Lung cancer is emerging as a public health crisis. Yet, there is limited information on the lifetime risk of developing and dying from lung cancer at global, regional, and national levels. To bridge this gap, researchers from China estimated the lifetime risk of lung cancer across 185 countries in 2022. Their findings reveal the diverse impact of lung cancer across countries, sexes, and age groups, highlighting the need for more targeted interventions.

In a paper published in MedComm, an international team of scientists combined principles of bioengineering, biocoupling, and micro–nanotechnology to introduce a subclassification system based on these design principles and provide an in-depth discussion on the current status of clinical transformation of micro- and nanostructured systems inspired by plants, microorganisms, and animals, as well as the encountered challenges during this process for the first time. This work will establish a robust theoretical framework and serve as a valuable reference to facilitate advancements in research and clinical application within this field.

The notion of employing detonation to enhance aerospace propulsion systems has been explored for several decades. In a recent breakthrough, a novel detonation engine known as the Ram-Rotor Detonation Engine has emerged. This innovative engine integrates the processes of propellant compression, detonation combustion, and expansion within a single rotor, enabling it to markedly enhance propulsion efficiency across a broad range of flight Mach numbers.

The advent of the fifth-generation (5G) technology has revolutionized the way we think about communication networks, enabling a plethora of new use cases and scenarios that were not possible with previous generations of wireless technology. The existing 5G communication networks predominantly rely on terrestrial communication infrastructure, which, however, exhibits several notable limitations such as capacity constraints, latency issues, and energy inefficiencies, necessitating this next-generation leap. The 6G aims to provide a comprehensive solution for a hyperconnected, intelligent, and immersive digital ecosystem, seamlessly integrating terrestrial, airborne, and spaceborne networks which is referred to as the space-air-ground-sea integrated network (SAGSIN). A traditional SAGSIN scenario mainly includes 3 segments: spaceborne network, airborne network, and terrestrial network. The classical SAGSIN architecture has shown remarkable capabilities in providing massive connectivity by integrating spaceborne, airborne, and terrestrial cellular networks, which, however, encounters inherent technical challenges against their respective practical implementation. On the other hand, the philosophy of near-space communications (NS-COM) is gradually emerging. The distinctive location of near space which is 20 ~ 100 km above Earth’s surface positiones at the core of the SAGSIN, thus allowing the NS-COM network to address the shortcomings of traditional spaceborne, terrestrial, and airborne networks. NS-COM present a promising addition to SAGSIN, making them the final piece of the SAGSIN puzzle.

A new method has been developed to create optical vortices with spatial-frequency patching metasurfaces. These "super-capacity perfect vector vortex beams" offer significantly increased data transmission capacity by utilizing multiple dimensions, including beam morphology, polarization azimuth, and ellipticity angle. The researchers believe this breakthrough could revolutionize optical information technology, enabling more secure and efficient data transmission.

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, researchers from Xiamen University, Zhengzhou University, and the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Sanmenxia present evidence of the demographic history of Central Plain over the past three millennia by coanalyzing 30 newly reported high-quality ancient genomes with published reference data.

New research reveals the pivotal role of a mitochondrion-localized protein, PtoRFL30, in the wood formation of poplar trees.