News from Science China Press

A synthesis of ground surveys across Southwest China finds that soil thickness explains nearly 70% of the spatial variation in woody vegetation growth potential, far more than climate or soil nutrient concentrations. Below a 57.5-centimeter threshold, limited soil volume becomes the dominant constraint, where vegetation becomes less related to soil nutrient concentrations and more closely associated with climate variability.

Electroencephalography (EEG) foundation models are emerging as a promising approach for brain-computer interfaces, but their generalization ability remains unclear. Researchers developed EEG-FM-Compass, a benchmark reviewing 55 EEG foundation models and evaluating 12 open-source models across 13 datasets and nine brain-computer interface paradigms. The study shows that current models have transfer potential but require task-specific adaptation, while specialized models remain competitive and larger models do not necessarily generalize better.

Researchers have developed a catalyst that coordinates structure and chemistry from the atomic scale to the millimeter scale. The 3D-printed tough metallic-glass scaffold promotes fluid flow and bubble removal, while a NiMo nanoglass coating supplies active amorphous interfaces. The Gyroid-based NiMo@G catalyst required 1.438 V to reach 100 mA cm⁻² in alkaline water electrolysis and remained stable for more than 200 hours.

Blood tests measuring plasma p-tau217 offer a promising, non-invasive alternative for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. In a multicenter head-to-head evaluation, researchers compared nine commercial p-tau217 assays. While seven assays demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for detecting amyloid pathology, two showed substantially lower performance. The findings emphasize that these tests are not interchangeable and require tailored calibration for clinical use.

A study of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PanNETs) identified an AGR2^high endocrine subcluster enriched in high-grade tumors and showed that simple AGR2 immunohistochemistry serves as a clinically informative prognostic marker. Mechanistically, the transcription factor FOXM1 directly drives the proliferative transcriptional program of AGR2^high cells, while chemical inhibition of FOXM1 showed therapeutic benefit in tumor cells, patient-derived organoids, and xenograft models. Together, the findings provide a new approach for prognostic stratification and identify FOXM1 as a potential therapeutic vulnerability in NF-PanNETs.

Chemical composition and stoichiometry have long been regarded as the primary determinants of a material’s electronic properties. Yet in layered materials, atomic stacking can play an equally important role. Writing in National Science Review, researchers from China demonstrate that van der Waals materials can reconfigure into adaptive hetero-phase superlattices through coordinated interlayer and intralayer sliding. The resulting structural reconfiguration produces distinct superconducting states without altering chemical composition or stoichiometry, establishing stacking engineering as a powerful route for designing emergent quantum phases.