After a heart attack, a scar-forming activity can persist for months and contribute to heart fibrosis and later heart failure. Treatment with mesenchymal stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) reduced this process and limited harmful fibrosis beyond the damaged area. The study shows that MSC-EVs both reduce the scarring process and preserve heart function over time in a small-animal model, and that they have an acute cardioprotective effect in pig trials when administered directly into the coronary arteries.

Biosphere reserves help curb deforestation in the Western Amazon and, taken together, have prevented the loss of more than 7,400 square kilometers of forest over the last two decades compared to similar scenarios without this protection status. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, which presents the first systematic assessment of the effectiveness of Amazonian biosphere reserves in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru in deterring deforestation.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in finance, from investment management to financial analysis. However, recent research suggests that highly accurate market predictions do not necessarily result in better investment outcomes. In two complementary studies from Pusan National University, researchers investigated how financial AI can be improved to make better decisions and how the performance of these systems can be evaluated using a proposed framework. The findings support the development of reliable financial AI.

Hybrid quantum sources are essential for developing large-scale quantum networks. However, heterogeneous single-photon sources have different spectral and temporal networks, necessitating modifications and synchronizations that lead to losses and the need for additional resources. In a new study, researchers have successfully achieved indistinguishable photon generation between two physically dissimilar quantum sources: warm atomic ensembles and quantum dots. The two sources also demonstrated high visibility two-photonic interference, marking a key step for future quantum networks.

α-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential omega-3 acid, is known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and could help support cardiovascular health. Although perilla oil, which is widely consumed in South Korea, is composed of up to 70% ALA, its positive cardiovascular effects are underexplored. In a new study, researchers evaluate the effects of perilla oil supplementation on blood coagulation and inflammatory markers through a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial.

A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed global inequalities in lake water quality through the development of GlakeWQ, the first satellite–machine learning framework enabling consistent assessment across countries. Mapping 16,409 lakes in 145 countries, the framework shows that only about two-thirds of lakes meet sustainable water quality standards, leaving approximately 1.15 billion people exposed to potential water quality-related health risks and highlighting the urgent need for equitable freshwater management.

A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a novel AI framework, the Generalist–Specialist Collaboration (GSCo), which enables a generalist foundation model and specialist models to collaborate on disease diagnosis. GSCo outperforms both standalone models in tasks such as medical imaging, visual question answering, and radiology report generation, while significantly reducing development costs of medical models to adapt to new clinical tasks. This marks a meaningful step toward bringing AI medical models into everyday clinical workflows. The study, titled "Towards generalizable AI in medicine via Generalist–Specialist Collaboration," was published in the prestigious academic journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

How much load can a crumpled sheet bear, and does size matter? A new study of two-dimensional macromolecules, a class of ultrathin sheet-like materials, shows that at equal packing density smaller sheets carry higher compressive loads than larger ones. Coarse-grained simulations and compression tests on paper, aluminum foil, PDMS, and silicone rubber reveal a universal “smaller is stronger” rule rooted in denser internal ridge networks, offering a new design principle for lightweight, high-strength structural metamaterials.