In South Asia, a region facing rapid economic growth, immense population pressure, and high climate vulnerability, the circular economy (CE) has become a critical imperative for sustainable development. This study provides a comparative overview of the CE landscape across eight South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The analysis reveals the CE transition is nascent region-wide, though India has advanced its policy landscape through a comprehensive suite of rules and missions and Pakistan is developing a national policy. The primary focus remains on waste management, evidenced by programs like Bhutan’s ‘Zero Waste by 2030’ vision, the Maldives’ Single-Use Plastic Phase-Out Plan, and Sri Lanka’s Clean Sri Lanka Programme. While Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is emerging for plastics and e-waste in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, a significant “policy-practice gap” persists, undermined by weak enforcement and governance fragmented across priority sectors like plastics, food systems, and textiles. Most major CE initiatives are catalyzed by international development partners, with regional programs playing a key role in funding innovation. Finally, while the informal sector is the backbone of material recovery, ensuring a just transition that improves working conditions and secures livelihoods remains a critical challenge. The absence of a cohesive regional framework limits collaboration. Scaling the circular economy in South Asia requires integrated national strategies, prioritizing a just transition for the informal sector, and establishing a regional platform for policy harmonization to create self-sustaining system through multi-sectoral involvement, including the business sector.

With warmer, drier conditions forecast across much of the Murray–Darling Basin, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) is preparing to deploy environmental water where it can make the greatest difference for rivers, wetlands, native fish, waterbirds and vegetation. CEWH Dr Simon Banks noted that coordinated summer flows across the northern Basin, protection of drought refuges in the Upper Murrumbidgee, autumn flows supporting native fish movement and riverbank plants in the Goulburn River, and comprehensive watering of the Macquarie Marshes headlined a successful 2025-26 year for Commonwealth water for the environment. “The environmental watering successes across multiple years have set us up with a firm foundation to manage potentially difficult conditions as they emerge across the Basin,” Dr Banks said. “We need to make every drop count, so our 2026-27 Water Management Plan that we have launched today considers varying scenarios and guides environmental flows where they can achieve the greatest ecological impact. “We manage water equivalent to around 6.5 per cent of average Basin inflows and have delivered 93 per cent of our allocated environmental water since 2008-09,” he said. Dr Banks said the CEWH's priorities remained clear: maintaining river connectivity, supporting native fish, waterbird and vegetation outcomes and building resilience across the Basin's internationally important wetlands and waterways. “Environmental outcomes are also strengthened through the CEWH's Environmental Activities Program which invests in projects such as fishways, wetland infrastructure and works that reconnect rivers, creeks and floodplains. "Delivering water is only part of the story. We are also enabling projects that help environmental water go further and achieve better outcomes on the ground. “We strengthen our work through partnerships with First Nations organisations, local landholders, industry and delivery partners. The knowledge and science of First Nations peoples is important to inform our planning and decision-making. “None of this work is possible without our science program, Flow-MER (Monitoring, Evaluation and Research) which confirms that the CEWH’s use of water for the environment is working. Making decisions based on the best possible science and knowledge is important to us. Our completed and planned science investment from 2010 to 2023 guides and supports our planning and decision-making and evaluates what we’ve achieved,” he said. Dr Banks said the 2026-27 year would be no doubt be a challenging year with a variety of risks to be managed, including the impacts from El Nino conditions and H5 bird flu. “With the recent arrival of H5 bird flu to the Murray–Darling Basin, we are focused on making the wetlands and the environment as healthy as possible to support waterbirds. Nationally agreed arrangements have been activated to support ongoing management and response efforts focused on minimising impacts on wildlife, animal and human health, communities and agricultural industries. “The effect of drier conditions is already being felt in some parts of the Basin, with recent drought declarations in southern Queensland. Parts of New South Wales are also drought affected, and the central west has reports of a ‘green drought’ where surface vegetation is green but there is poor soil moisture. “CEWH water delivery staff work extensively with State Government representatives, First Nations groups, Environmental Water Advisory Groups, industry and irrigators and scientists to prepare our Water Management Plan. “In the north of the Basin if dry conditions continue, we are looking to avoid cease-to-flow periods and provide replenishment flows to refuge waterholes for native fish and other aquatic animals. If conditions become wetter, we will deliver further flows to support movement and breeding of native fish and waterbirds. “In central and southern NSW, our plans include watering the Lower Lachlan Swamps with flows into the Great Cumbung Swamp and supporting wetlands and floodplains in the mid and lower Murrumbidgee valley. This will build resilience of the ecosystems and support the breeding of the Nationally vulnerable Southern bell frog as well as other water-dependent species. “Along the Murray River and its tributaries, we will look to maintain winter and spring flows along the length of the river. This includes supporting native fish such as the National vulnerable Murray cod, riverbank plants and low-lying wetlands. “Our water will also support end-of-system flows to the Lower Lakes and Coorong to maintain ecosystems, support native fish movement and to flush salt build-up in these areas,” he said. Dr Banks praised the many and various partners of CEWH that help deliver water for the environment across the Basin. “We look forward to more key collaborations and partnering that helps protect the iconic rivers and waterways of the Murray–Darling Basin,” he said. Read more Water Management Plan Environmental Activities The Flow - Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program(external link)

Abstract Chronic airway diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) pose substantial clinical challenges. Here, we explore the p.C97W variant in WAP four-disulfide core domain protein 2 (WFDC2), proposed as a new genetic origin of respiratory distress, especially among Koreans. Whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing (WES/WGS) are performed on 64 patients from 62 families presenting with severe bronchiectasis and chronic rhinosinusitis. Pathogenic variants are found in 19.4% of families, including a novel homozygous WFDC2 missense variant (c.291 C > G, p.Cys97Trp) in five unrelated families. WFDC2 is expressed in lung epithelial cells, and the p.C97W variant impairs WFDC2 protein folding, secretion, and function. Wfdc2 p.C147W knock-in mice exhibit respiratory failure due to the hyperactive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) linked to increased PRSS8 activity and recapitulate human disease. Treatment with amiloride, an ENaC inhibitor, improves survival and respiratory function in these mice. In conclusion, the p.C97W variant in WFDC2 is a critical genetic factor in severe chronic airway disease that shares clinical features with CF and PCD. Given its implications for diagnosis and treatment, genetic testing for WFDC2 mutations in individuals with CF- or PCD-like symptoms is recommended.

Abstract Colorectal cancer survivors are at increased risk of developing neurological issues, particularly peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. Although pre-existing neuropathy is a risk factor for chronic pain, tumor-induced neuropathy has not been firmly established in pre-clinical models. Consistent with clinical observations, we show that mice with colorectal cancer develop peripheral neuropathy, which was associated with subtle locomotor deficits, without overt hypersensitivity. We detected widespread differences in pro-inflammatory cytokines and lipid metabolites in peripheral nerves from tumor-bearing mice. Macrophage accumulation, myelin decompaction and ryanodine receptor oxidation were associated with dysfunctional calcium homeostasis and reduced spike amplitude in sensory neurons. Similar alterations in plasma inflammatory mediators and lipid metabolites were associated with neuropathy and macrophage accumulation in peripheral nerves of rhesus macaques with colorectal cancer. These findings suggest colorectal cancer is causally linked to a subacute form of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy across species, which may represent an under-reported, yet important risk factor for neurological dysfunction in colorectal cancer survivors.

Abstract Accurate and timely diagnosis of acute abdominal emergencies remains challenging. Non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) is often used as an initial imaging modality because of atypical presentations, contraindications to contrast, or resource constraints. Here we present AbdomenNet, a multi-task AI system built on a self-supervised foundation model that detects 11 acute abdominal conditions and performs three risk-stratification subtasks from NCCT images. AbdomenNet is pre-trained on 103,989 NCCT examinations and fine-tuned on 5816 annotated cases. We assess generalizability in 2528 patients from three independent external cohorts, evaluate radiologist performance in a multi-reader multi-case crossover study, and estimate workflow impact using retrospective reconstruction. In external validation, AbdomenNet achieves a macro-average AUROC of 0.919 for five emergent conditions. AI assistance increases radiologists’ mean AUROC from 0.812 to 0.924 and reduces median reading time by 52.5 seconds per case. Workflow reconstruction indicates that AI-driven prioritization could shorten median report turnaround time by 37 minutes.

Abstract Mesoscale eddies in the Southern Ocean extend from the surface to the deep ocean and contribute to regional and global ocean heat budgets. However, sparse in situ observations have limited estimates of eddy meridional heat transport (EMHT) to the near surface, leaving deep-ocean processes poorly understood. Here we quantify deep eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and EMHT using Argo observations. We find that deep EMHT reaches at least the same order of magnitude as surface transport, despite deep EKE being only one-fifth of surface levels. Float observations and sensitivity experiments reveal that, relative to mean-flow transport alone, deep EMHT extends the meridional movement of subtropical warm waters towards Antarctica by over ten degrees of latitude. About 60% of this deep transport originates from the Indian Ocean sector. These findings provide observational evidence that mesoscale eddies can modulate deep Southern Ocean heat redistribution, with potential implications for Antarctic climate.

The Statutory Review of the Role of the Inspector-General of Water Compliance was tabled in Parliament today. Independent reviewers Dr Tahnya Donaghy and Ms Ingrid Haythorpe carried out the review. Both have worked in senior roles in the South Australian Government. To complete the review, they spoke with: Basin state governments community members the Inspector-General of Water Compliance Australian Government agencies. The review shows strong support for the Inspector-General's role. It recommends: making the Inspector-General's role clearer strengthening its legal powers improving administrative support. The review also says the Inspector-General should stay focused on compliance. This means checking whether agencies and governments are delivering on their commitments. It includes assessing whether they are meeting the requirements of the Murray–Darling Basin water framework. The review was required under the Water Act 2007 (Cth). Read more Statutory Review of the Role of the Inspector-General of Water Compliance