Novel Sillén oxyhalides, exhibit high oxide-ion conductivity at low temperatures, chemical stability, and negligible chemical expansion. One of the materials achieves 0.01 S cm⁻¹ bulk conductivity at 233 °C—within the “Norby gap.” The discovery reveals an unexpected vacancy-mediated mechanism for oxide-ion transport despite excess oxygen, introducing a new materials-design concept for fast oxide-ion conductors and low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. The present findings may open a new research field, “Oxide Ionics.”

Chiral materials have gained traction in photonic integrated circuits and quantum optics due to their unique capability to differentiate between spin states of light for their generation as well as detection. However, the controlled construction of large-scale chiral nanostructures in inorganic crystals remains a challenge. Now, researchers have demonstrated an innovative strategy to develop optical chirality by manipulating encapsulated nanoparticles using femtosecond laser pulses and forming rotationally arranged nanoparticles within the yttrium aluminum garnet lattice.

This authoritative review synthesizes 5 years of pivotal clinical and translational advances in esophageal cancer (EC), encompassing molecular pathogenesis, genomic and epigenetic landscapes, targeted therapeutic modalities and the tumor immune microenvironment. It underscores breakthroughs of immunotherapy in EC management while acknowledging slower progress in targeted treatments. Promising future directions include TKIs, CDK4/6 inhibitors, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway modulators, epigenetic regulators, ADCs, and rational combination strategies to overcome drug resistance and improve long-term patient survival outcomes.

Waterlogged paddy fields are widely distributed in rainy and low-lying areas of southern China, accounting for 15%–20% of the local rice planting area. The strongly reducing environment formed by long-term flooding not only reduces rice yields by 30%–50% compared with normal paddy fields, but also makes waterlogged soils a core source of agricultural methane emissions, creating a real contradiction with the green and low-carbon development of agriculture and the advancement of carbon neutrality strategies. Oxygen deficiency and the accumulation of ferrous ions and organic acids in waterlogged soils both poison crop roots and immobilize key nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium, becoming a prominent problem constraining the coordinated development of food security and farmland ecology.

Wearable electronics are rapidly transforming healthcare by enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of physiological and molecular signals directly at the point of need. This shift supports a transition from episodic, generalized care toward precision diagnosis, where individualized, longitudinal data guide early detection, risk stratification, and treatment decisions. Central to this transformation is the convergence of advanced manufacturing and heterogeneous integration strategies, which enable the development of compact, multimodal, and highly conformable diagnostic platforms. In this review, we examine how advances in materials engineering, micro/nanofabrication, and system integration have transformed wearable devices from single-parameter sensors into fully integrated, multimodal diagnostic systems. We outline key architectures and transduction mechanisms and highlight manufacturing approaches such as printing, 3D fabrication, photolithography, and laser writing. We emphasize heterogeneous integration strategies that combine sensing, electronics, power, and communication into skin-conformal platforms for long-term use. These advances enable precision diagnostics through continuous monitoring, multimodal data fusion, and individualized baselines. We also outline key challenges to clinical translation and discuss future directions toward robust, scalable, and clinically actionable systems, providing a strategic outlook for next-generation wearable electronics in precision diagnosis.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have garnered considerable attention as advanced electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) materials due to their unique layered structures, tunable electronic properties, and intrinsic defect-induced polarization mechanisms. This comprehensive review systematically summarizes recent advances in TMDs-based absorbers, with particular focus on two fundamental development strategies. The first involves multiscale structural design of pure phase TMDs spanning from atomic to submillimeter dimensions, achieved through precise defect regulation, phase engineering, and sophisticated morphological manipulation to optimize electromagnetic parameters and attenuation capabilities. The second strategy focuses on constructing multicomponent composite systems, incorporating dielectric matrices, magnetic elements, and multicomponent hybrids to achieve synergistic enhancement through interfacial polarization, conductive loss, and magnetic dissipation mechanisms. The review critically analyzes pioneering research achievements across various subfields while identifying specific challenges and opportunities within each domain. Future perspectives highlight emerging frontiers including atomic level interface engineering, inverse design of multicomponent and multiscale architectures, sustainable large-scale synthesis techniques, and development of multifunctional smart-response systems. This work aims to establish fundamental principles and provide forward-looking guidance for designing next-generation high-performance TMDs-based EMA materials with tailored functionalities.

Living bacteria can bond sand and other loose grains together into a solid material by forming calcium carbonate, the mineral that makes up limestone

The process is seen as a promising, less energy-intensive alternative to cement. Previously, it has primarily been used to stabilise soils, moulded tiles, and in research. 

An ETH Zurich researcher has now shown that bacteria and digital manufacturing can also be used to build free-form architectural elements.