Protein secretion plays a crucial role in numerous biological processes, yet its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. This study investigates the role of Sec72, a component of the Sec complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in protein targeting and translocation to the endoplasmic reticulum. We discovered that deleting SEC72 significantly enhances the secretion of proteins with strongly hydrophobic signal peptides (SPs), accompanied by observable changes in cellular functions, such as iron homeostasis, cell wall assembly, and protein synthesis. Importantly, we identified specific gene modifications that, in combination with SEC72 deletion, enable a yeast strain to secrete α-amylase up to 6.5 g/l in fed-batch fermentation. These findings deepen our understanding of SP-mediated protein translocation and provide a basis for optimizing yeast hosts for more effective protein production.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising candidates for next-generation electronics, but their future application is hindered by the inherently slow growth kinetics of conventional vapor deposition methods, particularly for the synthesis of large-area single-crystal films. Here, we demonstrate a source-confined chemical vapor deposition strategy that enables the fast synthesis of centimeter-scale MoS2 single-crystal films within just 10 min. An optimized sandwich-structured Mo source was employed to ensure a concentration-balanced metal supply under sodium chloride catalysis, followed by sulfurization to form MoS2. The films nucleate uniformly and directionally on the miscut C/A sapphire substrate positioned 2 cm upstream of the Mo source, achieving high crystal quality with a low sulfur vacancy density of 8.49 × 1012 cm−2. Additionally, these films support the development of high-performance enhancement-mode MoS2 field-effect transistors, exhibiting excellent transport performances, including a high on–off ratio of 108, an average positive threshold voltage of 1.71 ± 0.32 V, an average mobility of 34.28 ± 0.46 cm2 V−1 s−1, and an average subthreshold swing of 155.8 ± 33.7 mV dec−1. Furthermore, high-performance rail-to-rail inverter gates and logic circuits with low power consumption (<0.3 nW) were successfully demonstrated, underscoring the potential of these MoS2 films for integrated circuit applications. This work offers a scalable and reliable approach for the fast growth of large-scale TMDs single-crystal films, accelerating their future applications in next-generation electronics.

Small inspection robots are highly desirable for inspecting complex machinery and detecting damage in confined spaces. However, common climbing robots that rely on vacuum suction or bioinspired dry adhesion often suffer from bulky sizes or slow locomotion speeds. Developing compact yet intelligent wall-climbing robots that mimic the agility and payload capacity of geckos remains an important challenge. In this work, we design a 20-g, 10-cm artificial intelligence (AI)-integrated robot capable of carrying a 70-g payload while climbing on vertical and inverted surfaces at a speed of 70 mm/s. Acoustic adhesion is generated by vibrating a flexible annular disk on smooth surfaces, where air is periodically absorbed and expelled, resulting in negative pressure. The thin air layer with negative pressure indicates anisotropic performance, characterized by strong normal adhesion and negligible tangential resistance, making it highly suitable for designing small, yet strong, climbing robots. The theoretical model and laser surface morphology measurements reveal the thickness-dependent adhesion of a thin air layer beneath the disk. A servo-spring system is designed to meet the stringent requirements of a thin air layer thickness, yielding robust normal adhesion. Resonance analysis and the use of proper spring material stiffness further enhance adhesion performance. Therefore, combining this innovative acoustic adhesion with optimized structural design, our robot achieves gecko-like mobility and payload capacity. Additionally, integrated AI techniques simplify robot control, allowing voice-commanded operation and autonomous task execution. We demonstrate the functions of these climbing robots through agile inspections in a 3-dimensional maze and retired aircraft engines. This work presents the design of small, strong, and agile climbing robots that utilize anisotropic acoustic adhesions, demonstrating agile mobility across gaps, right corners, and discontinuous curved surfaces. It offers potential solutions for in situ damage detection in aero-engines and other complex equipment cavities.

Addressing the critical demand for next-generation lightweight, high-efficiency microwave absorbers, this paper proposes a “micro-meso-macro” multi-scale synergistic regulation strategy. Specifically, core@shell mesoporous carbon hollow nanospheres (HNSs)@carbon bean-shaped nanofibers (BNFs) are designed and fabricated efficiently using SiO2/carbon solid nanospheres as precursor through a continuous electrostatic spinning, heat treatment, carbonization, and hydrofluoric (HF) etching. The acquired results suggest that the regulation of carbonization temperature greatly improves the graphitized degree of mesoporous carbon HNSs@carbon BNFs, which significantly enhances the values of complex permittivity. Furthermore, the introduction of a controllable number of mesoporous carbon HNSs at the mesoscale significantly increases the specific surface area and promotes the interfacial polarization effects. The macroscopic 3-dimensional continuous conductive network constructed via electrospinning further enhances electron transport capability and conductive loss efficiency. Benefiting from the excellent collaborative design between multi-scale structure and composition, the optimized mesoporous carbon HNSs@carbon BNFs display excellent microwave absorption properties with a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −61.03 dB at 2.42 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 6.2 GHz at 2.18 mm. Meanwhile, the acquired mesoporous carbon HNSs@carbon BNFs also present excellent corrosion resistance, hydrophobicity, flexibility, and lightweightness. Generally, the finding proposes a simple route for the production of novel core@shell C@C nanocomposites, which makes the best of multi-scale construction strategy to develop lightweight multifunctional microwave absorbers.

Aerosol viral transmission monitoring enables early, noninvasive detection of infectious disease spread by identifying airborne viral particles in shared environments. Integrating sampling, sensing, and data analysis, this perspective outlines an integrated framework for transforming epidemic responses from reactive testing to proactive surveillance. It synthesizes current technological advances and deployment experiences to identify key challenges in detection efficiency, data management, and societal trust. This marks a shift from clinical diagnosis to environmental surveillance, transforming epidemic responses from testing individuals to monitoring shared air. By enabling earlier interventions, these systems help reduce transmission, protect vulnerable groups, and limit disruptions to daily life and the economy.

Intervertebral discs have long been considered to lack neural innervation. However, recent studies have revealed that intervertebral disc degeneration is accompanied by marked pathological nerve invasion. In addition, the transmission mechanism of degeneration and related pain is exacerbated through the neural intervertebral disc microenvironment interaction network. Despite advances in this field, comprehensive reviews remain limited, and systematic analyses are lacking. In this review, we aimed to systematically analyze the potential application of “neural intervertebral disc microenvironment interaction” in the repair of intervertebral disc degeneration. First, in this article, we discussed the neural innervation and functional characteristics of healthy intervertebral discs, elaborated on the mechanism of abnormal nerve growth in the microenvironment of degenerated intervertebral discs, and explained how nerve invasion exacerbates intervertebral disc degeneration and its clinical symptoms by activating pain transmission pathways. Subsequently, we reviewed bioengineering strategies that provided new pathways for the innovative treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration through the synergistic effects of neural regulation and microenvironment interactions. Finally, we explored application prospects of neural-regulated biomaterials in precision medicine, clinical translation, and interdisciplinary fusion, providing a theoretical basis and technical guidance for neural-based intervertebral disc regeneration therapy.

The growing demand for orthopedic implants, driven by an aging global population and the rising occurrence of bone abnormalities and defects, relies heavily on biocompatible titanium (Ti) and its alloys. However, their inherent biological inertness often results in poor osseointegration and increased vulnerability to bacterial infections, particularly those caused by biofilm-forming pathogens. Traditional antibiotic treatments frequently fail against biofilms and contribute to the escalating problem of antibiotic resistance, emphasizing the need for alternative therapies that do not foster resistance. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which uses light-activated photosensitizers to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for effective bacterial eradication, presents a promising noninvasive strategy with high precision and low likelihood of resistance development. This review thoroughly explores the mechanisms of PDT and its application to Ti implants, focusing on both organic and inorganic photosensitizers. Moreover, considering current challenges, the study investigates approaches to improve PDT’s effectiveness in combating implant-related infections. These include optimizing PDT systems, developing new AIE-active photosensitizers, increasing oxygen supply to boost ROS production, combining multi-modal antibacterial treatments, and designing dual-functional implants. The review aims to identify current limitations and propose future directions, offering valuable insights to advance PDT-based strategies that enhance the antibacterial performance of Ti implants in the post-antibiotic era.