Diagnostic laboratories are central to disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness, yet poor adherence to biosafety and biosecurity protocols can put laboratory staff, communities and the environment at risk. This study assessed biosecurity and biosafety practices in 96 public and private biomedical and veterinary laboratories in Benin. Using a cross-sectional design, biomedical laboratories were evaluated with the Biosafety and Biosecurity in Laboratory Tool, while veterinary laboratories were assessed using the Laboratory Mapping Tool. Data were collected through KoBoCollect and analysed using R. Most laboratories showed poor compliance with established guidelines: 42% were classified as very high risk, 38% as high risk, 15% as moderate risk and only 5% as low risk. Strengthened policies and targeted capacity-building for laboratory staff and managers are urgently needed.

Spinal cord injury is often seen as damage to the nervous system, but a new review argues that paralysis is only the visible tip of a much larger iceberg. The authors map how spinal cord trauma can disrupt autonomic control, immunity and metabolism, triggering complications across distant organs and reshaping long-term recovery.

This study reviews ecological operation practices in China's Tarim and Irtysh River Basins, focusing on innovations such as multiscale reservoir ecological operations, ecological infiltration irrigation, and ecological water conveyance strategies. These approaches have effectively restored riparian vegetation, enhanced groundwater recharge, and improved biodiversity while balancing socioeconomic demands. The paper also discusses persisting challenges like climate variability and competing water demands. Lastly, the paper proposes an integrated framework combining reservoir regulation, ecological flow reconstruction, and targeted water delivery technologies to enhance sustainable water management in arid regions.

In the integration of heterogeneous catalysis with two-dimensional (2D) materials, Li–O₂ batteries serve as valuable research prototypes, particularly for investigating the efficient oxygen reduction/evolution reaction in multiphase environments. However, the advantages and limitations associated with the unique anisotropy and electronic properties of 2D materials in Li–O₂ batteries (LOBs) remain unclear. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of 2D cathode catalysts for LOBs, including graphene, transition metal oxides/hydroxides, dichalcogenides, and metal carbides, together with their corresponding activation engineering strategies. More specifically, we thoroughly examine the pivotal role of anisotropic catalytic properties on the large surface areas and terminal edge active sites of 2D cathode catalysts. The correlations are analyzed between 2D material design and catalytic mechanisms in LOBs, particularly in adsorption strength of intermediates, electronic structure and discharge product. Additionally, the expanded applications of 2D materials in components such as lithium anode protection and rapid lithium-ion transport are also briefly discussed by leveraging their favorable physicochemical properties. Finally, the challenges and future directions for the development and application of 2D materials are summarized and discussed, which is expected to unlock the full potential of LOBs batteries as next-generation energy storage technologies.

A CUHK-led team has developed an integrated all-optical signal processor (OSP) that corrects signal distortion directly in light form, reducing latency and energy use compared with conventional digital signal processors (DSP). Built on a silicon photonic chip, it can perform real-time signal equalization in the optical domain and achieve 1.6 Tb/s throughput with under 60 picoseconds latency and extremely low power consumption, while flexibly compensating various transmission impairments, including fiber dispersion, system bandwidth limitation, and nonlinearities. Published in Science, the breakthrough offers a high-bandwidth, low-latency, and energy-efficient solution for high-speed AI data centre interconnects and marks progress toward using light for both data transmission and processing.