Building functional human muscle in the laboratory has long been a goal of regenerative medicine, but one stubborn obstacle remains: real muscle is not just a mass of cells. Its strength and function depend on exquisitely ordered myofibers, all aligned in precise directions that vary from one muscle to another. Reproducing that internal order has proved far harder than shaping muscle tissue into the right external form.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, a research team from Xi'an Jiaotong University has now found a way to solve both problems at once. By using electric forces during the electrohydrodynamic bioprinting process, they have created living muscle tissues whose cells naturally line up just as they do in the human body, showing how electric forces can be used not just to precisely bioprint tissue, but to quietly instruct cells how to organize themselves.

A study from the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) has uncovered a theoretical mechanism showing how the electronic band structures of strongly correlated insulators can be reshaped by spin and charge perturbations, opening up new possibilities for electronics with tunable band structures.

As countries prepare to update their climate pledges, a study from Jeonbuk National University and Pusan National University examines whether current commitments can meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Using the RICE-2010 model, researchers find that even if pledges are fulfilled, warming could reach 2.48 °C by 2300. Without more ambitious action, climate-related damages could reach US$65 trillion by 2200, underscoring the need for deeper and faster emission cuts.

A study in National Science Review reports that periphyton—microbial biofilms at the soil–water interface—captures 6–24% (12% on average) of fertilizer nitrogen in Chinese rice paddies. Combining a 840-field survey with in situ ¹⁵N tracing across climatic zones, this study shows this transient N pool (~0.8 Tg N yr−1) helps close long-standing nitrogen budget gaps in paddy fields.