ALT The cover image vividly illustrates the unequal impacts of global urban–rural settlement expansion on cropland and the resulting threats to food security, as revealed through an Earth observation approach. It not only highlights the encroachment of cropland by rapid urbanization but also underscores the threats posed by the expansion and disordered development of rural settlements to agricultural land resources (see the article by Yansui Liu et al. on https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2024.12.054).

ALT Just as the clash of water and fire in Ne Zha unleashes boundless energy, the “north-south collaboration” between FAST and Meer- KAT has ignited powerful scientific breakthroughs, revealing new insights into GC evolution and magnetic field dynamics (see the Article by Lei Zhang et al. on https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.03.022).

ALT Different types of energy spectra.