News from Science China Press

A new Perspective in Science Bulletin argues that the persistent gap between climate science and climate action stems from a conceptual blind spot: treating climate and social systems as separate domains rather than as one integrated, co-evolving entity. The authors introduce the Climate-Social Coupling System (CSS) paradigm and, by re-contextualizing the classic Environmental Kuznets Curve, sort national trajectories into “strong,” “weak,” and “de-coupling” states, showing that governance is the decisive, reversible steering mechanism that determines a country’s climate future.

In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers analyzed tidal data at 362,370 oceanic locations spotted by the Jason-3 satellite, revealing that the distribution of high and low tides directly contradicts the physical existence of two water bulges—a model that has been widely taught in textbooks. This discovery provides evidence for the recently proposed oceanic basin oscillation-driving mechanism of tides.

A study published in National Science Review shows that climate change is reorganizing China’s cropland nitrogen pollution. Although the humid south currently exports more nitrogen, rising rainfall may increase cropland nitrogen export from the arid and semi-arid north by 18.8%–53.2% by 2050. The findings call for source control in the north and stronger aquatic nitrogen removal in the south.

Solitons are prototypical localized states in nonlinear physics. Their formation usually relies on a balance between wave-packet spreading and nonlinear self-focusing. In conventional Hermitian lattices, the threshold for soliton formation is often governed by dimensionality and boundary geometry. For instance, in two dimensions, corners are more favorable for soliton formation than edges, and edges are more favorable than the bulk. In non-Hermitian systems with the non-Hermitian skin effect, however, linear eigenmodes can become anomalously concentrated near boundaries or other selected regions, reshaping this familiar picture. Then, the open question is: How does skin-mode localization affect soliton formation? What role does band nonreciprocity play? Moreover, do these two non-Hermitian mechanisms act in the same way or in opposite ways? 

A research team has discovered a superconducting dome with a record maximum T_c of approximately 17.8 K in the rhombohedral-I phase of ReO₃ under high pressures of 12 to 39 GPa. This study reveals how a densified oxygen lattice and strong metal-oxygen covalent hybridization synergistically drive the electron-phonon coupling, offering a new pathway for discovering light-element-dominated superconductors in metal oxides.

Sepsis can leave survivors with lasting brain symptoms. Researchers report that ANXA2, a protein in the brain's immune cells, may act like an inflammation amplifier after sepsis. They designed a dual-targeted lipid carrier to bring evodiamine into the brain and microglia, easing inflammation and improving behavior and memory in mice.

Researchers identified two opposing tumor-associated macrophage states that regulate T cell interferon signaling and immunotherapy response in gastric cancer. An interferon-responsive immune niche predicts improved outcomes, while lipid-driven macrophages suppress T cell function and contribute to resistance.