Human population history at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia since 11,000 years ago.

Past human genetic diversity and migration between southern China and Southeast Asia have not been well characterized, in part due to poor preservation of ancient DNA in hot and humid regions. We sequenced 31 ancient genomes from southern China (Guangxi and Fujian), including two ∼12,000- to 10,000-year-old individuals representing the oldest humans sequenced from southern China. We discovered a deeply diverged East Asian ancestry in the Guangxi region that persisted until at least 6,000 years ago. We found that ∼9,000- to 6,000-year-old Guangxi populations were a mixture of local ancestry, southern ancestry previously sampled in Fujian, and deep Asian ancestry related to Southeast Asian Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers, showing broad admixture in the region predating the appearance of farming. Historical Guangxi populations dating to ∼1,500 to 500 years ago are closely related to Tai-Kadai and Hmong-Mien speakers. Our results show heavy interactions among three distinct ancestries at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia.

A shock flash breaking out of a dusty red supergiant.

Shock-breakout emission is light that arises when a shockwave, generated by the core-collapse explosion of a massive star, passes through its outer envelope. Hitherto, the earliest detection of such a signal was at several hours after the explosion1, although a few others had been reported2-7. The temporal evolution of early light curves should provide insights into the shock propagation, including explosion asymmetry and environment in the vicinity, but this has been hampered by the lack of multiwavelength observations. Here we report the instant multiband observations of a type II supernova (SN 2023ixf) in the galaxy M101 (at a distance of 6.85 ± 0.15 Mpc; ref. 8), beginning at about 1.4 h after the explosion. The exploding star was a red supergiant with a radius of about 440 solar radii. The light curves evolved rapidly, on timescales of 1-2 h, and appeared unusually fainter and redder than predicted by the models9-11 within the first few hours, which we attribute to an optically thick dust shell before it was disrupted by the shockwave. We infer that the breakout and perhaps the distribution of the surrounding dust were not spherically symmetric.

The zinc finger protein DHHC09 S-acylates the kinase STRK1 to regulate H2O2 homeostasis and promote salt tolerance in rice.

Soil salinity results in oxidative stress and heavy losses to crop production. The S-acylated protein SALT TOLERANCE RECEPTOR-LIKE CYTOPLASMIC KINASE 1 (STRK1) phosphorylates and activates CATALASE C (CatC) to improve rice (Oryza sativa L.) salt tolerance, but the molecular mechanism underlying its S-acylation involved in salt signal transduction awaits elucidation. Here, we show that the DHHC-type zinc finger protein DHHC09 S-acylates STRK1 at Cys5, Cys10, and Cys14 and promotes salt and oxidative stress tolerance by enhancing rice H2O2-scavenging capacity. This modification determines STRK1 targeting to the plasma membrane or lipid nanodomains and is required for its function. DHHC09 promotes salt signaling from STRK1 to CatC via transphosphorylation, and its deficiency impairs salt signal transduction. Our findings demonstrate that DHHC09 S-acylates and anchors STRK1 to the plasma membrane to promote salt signaling from STRK1 to CatC, thereby regulating H2O2 homeostasis and improving salt stress tolerance in rice. Moreover, overexpression of DHHC09 in rice mitigates grain yield loss under salt stress. Together, these results shed light on the mechanism underlying the role of S-acylation in RLK/RLCK-mediated salt signal transduction and provide a strategy for breeding highly salt-tolerant rice.

Prolonged myelin deficits contribute to neuron loss and functional impairments after ischaemic stroke.

Ischaemic stroke causes neuron loss and long-term functional deficits. Unfortunately, effective approaches to preserving neurons and promoting functional recovery remain unavailable. Oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells in the CNS, are susceptible to oxygen and nutrition deprivation and undergo degeneration after ischaemic stroke. Technically, new oligodendrocytes and myelin can be generated by the differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). However, myelin dynamics and their functional significance after ischaemic stroke remain poorly understood. Here, we report numerous denuded axons accompanied by decreased neuron density in sections from ischaemic stroke lesions in human brain, suggesting that neuron loss correlates with myelin deficits in these lesions. To investigate the longitudinal changes in myelin dynamics after stroke, we labelled and traced pre-existing and newly-formed myelin, respectively, using cell-specific genetic approaches. Our results indicated massive oligodendrocyte death and myelin loss 2 weeks after stroke in the transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mouse model. In contrast, myelin regeneration remained insufficient 4 and 8 weeks post-stroke. Notably, neuronal loss and functional impairments worsened in aged brains, and new myelin generation was diminished. To analyse the causal relationship between remyelination and neuron survival, we manipulated myelinogenesis by conditional deletion of Olig2 (a positive regulator) or muscarinic receptor 1 (M1R, a negative regulator) in OPCs. Deleting Olig2 inhibited remyelination, reducing neuron survival and functional recovery after tMCAO. Conversely, enhancing remyelination by M1R conditional knockout or treatment with the pro-myelination drug clemastine after tMCAO preserved white matter integrity and neuronal survival, accelerating functional recovery. Together, our findings demonstrate that enhancing myelinogenesis is a promising strategy to preserve neurons and promote functional recovery after ischaemic stroke.

A Peptide Encoded by a Putative lncRNA HOXB-AS3 Suppresses Colon Cancer Growth.

A substantial fraction of eukaryotic transcripts are considered long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which regulate various hallmarks of cancer. Here, we discovered that the lncRNA HOXB-AS3 encodes a conserved 53-aa peptide. The HOXB-AS3 peptide, not lncRNA, suppresses colon cancer (CRC) growth. Mechanistically, the HOXB-AS3 peptide competitively binds to the ariginine residues in RGG motif of hnRNP A1 and antagonizes the hnRNP A1-mediated regulation of pyruvate kinase M (PKM) splicing by blocking the binding of the ariginine residues in RGG motif of hnRNP A1 to the sequences flanking PKM exon 9, ensuring the formation of lower PKM2 and suppressing glucose metabolism reprogramming. CRC patients with low levels of HOXB-AS3 peptide have poorer prognoses. Our study indicates that the loss of HOXB-AS3 peptide is a critical oncogenic event in CRC metabolic reprogramming. Our findings uncover a complex regulatory mechanism of cancer metabolism reprogramming orchestrated by a peptide encoded by an lncRNA.

A Unique ISR Program Determines Cellular Responses to Chronic Stress.

The integrated stress response (ISR) is a homeostatic mechanism induced by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In acute/transient ER stress, decreased global protein synthesis and increased uORF mRNA translation are followed by normalization of protein synthesis. Here, we report a dramatically different response during chronic ER stress. This chronic ISR program is characterized by persistently elevated uORF mRNA translation and concurrent gene expression reprogramming, which permits simultaneous stress sensing and proteostasis. The program includes PERK-dependent switching to an eIF3-dependent translation initiation mechanism, resulting in partial, but not complete, translational recovery, which, together with transcriptional reprogramming, selectively bolsters expression of proteins with ER functions. Coordination of transcriptional and translational reprogramming prevents ER dysfunction and inhibits "foamy cell" development, thus establishing a molecular basis for understanding human diseases associated with ER dysfunction.

Rapid characterization of anti-CRISPR proteins and optogenetically engineered variants using a versatile plasmid interference system.

Anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins are encoded by mobile genetic elements to overcome the CRISPR immunity of prokaryotes, displaying promises as controllable tools for modulating CRISPR-based applications. However, characterizing novel anti-CRISPR proteins and exploiting Acr-related technologies is a rather long and tedious process. Here, we established a versatile plasmid interference with CRISPR interference (PICI) system in Escherichia coli for rapidly characterizing Acrs and developing Acr-based technologies. Utilizing the PICI system, we discovered two novel type II-A Acrs (AcrIIA33 and AcrIIA34), which can inhibit the activity of SpyCas9 by affecting DNA recognition of Cas9. We further constructed a circularly permuted AcrIIA4 (cpA4) protein and developed optogenetically engineered, robust AcrIIA4 (OPERA4) variants by combining cpA4 with the light-oxygen-voltage 2 (LOV2) blue light sensory domain. OPERA4 variants are robust light-dependent tools for controlling the activity of SpyCas9 by approximately 1000-fold change under switching dark-light conditions in prokaryotes. OPERA4 variants can achieve potent light-controllable genome editing in human cells as well. Together, our work provides a versatile screening system for characterizing Acrs and developing the Acr-based controllable tools.

Copper Single-Atom-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Ultrasound-Enhanced Nanocatalytic Therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is an emerging therapeutic modality triggered by endogenous substances in the tumor microenvironment (TME) to generate reactive oxygen species. However, the mild acid pH, low H2O2 concentration, and overexpressed glutathione can suppress the CDT efficiency. Herein, ultrasound (US)-triggered Cu2+-based single-atom nanoenzymes (FA-NH2-UiO-66-Cu, FNUC) are constructed with the performance of target and glutathione depletion. In the TME, the single-atom Cu sites of FNUC consume glutathione and the FNUC:Cu+ generates •OH via peroxidase-like activity. The US-activated FNUC exhibits a fast •OH generation rate, a low Michaelis constant, and a large •OH concentration, indicating the cavitation effect of US promotes the •OH generation. Meanwhile, the tumor target of FNUC is confirmed by NIR-II fluorescence imaging, in which it is modified with IR-1061. Combined with the antitumor performance of FNUC in vitro and in vivo, the novel Cu-based SAzymes can achieve efficient and precise cancer treatment.

PFKFB3-Meditated Glycolysis via the Reactive Oxygen Species-Hypoxic Inducible Factor 1α Axis Contributes to Inflammation and Proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus in Epithelial Cells.

Mastitis caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus is a significant concern in the livestock industry due to the economic losses it incurs. Regulating immunometabolism has emerged as a promising approach for preventing bacterial inflammation. To investigate the possibility of alleviating inflammation caused by S aureus infection by regulating host glycolysis, we subjected the murine mammary epithelial cell line (EpH4-Ev) to S aureus challenge. Our study revealed that S aureus can colonize EpH4-Ev cells and promote inflammation through hypoxic inducible factor 1α (HIF1α)-driven glycolysis. Notably, the activation of HIF1α was found to be dependent on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). By inhibiting PFKFB3, a key regulator in the host glycolytic pathway, we successfully modulated HIF1α-triggered metabolic reprogramming by reducing ROS production in S aureus-induced mastitis. Our findings suggest that there is a high potential for the development of novel anti-inflammatory therapies that safely inhibit the glycolytic rate-limiting enzyme PFKFB3.

Staphylococcus aureus Conquers Host by Hijacking Mitochondria via PFKFB3 in Epithelial Cells.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) persists within mammary epithelial cells for an extended duration, exploiting the host metabolic resources to facilitate replication. This study revealed a mechanism by which intracellular S. aureus reprograms host metabolism, with PFKFB3 playing a crucial role in this process. Mechanistically, S. aureus induced mitochondrial damage, leading to increased levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) and dysfunction in electron transport chain (ETC). Moreover, S. aureus shifted the balance of mitochondrial dynamics from fusion to fission, subsequently activating PINK1-PRKN-dependent mitophagy, causing loss of the sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) to stabilize hypoxic inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), and shifting the host metabolism toward enhanced glycolysis. The inhibition of PFKFB3 reversed the mitochondrial damage and degradation of SIRT3 induced by S. aureus. Overall, our findings elucidate the mechanism by which S. aureus reprograms host metabolism and offer insights into the treatment of S. aureus infection.

Insufficient Oligodendrocyte Turnover in Optic Nerve Contributes to Age-Related Axon Loss and Visual Deficits.

Age-related decline in visual functions is a prevalent health problem among elderly people, and no effective therapies are available up-to-date. Axon degeneration and myelin loss in optic nerves (ONs) are age-dependent and become evident in middle-aged (13-18 months) and old (20-22 months) mice of either sex compared with adult mice (3-8 months), accompanied by functional deficits. Oligodendrocyte (OL) turnover is actively going on in adult ONs. However, the longitudinal change and functional significance of OL turnover in aging ONs remain largely unknown. Here, using cell-lineage labeling and tracing, we reported that oligodendrogenesis displayed an age-dependent decrease in aging ONs. To understand whether active OL turnover is required for maintaining axons and visual function, we conditionally deleted the transcription factor Olig2 in the oligodendrocyte precursor cells of young mice. Genetically dampening OL turnover by Olig2 ablation resulted in accelerated axon loss and retinal degeneration, and subsequently impaired ON signal transmission, suggesting that OL turnover is an important mechanism to sustain axon survival and visual function. To test whether enhancing oligodendrogenesis can prevent age-related visual deficits, 12-month-old mice were treated with clemastine, a pro-myelination drug, or induced deletion of the muscarinic receptor 1 in oligodendrocyte precursor cells. The clemastine treatment or muscarinic receptor 1 deletion significantly increased new OL generation in the aged ONs and consequently preserved visual function and retinal integrity. Together, our data indicate that dynamic OL turnover in ONs is required for axon survival and visual function, and enhancing new OL generation represents a potential approach to reversing age-related declines of visual function.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Oligodendrocyte (OL) turnover has been reported in adult optic nerves (ONs), but the longitudinal change and functional significance of OL turnover during aging remain largely unknown. Using cell-lineage tracing and oligodendroglia-specific manipulation, this study reported that OL generation was active in adult ONs and the efficiency decreased in an age-dependent manner. Genetically dampening OL generation by Olig2 ablation resulted in significant axon loss and retinal degeneration, along with delayed visual signal transmission. Conversely, pro-myelination approaches significantly increased new myelin generation in aging ONs, and consequently preserved retinal integrity and visual function. Our findings indicate that promoting OL generation might be a promising strategy to preserve visual function from age-related decline.

TLR9 activation induces immunosuppression and tumorigenesis via PARP1/PD-L1 signaling pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of oral cancer, and metastasis and immunosuppression are responsible for the poor prognosis of OSCC. Previous studies have shown that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)1 plays a key role in the pathogenesis of OSCC. Therefore, PARP1 may serve as an important research target for the potential treatment of OSCC. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of PARP1 in the tumorigenesis of OSCC and elucidate the key molecular mechanisms of its upstream and downstream regulation in vivo and in vitro. In human OSCC tissues and cells, Toll-like receptor (TLR)9 and PD-L1 were highly expressed and PARP1 was lowly expressed. Suppression of TLR9 remarkably repressed CAL27 and SCC9 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. After coculture, we found that low expression of TLR9 inhibited PD-L1 expression and immune escape. In addition, TLR9 regulated PD-L1 expression through the PARP1/STAT3 pathway. PARP1 mediated the effects of TLR9 on OSCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and immune escape. Additionally, in vivo experiments further verified that TLR9 promoted tumor growth and immune escape by inhibiting PARP1. Collectively, TLR9 activation induced immunosuppression and tumorigenesis via PARP1/PD-L1 signaling pathway in OSCC, providing important insights for subsequent in-depth exploration of the mechanism of OSCC.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this research, we took PARP1 as the key target to explore its regulatory effect on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The key molecular mechanisms involved in its upstream and downstream regulation were elucidated in OSCC cell lines in vitro and tumor-bearing mice in vivo, combined with clinical OSCC tissues.

Research progress of the netrins and their receptors in cancer.

Netrins, a family of secreted and membrane-associated proteins, can regulate axonal guidance, morphogenesis, angiogenesis, cell migration, cell survival, and tumorigenesis. Four secreted netrins (netrin 1, 3, 4 and 5) and two glycosylphosphatidylinositols-anchored membrane proteins, netrin-G1 and G2, have been identified in mammals. Netrins and their receptors can serve as a biomarker and molecular therapeutic target for pathological differentiation, diagnosis and prognosis of malignant cancers. We review here the potential roles of the netrins family and their receptors in cancer.

Soluble Nanographene C222: Synthesis and Applications for Synergistic Photodynamic/Photothermal Therapy.

Nanographene C222, which consists of a planar graphenic plane containing 222 carbon atoms, holds the record as the largest planar nanographene synthesized to date. However, its complete insolubility makes the processing of C222 difficult. Here we addressed this issue by introducing peripheral substituents perpendicular to the graphene plane, effectively disrupting the interlayer stacking and endowing C222 with good solubility. We also found that the electron-withdrawing substituents played a crucial role in the cyclodehydrogenation process, converting the dendritic polyphenylene precursor to C222. After disrupting the interlayer stacking, the introduction of only a few peripheral carboxylic groups allowed C222 to dissolve in phosphate buffer saline, reaching a concentration of up to 0.5 mg/mL. Taking advantage of the good photosensitizing and photothermal properties of the inner C222 core, the resulting water-soluble C222 emerged as a single-component agent for both photothermal and photodynamic tumor therapy, exhibiting an impressive tumor inhibition rate of 96%.

Thiocarbonyl-Based Hole Transport Materials with Enhanced Defect Passivation Ability for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic hole transporting materials (HTMs) are extensively studied in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The HTMs directly contact the underlying perovskite material, and they play additional roles apart from hole transporting. Developing organic HTMs with defect passivation function has been proved to be an efficient strategy to construct efficient and stable PSCs. In this work, new organic molecules with thiocarbonyl (C═S) and carbonyl (C═O) functional groups are synthesized and applied as HTMs (named FN-S and FN-O). FN-S with C═S can be facilely obtained from FN-O containing C═O. Notably, the C═S in FN-S results in superior defect passivation ability compared to FN-O. Moreover, FN-S exhibits excellent hole extraction/transport capability. Conventional PSCs using FN-S as HTM show an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.25%, with excellent long-term stability and operational stability. This work indicates that simply converting C═O to C═S is an efficient way to improve the device performance by strengthening the defect passivation functionality.

Improvement of Perovskite Solar Cells Efficiency by Management of the Electron Withdrawing Groups in Hole Transport Materials: Theoretical Calculation and Experimental Verification.

Management of functional groups in hole transporting materials (HTMs) is a feasible strategy to improve perovskite solar cells (PSCs) efficiency. Therefore, starting from the carbazole-diphenylamine-based JY7 molecule, JY8 and JY9 molecules are incorporated into the different electron-withdrawing groups of fluorine and cyano groups on the side chains. The theoretical results reveal that the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups of JY8 and JY9 can improve these highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels, intermolecular stacking arrangements, and stronger interface adsorption on the perovskite. Especially, the results of molecular dynamics (MD) indicate that the fluorinated JY8 molecule can yield a preferred surface orientation, which exhibits stronger interface adsorption on the perovskite. To validate the computational model, the JY7-JY9 are synthesized and assembled into PSC devices. Experimental results confirm that the HTMs of JY8 exhibit outstanding performance, such as high hole mobility, low defect density, and efficient hole extraction. Consequently, the PSC devices based on JY8 achieve a higher PCE than those of JY7 and JY9. This work highlights the management of the electron-withdrawing groups in HTMs to realize the goal of designing HTMs for the improvement of PSC efficiency.

Dopant-Free Hole Transport Material Based on Non-Covalent Interaction for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

Hole transport materials (HTMs) have a critical impact on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Especially, the dopant-free HTMs could avoid the usage of hygroscopic dopants and reduce costs, which are important for device stability. Most of the current organic dopant-free HTMs are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-based planar conjugated structures. Yet, the synthesis of conjugated fused heterocycles is often complicated. In this work, intramolecular non-covalent interaction is introduced to construct two organic HTMs (DCT and DTC), which can be facilely obtained through simple reactions. Compared to DTC with hexyl chain on the central benzene ring, DCT with hexyloxy chains shows better planarity in the core structure, as a result of the intramolecular non-covalent interactions between oxygen on hexyloxy and sulfur atom on the adjacent thiophene, as reflected from its single crystal structure. Moreover, DCT in a pristine state shows a decent hole mobility comparable to the doped Spiro-OMeTAD. Ultimately, conventional devices using dopant-free DCT as HTM show a high efficiency of 22.50%, with excellent long-term stability, and light and thermal stability. The results show that the noncovalent interaction is a useful and simple design strategy for dopant-free HTMs, that can effectively improve the efficiency and stability of PSCs.

Passive localization and reconstruction of multiple non-line-of-sight objects in a scene with a large visible transmissive window.

Passive non-line-of-sight imaging methods have been demonstrated to be capable of reconstructing images of hidden objects. However, current passive non-line-of-sight imaging methods have performance limitations due to the requirements of an occluder and aliasing between multiple objects. In this paper, we propose a method for passive localization and reconstruction of multiple non-line-of-sight objects in a scene with a large visible transmissive window. The analysis of the transport matrix revealed that more redundant information is acquired in a scene with a window than that with an occluder, which makes the image reconstruction more difficult. We utilized the projection operator and residual theory to separate the reconstruction equation of multiple objects into the independent equations of the located objects that can be reconstructed independently by TVAL3 and Split-Bregman algorithms, which greatly reduces the computational complexity of the reconstruction. Our method lays the foundation for multiple objects reconstruction in complex non-line-of-sight scenes.

Pathological response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Eastern versus Western countries: meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Locally advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma can be treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy followed by oesophagectomy. Discrepancies in pathological response rates have been reported between studies from Eastern versus Western countries. The aim of this study was to compare the pathological response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in Eastern versus Western countries. METHODS: Databases were searched until November 2022 for studies reporting pCR rates after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Multi-level meta-analyses were performed to pool pCR rates separately for cohorts from studies performed in centres in the Sinosphere (East) or in Europe and the Anglosphere (West). RESULTS: For neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, 51 Eastern cohorts (5636 patients) and 20 Western cohorts (3039 patients) were included. Studies from Eastern countries included more men, younger patients, more proximal tumours, and more cT4 and cN+ disease. Patients in the West were more often treated with high-dose radiotherapy, whereas patients in the East were more often treated with a platinum + fluoropyrimidine regimen. The pooled pCR rate after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was 31.7% (95% c.i. 29.5% to 34.1%) in Eastern cohorts versus 40.4% (95% c.i. 35.0% to 45.9%) in Western cohorts (fixed-effect P = 0.003). For cohorts with similar cTNM stages, pooled pCR rates for the East and the West were 32.5% and 41.9% respectively (fixed-effect P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The pathological response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is less favourable in patients treated in Eastern countries compared with Western countries. Despite efforts to investigate accounting factors, the discrepancy in pCR rate cannot be entirely explained by differences in patient, tumour, or treatment characteristics.

Applications of Metals and Metal Compounds in Improving the Sensitivity of Microfluidic Biosensors - A Review.

The enhancement of detection sensitivity in microfluidic sensors has been a continuously explored field. Initially, many strategies for sensitivity improvement involved introducing enzyme cascade reactions, but enzyme-based reactions posed challenges in terms of cost, stability, and storage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore enzyme-free cascade amplification methods, which are crucial for expanding the application range and improving detection stability. Metal or metal compound nanomaterials have gained great attention in the exploitation of microfluidic sensors due to their ease of preparation, storage, and lower cost. The unique physical properties of metallic nanomaterials, including surface plasmon resonance, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, metal-enhanced fluorescence, and surface-enhanced infrared absorption, contribute significantly to enhancing detection capabilities. The metal-based catalytic nanomaterials, exemplified by Fe3O4 nanoparticles and metal-organic frameworks, are considered viable alternatives to biological enzymes due to their excellent performance. Herein, we provide a detailed overview of the applications of metals and metal compounds in improving the sensitivity of microfluidic biosensors. This review not only highlights the current developments but also critically analyzes the challenges encountered in this field. Furthermore, it outlines potential directions for future research, contributing to the ongoing development of microfluidic biosensors with improved detection sensitivity.