Healing severe wounds requires strong, safe, and effective dressings to prevent infections. Researchers at the University of Lincoln and Shibaura Institute of Technology have developed a new type of wound patch by adding magnesium chloride to polyurethane nanofibers. These enhanced patches are stronger, more blood-compatible, and exhibit superior antibacterial properties than conventional ones, making them a game-changer for wound care. This innovative approach could improve healing outcomes and care for patients with serious injuries.

Using genes borrowed from bacteria, researchers led by Macquarie University have demonstrated fish and flies can be engineered to break down methylmercury and remove it from their bodies as a less harmful gas, offering new ways to tackle one of the world's most dangerous pollutants.

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that negative refraction can be achieved using atomic arrays - without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials.

Scientists have long sought to control light in ways that appear to defy the laws of Nature.

Negative refraction - a phenomenon where light bends in the opposite direction to its usual behaviour - has captivated researchers for its potential to revolutionise optics, enabling transformative technologies such as superlenses and cloaking devices.

Now, carefully arranged arrays of atoms have brought these possibilities a step closer, achieving negative refraction without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials.        

Researchers at Ehime University successfully assessed the risk of DDTs on endocrine disruption in killer whales using New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) that avoid animal testing. By in vitro experiments and computer analysis, they found that DDTs activate killer whale estrogen receptor α, potentially disrupting hormone balance. This is concerning because DDTs levels in killer whales are high enough to cause harm. This study highlights the potential of NAMs for assessing chemical risks in wild species.

he research team led by Dr. Heh-In Im at the Center for Brain Disorders of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has identified a novel brain region and neural mechanism involved in regulating nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

 A team from Osaka University has developed scSPOT, a new technique that reveals how immune cells called Tregs simultaneously control the immune system. The team identified key immune cells controlled by Tregs and found that Tregs are targets for the cancer drugs ipilimumab and tazemetostat. They also found that Tregs are indicators of serious viral infection. This valuable technique may accelerate the development of treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Professor Ma's team at Harbin Institute of Technology has recently achieved a breakthrough in the field of gas temperature detection. For the first time, they proposed a calibration-free temperature detection method based on light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES) technology. This technique leverages the steady-state and transient response characteristics of a quartz tuning fork (QTF) to achieve rapid and highly stable temperature measurements in complex environments, providing a new solution for combustion diagnostics. The related results, titled "High stability and fast calibration-free temperature measurement based on light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy," were recently published in Ultrafast Science.