A study published in Insect Science reports that superworms, the larvae of the beetle Zophobas atratus, can biodegrade polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most widely produced and hardest-to-recycle plastics in the world. The research, led by scientists from Tongji University, Stanford University, and Michigan State University, provides the most rigorous evidence yet of insect-mediated PVC degradation and sheds new light on the biological mechanisms behind it.

Researchers found that toxic metal particles in rural North China air are smaller and potentially more harmful than those in urban areas. The study showed that village pollution was strongly linked to biomass and coal burning, while urban pollution was mainly associated with dust-related mineral particles. The findings highlight the overlooked health risks faced by rural populations exposed to PM_2.5-bound heavy metals.

As the global transition to renewable energy intensifies, the search for high-performance batteries and efficient electrocatalysts has become a critical race against time. Traditionally, discovering these materials required years of "trial-and-error" laboratory experiments. Now, a comprehensive review published in the journal ENGINEERING Energy by researchers from Tongji University reveals how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally shifting this paradigm.

Xuebijing injection (XBJ), a clinically widely used traditional Chinese medicine formulation, ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) through multi-target synergy. It inhibits inflammation and ferroptosis by directly binding to five key proteins (PKM2, ENO1, PBK, EIF3I, Keap1), suppressing the MAPK/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling axis, restoring alveolar barrier integrity and immune homeostasis, providing new mechanistic evidence and therapeutic prospects for ALI treatment.

An artificial intelligence–driven transfer learning strategy enabled the discovery of a novel indolopyridine-based small molecule (Compound 8a) that directly targets gp130, potently suppresses the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, and effectively inhibits colorectal cancer growth in vitro and in vivo, offering a promising lead and a feasible computational paradigm for developing gp130‑targeted anticancer agents.

A novel TGFβ3 signaling cascade drives metastatic progression in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) by rewiring succinate metabolism. In a SMAD3/4-independent manner, TGFβ3 promotes assembly of the SMAD2/ETV4/CARM1 transcriptional complex, which epigenetically activates sulfide quinone oxidoreductase (SQOR) to trigger mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming and succinate accumulation. Accumulated succinate acts as a paracrine signal to induce smooth muscle cell (SMC)-to-endothelial-like cell (ELC) transdifferentiation, fostering stromal remodeling and vascular niche formation for metastasis. Structure-based virtual screening identifies L-chicoric acid as a specific inhibitor that disrupts SMAD2-ETV4 interaction, blocking the metabolic axis and suppressing MIBC metastasis, highlighting this pathway as a promising therapeutic target.

A team of researchers from China Pharmaceutical University and King's College London has identified MT2A as a key biomarker and candidate host target that connects zinc dysregulation to COVID-19 mortality. A PRISMA-guided meta-analysis of 1,972 hospitalized COVID-19 patients showed that zinc supplementation reduced mortality (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.36–0.64). Multi-omics integration further revealed that MT2A, enriched in myeloid lineages, is closely associated with COVID-19 severity, viral entry/processing pathways, and innate immune sensing, with its expression peaking early after infection, providing new insights for biomarker-guided stratification and host-directed intervention strategies.

A novel network community–based computational platform, HerbSyner_Finder, efficiently identifies synergistic ingredient pairs from complex herbal medicines by integrating network proximity and Louvain community analysis. Using cough variant asthma (CVA) as a model disease, the tool prioritizes berberine-luteolin and kaempferol-quercetin as potent synergistic combinations; berberine-luteolin acts via the NLRP3/NF-κB pathway to alleviate airway inflammation, offering a universal strategy for herbal combination drug discovery.

A new study identifies CMPK2 as a key driver of hepatic ischemia‑reperfusion injury (HIRI) by triggering mitochondrial redox imbalance, free fatty acid overload, and mtDNA‑driven sterile inflammation. The natural compound acteoside (ACT) directly targets CMPK2, blocks IRF1‑driven transcription, promotes mitophagic degradation of CMPK2, and interrupts the vicious inflammatory cycle, offering a safe and translatable protective strategy for liver surgery and transplantation.