News from Science China Press

Researchers at South China University of Technology developed a modular nano-adaptor platform that quantitatively tunes anti-CD3 presentation while preserving antibody affinity, total antibody loading and tumor-targeting capacity. The calibrated platform enabled screening of 91 tetraspecific nanoantibody configurations and identified lead combinations that strengthened immune–tumor interactions, improved antitumor activity and suppressed tumor growth in PBMC-humanized mouse models under the tested conditions.

Maize production has increased nearly six-fold over the past six decades, but reactive nitrogen losses from maize fields have risen by a similar magnitude. A new study published in Science Bulletin argues that the next step in maize improvement must link yield gains with lower environmental costs.

The researchers introduced the concept of green and efficient, or G&E, maize varieties. These varieties are defined as relative to locally adapted conventional control varieties under comparable management, simultaneously increase grain yield while reducing at least one category of environmental input or reactive loss.

By integrating genetic evidence, reported varieties, field observations and global soil and climate data, the authors found that existing G&E maize varieties already increase yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency respectively by 10.1% and 16.7% on average. Under an ideal full-adoption scenario, such varieties could raise global maize production by 18.1% and reduce reactive nitrogen losses by 26.6%.

A team of hydrogeologists and geomicrobiologists from China and Germany has discovered that dissimilatory iodate-reducing microorganisms (DIRMs) do not live above marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), as long predicted. Instead, these microbes thrive within the OMZs, converting iodate into iodide and promoting the release of marine iodine into the atmosphere. The findings, published in National Science Review, refine the ecological niche of DIRMs and enhance the modeling for predicting oceanic iodine emissions under future climate changes.

Scientists at Peking University have identified a mitochondrial protein that is essential for protecting motor neurons, offering new insight into how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may develop. The study, led by Dr. Xianhua Wang and Dr. Heping Cheng at the College of Future Technology, Peking University, shows that loss of the mitochondrial protein ROMO1 causes progressive damage to motor neurons and muscles in mice, closely resembling key features of human ALS. The findings were published online in Science Bulletin.