To support the continued development of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology (ENCECO), the journal is launching its Youth Talent Program. The initiative aims to bring together outstanding early career researchers in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology, foster collaboration and knowledge exchange with leading international experts, and cultivate the next generation of editorial talent to help shape the journal's future.

We are pleased to announce that the International Conference on Advanced (Nano)composites 2027 (ICAN 2027 Adelaide) will be held from 1–4 February 2027 at Adelaide University, Australia.

Researchers have identified key physiological and biochemical traits that help wheat maintain productivity under sodic (salt-affected) soil conditions. The study found that proline accumulation, potassium retention, and a favorable potassium-to-sodium ratio are strongly associated with grain yield under stress. These findings provide valuable tools for breeding salt-tolerant wheat varieties and improving food security in regions affected by soil salinity.

A study using three years of satellite ground motion data (2018–2021) from 35 continuous GNSS stations has mapped crustal deformation in Central Sumatra, revealing that substantial tectonic strain is accumulating in multiple fault systems.

We report a novel marine polysaccharide-based biomimetic bilayer scaffold, d-ACT@MIC/SIM, featuring a dense upper layer serving as a barrier layer and a porous lower layer mimicking the native bone matrix microenvironment. This sophisticated architecture, coupled with the programmed co-delivery of minocycline and simvastatin, endowed the scaffold with a multifaceted therapeutic armamentarium. In vitro assessments identified its significant antibacterial efficacy and osteoinductive potential. Animal experiments further validated its capacity to suppress inflammatory cytokine expression and facilitate alveolar bone regeneration. The integrated strategy of a structurally biomimetic, dual drug-releasing scaffold thus offers a significant advancement over conventional therapeutic modalities for periodontitis by concurrently addressing infection, inflammation, and tissue regeneration. As such, this innovative bilayer asymmetric bionic drug-carrying scaffolds emerge as a compelling and prospective therapeutic option for advancing periodontitis treatment.

Researchers developed a two-step simulation framework to predict rail-induced vibrations in a hotel planned near Changsha Huanghua Airport Terminal 3, where subway and high-speed railway infrastructure intersect. The study found that some train operations could make floor vibrations perceptible and exceed vibration limits, while a combined track-based mitigation strategy could bring all evaluated indicators within relevant standards.

Researchers developed a photonic spiking hashing framework that uses a DFB-SA laser to generate robust binary codes for similarity retrieval. By introducing a hardware-aware quantization margin loss, the system reduces noise-induced bit flips near the threshold boundary. Hardware-in-the-loop experiments on image and text datasets produced error-free binary outputs in the tested queries while maintaining high retrieval accuracy.

Researchers developed a simple and cost-effective way to protect environmental monitoring equipment from wildfire damage. The redesigned data cabinets will keep electronics below their failure temperature during wildfires, helping maintain critical environmental data collection.