team found that OGT levels increase as the disease progresses. They also discovered that OGT modifies the tumor suppressor protein PTEN in a way that disrupts its normal function, this modification leads to PTEN degradation and reduced phospholipase activity, triggering a cancer-promoting signaling pathway and accelerating tumor growth. The findings suggest that targeting OGT could offer a new therapeutic approach for treating MASLD-related liver cancer.

A recent study published in Life Metabolism by researchers from the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University has identified the gut commensal bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK) as a potent modulator of liver fibrosis (Figure 1). The study reveals that AKK alleviates hepatic fibrosis by promoting propionate-driven antioxidant defense across the gut–liver axis, thereby offering new mechanistic insights and therapeutic opportunities for chronic liver disease.

Tiny aquatic organisms can pass microplastics and heavy metals up the food chain. In zebrafish, this long-term transfer led to stunted organ growth and hormone imbalances, showing how hidden pollution may disrupt development. The study warns that such pollutants can build up across species, posing risks not only to ecosystems but also to food safety.

In a new study titled “Granular beds with asymmetric wettability promote the migration and separation behavior of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants: Migration rate and pressure drop distribution,” published in Water & Ecology, a research team led by Wenjie Lv from East China University of Science and Technology develop a novel granular beds with asymmetric wettability microchannel structure combining oleophilic and oleophobic surfaces to enhances oil migration and separation the oil phase in oil-in-water emulsions. This study provides an efficient, low-energy pretreatment strategy in treating refinaery wastewater containing highly viscous, easily emulsified petroleum hydrocarbons that are difficult to separate.

This paper proposes GAN-Solar, a novel quality optimization model for short-term solar radiation forecasting. Based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), the model addresses spatial texture degradation and intensity distortion in predictions, significantly improving forecast quality and reliability for high-precision applications.

Cellulose frameworks have emerged as promising materials for light management due to their exceptional light-scattering capabilities and sustainable nature. Conventional biomass-derived cellulose frameworks face a fundamental trade-off between haze and transparency, coupled with impractical thicknesses (≥ 1 mm). Inspired by squid’s skin-peeling mechanism, this work develops a peroxyformic acid (HCOOOH)-enabled precision peeling strategy to isolate intact 10-µm-thick bamboo green (BG) frameworks—100 × thinner than wood-based counterparts while achieving an unprecedented optical performance (88% haze with 80% transparency). This performance surpasses delignified biomass (transparency < 40% at 1 mm) and matches engineered cellulose composites, yet requires no energy-intensive nanofibrillation. The preserved native cellulose I crystalline structure (64.76% crystallinity) and wax-coated uniaxial fibril alignment (Hermans factor: 0.23) contribute to high mechanical strength (903 MPa modulus) and broadband light scattering. As a light-management layer in polycrystalline silicon solar cells, the BG framework boosts photoelectric conversion efficiency by 0.41% absolute (18.74% → 19.15%), outperforming synthetic anti-reflective coatings. The work establishes a scalable, waste-to-wealth route for optical-grade cellulose materials in next-generation optoelectronics.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as promising photovoltaic technologies owing to their remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, heat accumulation under continuous illumination remains a critical bottleneck, severely affecting device stability and long-term operational performance. Herein, we present a multifunctional strategy by incorporating highly thermally conductive Ti₃C₂T_X MXene nanosheets into the perovskite layer to simultaneously enhance thermal management and optoelectronic properties. The Ti₃C₂T_X nanosheets, embedded at perovskite grain boundaries, construct efficient thermal conduction pathways, significantly improving the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the film. This leads to a notable reduction in the device’s steady-state operating temperature from 42.96 to 39.97 °C under 100 mW cm⁻² illumination, thereby alleviating heat-induced performance degradation. Beyond thermal regulation, Ti₃C₂T_X, with high conductivity and negatively charged surface terminations, also serves as an effective defect passivation agent, reducing trap-assisted recombination, while simultaneously facilitating charge extraction and transport by optimizing interfacial energy alignment. As a result, the Ti₃C₂T_X-modified PSC achieve a champion PCE of 25.13% and exhibit outstanding thermal stability, retaining 80% of the initial PCE after 500 h of thermal aging at 85 °C and 30 ± 5% relative humidity. (In contrast, control PSC retain only 58% after 200 h.) Moreover, under continuous maximum power point tracking in N₂ atmosphere, Ti₃C₂T_X-modified PSC retained 70% of the initial PCE after 500 h, whereas the control PSC drop sharply to 20%. These findings highlight the synergistic role of Ti₃C₂T_X in thermal management and optoelectronic performance, paving the way for the development of high-efficiency and heat-resistant perovskite photovoltaics.