Composite solid electrolytes (CSEs) are regarded as one of the most promising candidates for solid state battery. Herein, a ZIF-based functional heterojunction nanoparticle is constructed as filler to form PVDF-based composite solid-state electrolyte, facilitating the dissociation of salt and improving the Li⁺ transport. This work provides valuable insights into the functional filler design for CSEs with highly efficient ion transport.

Alumina (Al₂O₃) ceramics represent a crucial category of advanced structural engineering materials due to their excellent physicochemical properties and relatively low cost. However, their broader application has been limited by low fracture toughness, making toughening a key research focus for Al₂O₃ ceramics. Silicon carbide whiskers (SiC_w) are among the most effective toughening agents for Al₂O₃ ceramics, but recent studies have primarily focused on optimizing SiC_w introduction methods and sintering processes. Departing from conventional approaches, the present research has pioneered a novel strategy—designing a core-shell composite structured SiC_w as the toughening phase for Al₂O₃ ceramics, thus offering a new perspective for Al₂O₃ ceramic toughening studies.

As power systems evolve to accommodate rising levels of renewable energy, traditional grid-following converters (GFLs) are no longer sufficient to ensure grid stability. Researchers from Imperial College London and Tsinghua University, led by Dr. Fei Teng and Mr. Guoxuan Cui, conduct a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of how to determine the optimal penetration of grid-forming converters (GFMs) required for future power networks. Their findings highlight how coordinated planning and dynamic operational control strategies can enable cost-effective and stable operation of “new-type power systems”.

Pancreatic cancer cachexia is a devastating syndrome marked by unintentional weight loss, skeletal muscle wasting, and metabolic dysfunction that severely impairs patient outcomes. Affecting over 60% of pancreatic cancer patients, cachexia contributes to reduced quality of life, therapy intolerance, and high mortality. In a new comprehensive review published in hLife, researchers from the Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health highlight how this condition arises not from malnutrition alone, but through complex systemic crosstalk among multiple organs. The review provides a detailed account of the biological drivers of cachexia—including inflammatory cytokines, TGF-β family ligands, catabolic mediators, and tumor-derived extracellular vesicles—and their roles in orchestrating multi-organ deterioration. It also explores cutting-edge animal models and proposes potential therapeutic targets that could disrupt the vicious cycle of body wasting. This work lays a foundation for future clinical strategies to diagnose, monitor, and treat cachexia as a systemic disease.

Glass-ceramic scintillators are attracting considerable attention as highly promising materials. However, increasing crystallinity inevitably enhances Rayleigh scattering, compromising their transparency. This creates a fundamental contradiction between achieving high crystallinity and high transparency. Resolving this contradiction is therefore critical, needing ongoing efforts in developing material design strategies.

In a paper published in Mycology, a Chinese team of scientists revealed a sophisticated chemical dialogue between a host fungus and symbiotic bacterium within Shiraia fruiting body. These findings provide unprecedented insights into microbial warfare strategies in specialized ecological niches while developing novel co-culture induction methodologies for the simultaneous biotechnological production of fungal hypocrellin A and bacterial carotenoids.

A collaborative team led by Researcher Chen Ruichong from Chengdu University, in partnership with Professor Qi Jianqi from Sichuan University and Researcher Wang Haomin from Taihang Laboratory, has achieved a groundbreaking advance in ceramic processing. By synergistically modulating nanoscale effects with the material’s intrinsic layered structure, the researchers demonstrated for the first time that water can serve as an effective transient liquid phase (TLP) for cold sintering of water-insoluble Li₂TiO₃ ceramics.

Under optimized conditions of 300°C and 700 MPa, the team successfully densified the ceramics to a relative density of 94.33%, while precisely maintaining an ultrafine grain size of 26.42 nm. This innovation provides a novel strategy for the low-temperature, environmentally friendly fabrication of water-insoluble ceramics, significantly broadening the scope of cold sintering technology. The findings hold promising applications in high-end fields such as energy storage and nuclear industries.

The modulation of the surface structure of platinum-based single-atom alloys is crucial for improving the catalytic performance in propane dehydrogenation. The optimization of the surface structure of PtCu clusters was attained through regenerative treatment, which significantly improved the propylene yield and catalytic stability, thereby offering a viable strategy for the design of alloy catalysts applicable to various high-temperature dehydrogenation reactions.

NiMo-NiMoO_x with crystalline/amorphous heterointerface was fabricated by a facile electrodeposition method. Theoretical calculations and experimental results confirm that the introduction of Mo atoms can not only lower the energy barrier of water dissociation and optimize the capacity for hydrogen adsorption/desorption, but also modulate the ratio between crystalline and amorphous phases, increasing the heterostructure interfaces and enriching active sites. Thus, the NiMo-NiMoO_x electrocatalyst exhibits remarkable HER catalytic properties and durability. It requires a low overpotential of 30 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm^-2 in 1.0 M KOH, as well as a long-term stability with slight degradation after operating for over 80 h. Moreover, it also exhibits excellent activity and stability with negligible declination in the simulated alkaline seawater, making it highly promising for seawater electrolysis applications.