Xiaowei Yue and colleagues propose a physical-mechanism-aided, transformer-based model capable of producing reliable predictions of wind shear. Wind shear, a sudden change in wind speed or direction, is a major cause of aviation incidents; it was responsible for 18% of aviation accidents in 2022. Predicting wind shear events is a priority for aviation safety, as it would allow pilots to avoid areas where wind shear is likely. 

A new study from Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences pitted ordinary pets, trained by their owners, against experienced human searchers in a hunt for spotted lanternfly egg masses. It was the first test of community dog-handler teams in real-world conditions, where egg masses occur naturally, scents compete, and target locations are unknown. The dogs outperformed the people by more than 2 to 1 in densely vegetated areas.

Zeolite-catalyzed methanol-to-hydrocarbons (MTH) reactions inherently exhibit multiscale spatiotemporal heterogeneity, which is crucial to catalyst design and product selectivity. This review integrates recent advances in spectroscopy, molecular imaging and spatially resolved techniques to connect molecular diffusion, acidity, temperature distribution and coke deposition across molecular, crystal, particle and reactor scales. By clarifying how nonuniform microenvironments emerge, interact and propagate, this review provides insights for the development to guide more efficient and selective MTH catalysis.

Nanjing University researchers report a breakthrough siRNA delivery strategy that transforms the liver into a "biopharmaceutical factory" for targeted cancer therapy. The team developed an In Vivo Self-Assembled (IVSA) system that uses intravenously injected plasmid DNA to program hepatocytes to produce and package EGFR-targeting siRNA into GE11-tagged small extracellular vesicles. These "biomissiles" selectively deliver therapeutic siRNA to EGFR-positive tumors, overcoming the long-standing siRNA delivery challenge without complex in vitro encapsulation. The system demonstrated potent efficacy across EGFR-mutant lung cancer, gastric cancer, and breast cancer models, outperforming traditional targeted drugs while showing minimal off-target toxicity. This plug-and-play platform represents a paradigm shift from conventional drug manufacturing to in vivo biopharmaceutical production, offering a modular, cost-effective approach for personalized cancer gene therapy.

This study reports a labor-saving strategy for hybrid rice seed production using a small flag leaf mutant, ym66, derived from radiation-mutagenized indica rice 93-11. The mutant exhibits extremely short, narrow, and stiff flag leaves due to a 6-bp insertion in the OsGATA15 gene, which leads to cell death and reduced vascular development. Using this mutant, the researchers developed a novel restorer line, NP27, which requires no manual leaf cutting during hybrid seed production. Field tests showed that NP27 achieves seed yields comparable to traditional leaf-cutting methods, while reducing labor costs by approximately 150–180 CNY per mu. Additionally, NP27-derived hybrids display more compact plant architecture, uniform panicles, and improved grain quality. This work provides a "leaf-cutting-free" germplasm resource that simplifies hybrid rice seed production and lowers production costs.

A rapid, precise, on-site, portable, and naked-eye visualization method for genotyping the FecBB mutation in sheep has been established. A genotyping strategy for important SNP site in livestock breeding programmes is provided, theoretically applicable to any SNP site.

Artificial intelligence increasingly helps providers achieve more robustness for their grids, provide better forecasts of electricity prices, and make energy use more efficient. In critical infrastructures, such as the energy system, AI should not be a black box – its decisions need to be understandable at any time. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a new method for a more transparent analysis of AI-based predictions for energy systems. The results of their study have been published in Nature Communications.  (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-73243-5)