New research from the Wuhan University of Technology reveals the complex and contradictory effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," on soil ecosystems. A team led by authors Yulong Li and Lie Yang demonstrated that contaminants PFOA and PFOS trigger a dramatic two-phase response in soil. Initially, the chemicals stimulate a rapid release of carbon, but this is followed by a prolonged period of suppression, posing significant questions about the long-term health of contaminated soils and their role in the global carbon cycle.

The widespread presence of PFOA and PFOS in the environment is a growing concern due to their persistence and bioaccumulation. While many investigations have focused on their distribution and toxic effects on plants and animals, their influence on the fundamental geochemical processes within soil has been less understood. This inquiry sought to determine how these specific contaminants alter the mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC), a vital process where microorganisms break down organic matter and release carbon, which influences both soil fertility and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

A new long-term field study reveals that adding biochar to tropical soils can subtly reshape underground ecosystems, influencing insects and other tiny organisms that play vital roles in forest health.

A landmark study has successfully generated the world's first functional organoids of the human meibomian gland, the essential structure within the eyelid that prevents dry eye.

 

Researchers at Peking University has developed a "two-step" signaling switch—transitioning from Hippo-YAP/Notch to TGFβ1 pathways—to capture and stably maintain a novel stem cell state termed Trophectoderm-Like Stem Cells (TELSCs). These cells, derived from totipotent blastomere-like cells (TBLCs) or 8-cell embryos, precisely mirror the transcriptomic and epigenetic landscape of the E4.5 pre-implantation trophectoderm. Functionally, TELSCs exhibit extraordinary developmental plasticity; in chimeric assays, they contribute to all eight known trophoblast lineages at single-cell resolution. Furthermore, TELSCs efficiently assemble into 3D trophoblast organoids (TELSC-TOs) that recapitulate the coupled self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation characteristic of the native placenta.

 

Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered certain proteins may be the key to saving plants’ lives when multiple stressors hit at the same time. This knowledge may one day lead to crops that are more resistant to harsh conditions brought on by multiple stressors during the same growing seasons.

In a recent study, Mizzou scientists found that Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant that serves as a popular model organism for biology research, needs a specific protein to protect itself when exposed to simultaneous stress from excessive heat, sunlight and salty soil. The findings pave the way for scientists to better understand the underlying cellular biology that allows plants to survive even when hit by multiple stressors.

Today, most of the salmon consumed in Japan is imported from countries like Chile and Norway, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But just two decades ago, Japanese chum salmon made up a much larger share of domestic salmon consumption. Their numbers have declined sharply in recent years, and new research from Hokkaido University suggests that this decline may be linked to the loss of their natural habitats along their migratory routes.

Over the past two decades, cell biologists and computational biologists have worked to develop lineage tracing techniques that can decode the relationships between progenitor cells and their differentiated progeny.