A chromosome-level genome has opened a new window into how Hemsleya ellipsoidea, a medicinal cucurbit known as Xuedan, evolved its unusual ability to accumulate cucurbitacin IIa (CuIIa), a bioactive triterpenoid associated with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. 

A research team has identified TATA box-binding protein-associated factor 1 (TAF1) as a molecular switch that helps determine whether cancer cells resist or undergo ferroptosis, a regulated form of cell death driven by lipid peroxide buildup. 

Fresh aroma is one of the qualities that makes litchi immediately recognizable, yet the chemistry and genetics behind this sensory trait have remained unclear.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIAC) have developed a novel FeSNC catalyst with axial Fe-S₁N₄ coordination using a dual-precursor CVD strategy. This structural engineering optimizes the adsorption of oxygen intermediates and enhances proton transport, leading to a record-high power density of 1.2 W·cm^-2 in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Why can a chemical eye injury continue to worsen long after the initial burn, leading to corneal opacity, abnormal blood vessel growth, and even vision loss? The danger of corneal alkali burns lies not only in the rapid tissue penetration of alkaline agents, but also in their ability to disrupt the cellular cooperation required for corneal repair. A new study published in Eye Discovery by researchers from the Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University and collaborating institutions uses single-cell RNA sequencing to map how corneal and limbal tissues respond to alkali injury, revealing a multicellular disease process centered on amplified VEGF signaling.

When compared to membrane affinity binding columns and ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid yields the lowest contaminating free protein, highest nucleic acid content, and has similar yield of EVs while maintaining EV structure and function for downstream applications.

There is a substantial potential to use LLMs as a supplementary grading tools, particularly in high-resource languages, but they do not yet match the consistency or interpretative depth of human expert evaluators.