{"id":378,"date":"2026-02-27T05:58:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/?p=378"},"modified":"2026-02-27T05:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:58:18","slug":"biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two adjacent fields in Jiangxi Province, China, grow different crops \u2014 one peanuts, one rice. The soils beneath them look similar enough: both acidic, both fertilised at similar rates, both collected from the same shallow depth. Mix biochar into either of them and you’d expect a broadly similar result. You’d be wrong.<\/p>\n

A new study has found that biochar, the carbon-rich material made by heating crop waste in low-oxygen conditions and increasingly promoted as a climate-friendly soil amendment, produces sharply opposite effects depending on whether the ground beneath you is waterlogged or not. In dry upland soil, it suppressed nitrous oxide emissions more effectively than lime \u2014 the standard treatment for acidic farmland. In flooded paddy soil, it sent them soaring.<\/p>\n

The results, published in Nitrogen Cycling, come at an awkward moment for biochar’s growing reputation. Advocates have long pointed to evidence that mixing charred biomass into agricultural soils can sequester carbon, improve soil structure, and cut emissions of nitrous oxide \u2014 a greenhouse gas roughly 265 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a century, and the most significant ozone-depleting substance currently being released into the stratosphere. That story, it turns out, is only half the picture.<\/p>\n

The team, led by Jinbo Zhang at Hainan University and Christoph M\u00fcller at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, used an elegant approach to figure out exactly what was happening. Rather than simply measuring how much nitrous oxide the soils released, they used isotope analysis to fingerprint where the gas was coming from \u2014 distinguishing between bacterial denitrification, fungal denitrification, nitrifier denitrification, nitrification, and a fifth pathway called heterotrophic nitrification, which other methods typically can’t separate out.<\/p>\n

In the dry upland soil, biochar did something rather specific to the resident microbial community. It reduced populations of Chaetomium \u2014 a fungal genus that produces nitrous oxide at prodigious rates, somewhere between 100 and 207 nanomoles per millilitre per day in pure culture \u2014 while simultaneously boosting expression of the nosZII gene, which encodes an enzyme that converts nitrous oxide into harmless nitrogen gas. The effect was to squeeze the gas from both ends: less production, more destruction. “Our findings suggest that biochar can help redirect microbial processes so that more nitrogen ends up as stable nitrogen gas rather than as a climate damaging emission,” the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

The paddy soil told a different story. There, all five pathways lit up simultaneously after biochar addition. The thin layer of water sitting above the soil creates a slightly anaerobic environment that allows nitrification to proceed, generating nitrate substrate while preventing the complete reduction of that nitrate to nitrogen gas. Biochar amplified every step in this already-active system. At the highest application rate tested (5 per cent by weight), cumulative nitrous oxide emissions increased more than 14-fold compared to untreated soil.<\/p>\n

What makes this particularly tricky is that the two fields sit side by side. Same geology, same climate, same fertilisation regime. The decisive variable is water.<\/p>\n

The distinction matters because the global push to promote biochar as a climate solution has often glossed over land-use type. Large-scale meta-analyses tend to average across soil conditions, potentially masking cases where the amendment causes harm. “This tells us that biochar is not a one size fits all solution,” the team noted. “Its climate benefits depend strongly on where and how it is applied.”<\/p>\n

The isotope approach the researchers used \u2014 running three separate signatures through a Bayesian statistical model called FRAME \u2014 also revealed something about the standard comparison for managing soil acidity. Lime, in the form of quicklime, is routinely spread on acid soils to raise pH. In the upland soil, it helped somewhat. But biochar outperformed it on nitrous oxide reduction by a considerable margin, probably because it does more than just change pH: it adds dissolved organic carbon, which in turn favours the microbes responsible for converting nitrous oxide to nitrogen.<\/p>\n

Whether any of this translates to real fields is still an open question. The study was conducted in laboratory incubation conditions over just four days. Fields are messier \u2014 variable moisture, temperature fluctuations, different crop roots interacting with the soil microbial community in ways that are hard to replicate in a flask. The researchers are calling for longer-term field studies before anything resembling large-scale deployment is contemplated.<\/p>\n

Still, the mechanistic detail is genuinely useful. Knowing that Chaetomium abundance and nosZII gene expression are the key levers in upland soils gives future researchers specific targets to probe. “By identifying the microbial pathways behind these emissions, we can begin to design smarter soil management practices,” the team concluded. The prospect, eventually, is biochar prescribed not just by soil type but by the microbial community lurking within it.<\/p>\n

Study link: https:\/\/www.maxapress.com\/article\/doi\/10.48130\/nc-0025-0021<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two adjacent fields in Jiangxi Province, China, grow different crops \u2014 one peanuts, one rice. The soils beneath them look similar enough: both acidic, both fertilised at similar rates, both collected from the same shallow depth. Mix biochar into either of them and you’d expect a broadly similar result. You’d be wrong. A new study … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1299,"featured_media":379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\nBiochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil - SciChi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two adjacent fields in Jiangxi Province, China, grow different crops \u2014 one peanuts, one rice. The soils beneath them look similar enough: both acidic, both fertilised at similar rates, both collected from the same shallow depth. Mix biochar into either of them and you’d expect a broadly similar result. You’d be wrong. A new study ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SciChi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SciChi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SciChi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SciChi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9974872362fae8e6096bd8c6637cf082\"},\"headline\":\"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":793,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/\",\"name\":\"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil - SciChi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Chinese rice paddy\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/27\\\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/\",\"name\":\"SciChi\",\"description\":\"Tracking Chinese Research\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SciChi\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/scichi-logo-cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/16\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/scichi-logo-cropped.jpg\",\"width\":796,\"height\":296,\"caption\":\"SciChi\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9974872362fae8e6096bd8c6637cf082\",\"name\":\"SciChi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SciChi\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/sciencechina\\\/author\\\/chinaresearch\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil - SciChi","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil","og_description":"Two adjacent fields in Jiangxi Province, China, grow different crops \u2014 one peanuts, one rice. The soils beneath them look similar enough: both acidic, both fertilised at similar rates, both collected from the same shallow depth. Mix biochar into either of them and you’d expect a broadly similar result. You’d be wrong. A new study ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/","og_site_name":"SciChi","article_published_time":"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"SciChi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SciChi","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/"},"author":{"name":"SciChi","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#\/schema\/person\/9974872362fae8e6096bd8c6637cf082"},"headline":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil","datePublished":"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/"},"wordCount":793,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","articleSection":["Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/","name":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil - SciChi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-27T13:58:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"Chinese rice paddy"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/02\/27\/biochar-can-curb-or-boost-greenhouse-gas-depending-on-soil\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Biochar Can Curb or Boost Greenhouse Gas Depending on Soil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/","name":"SciChi","description":"Tracking Chinese Research","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#organization","name":"SciChi","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/scichi-logo-cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/scichi-logo-cropped.jpg","width":796,"height":296,"caption":"SciChi"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/#\/schema\/person\/9974872362fae8e6096bd8c6637cf082","name":"SciChi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45bfcb06f83fff507782e1030e14a31f738fce0220fc6a8fea863d633e61311f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SciChi"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/author\/chinaresearch\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/02\/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-222549-2131921.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":352,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/01\/28\/the-fungus-munching-through-mountains-of-toxic-waste\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":0},"title":"The Fungus Munching Through Mountains Of Toxic Waste","author":"SciChi","date":"January 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In a laboratory at Nanjing Agricultural University, a common soil fungus is doing something chemical engineers have struggled with for decades. Aspergillus niger, the same organism that helps ferment soy sauce and produces citric acid for fizzy drinks, is quietly dissolving phosphorus from one of the world's most problematic industrial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"phosphorous infographic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/01\/phosphorour-infographic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/01\/phosphorour-infographic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/01\/phosphorour-infographic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/01\/phosphorour-infographic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":286,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2025\/11\/14\/ancient-scar-in-southern-china-reveals-earths-largest-modern-crater\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":1},"title":"Ancient Scar In Southern China Reveals Earth\u2019s Largest Modern Crater","author":"SciChi","date":"November 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A gentle hillside in southern China hides the vast wound of an ancient collision, reminding us how suddenly the sky can rearrange the Earth. In a new study published in Matter and Radiation at Extremes, researchers from Shanghai and Guangzhou confirm that the Jinlin crater in Guangdong Province is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A panoramic aerial drone image of the Jinlin crater with the approximate location of the crater rim labeled, with an insert of the crater floor, which shows a mix of granite weathered soil and granite fragments. The yellow ruler is 20 centimeters long.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/11\/jinlin-crater.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/11\/jinlin-crater.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/11\/jinlin-crater.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/11\/jinlin-crater.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2025\/10\/20\/yeast-cells-coaxed-into-making-medical-cannabinoids\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":2},"title":"Yeast Cells Coaxed Into Making Medical Cannabinoids","author":"SciChi","date":"October 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Scientists have successfully reprogrammed baker's yeast cousin to manufacture cannabis compounds in a laboratory, potentially bypassing the need for acres of hemp plants and unpredictable growing seasons. The engineered microbes produced cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), a precursor to CBD and other therapeutic molecules, at levels that could eventually support commercial production.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cannabis leaf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/10\/pexels-fecundap6-2178565.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/10\/pexels-fecundap6-2178565.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/10\/pexels-fecundap6-2178565.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/10\/pexels-fecundap6-2178565.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":442,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2026\/05\/19\/cancer-seeking-nanomotors-use-light-to-unleash-a-triple-chemical-attack-on-tumors\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":3},"title":"Cancer-Seeking Nanomotors Use Light to Unleash a Triple Chemical Attack on Tumors","author":"SciChi","date":"May 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A bowl-shaped particle, roughly a quarter of a micrometre across, drifts through the bloodstream. It's wearing a disguise: a fragment of membrane stripped from a breast cancer cell, studded with the same proteins that cancer cells use to recognise each other. The immune system ignores it. The particle reaches a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Researchers built tiny particles called PFB@CM nanomotors by coating a drug-loaded core with a shell made from cancer cell membranes. The cancer cell coating helps the particles blend in with tumors and avoid being rejected by the body. When exposed to near-infrared light, the particles heat up. That heat does three things at once: it propels the particles into cancer cells, triggers the release of nitric oxide (NO), and frees up iron ions. The iron reacts with hydrogen peroxide already present in the tumor to produce a toxic molecule called hydroxyl radical (\u00b7OH). That radical then combines with the nitric oxide to form peroxynitrite (ONOO\u207b), which kills cancer cells. The upshot: light turns these particles into self-guided, multi-pronged cancer killers.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/05\/nanoparticles.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/05\/nanoparticles.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/05\/nanoparticles.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/05\/nanoparticles.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":315,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2025\/12\/23\/teaching-self-driving-cars-what-roads-actually-look-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":4},"title":"Teaching Self-Driving Cars What Roads Actually Look Like","author":"SciChi","date":"December 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Your brain does something remarkable when you drive through an intersection with faded lane markings. You fill in the gaps. The paint might be worn down to nothing, but you know where the lanes should run. Construction cones block half the view, but you can still picture the road underneath.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A schematic illustration of the PriorFusion perception pipeline. The model unifies semantic segmentation\u2013guided query refinement, data-driven geometric shape templates, and a truncated diffusion-based generative prior to produce smooth, accurate, and complete vectorized road elements.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/12\/road-tech.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/12\/road-tech.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/12\/road-tech.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/12\/road-tech.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":246,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/2025\/08\/14\/soft-hydrogel-cubes-store-800-billion-pieces-of-data-in-lego-like-3d-codes\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":5},"title":"Soft Hydrogel Cubes Store 800 Billion Pieces of Data in LEGO-like 3D Codes","author":"SciChi","date":"August 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Imagine a QR code that can be rewritten, reshaped, or erased without a computer\u2014just by changing its temperature, shining light, or dipping it in a solution. Researchers at Beijing University of Chemical Technology have made that possible by creating reconfigurable 3D codes from jelly-like hydrogel cubes. Their study, published in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diagram illustrating 3D code formation through macroscopic supramolecular assembly, with information that can be reset and rewritten in response to stimuli.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2025\/08\/image-14.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1299"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":380,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions\/380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/sciencechina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}