Globally, critical minerals market size reached US$ 328.19 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 586.63 billion by 2032, growing with a CAGR of 7.53% during the forecast period 2025-2032 (Data M Intelligence, 2025). This unprecedented growth is an accelerating transition to clean energy technologies with big leap in demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
Critical minerals are essential for a country’s economic development and national security. The limited availability or concentrated extraction and processing in a few geographical locations can create supply chain vulnerabilities or disrupt critical industries. Critical minerals like Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cadmium, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorus, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Selenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, and Zircon would influence global economies and are indispensable for sectors such as high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transport, and defence. They are also pivotal for the transition to a low-carbon economy to achieve global ‘Net Zero’ commitments through renewable energy technologies.

Mandibular fractures are a routine occurrence in the surgical departments of large cities, and there has been an increase in the number of patients treated for trauma caused by motorcycle crashes. Osasco is a city with a reference hospital for neuro and facial trauma. In this population of motorcyclists, the presence of material from previous fracture synthesis is becoming routine. Including the report of peri- and transprosthetic fractures, an event that had not been reported in the mandible until now.

Keywords: mandible; fracture; fixation; plates and screw

In the face of escalating environmental challenges, shrinking arable land, and a rapidly growing global population, ensuring food security has become a defining challenge of our era. Conventional plant breeding methods, while foundational, often fall short in responding swiftly to modern agricultural demands. In this context, induced mutations have emerged as a safe, cost-effective, and highly promising tool for accelerating crop improvement and expanding genetic diversity.

World Health Organization defines diarrhea as “the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day or more frequent passage than is normal for the individual”. Diarrhea is a form of gastrointestinal infection caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms or through contaminated food or drinking water, or from person to person as a result of poor hygienic practices. It remains a major cause of mortality among under-age children (mostly under 5years) around the world, especially in developing world. Diarrheal disease is the third leading cause of infant and child mortality in developing countries and about 1.8 million children die per annum from this disease [1]. The number of diarrheal deaths is ridiculously on the high side despite a fall in childhood diarrheal diseases from 4.6 million to 0.8 million over the last three decades [2]. Diarrhea is a leading killer of children, accounting approximately 9% of all death among children under age 5 worldwide in 2019. This translates to over 1,300 young children dying each day, or about 484,000 children a year, despite the availability of a simple treatment. According to UNICEF [3], the death caused by diarrhea among children under-5 are highest in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, the percentage death caused by diarrhea in children was 16%. The overall prevalence of diarrhea as of 2021 was 12.9% [4]. In 2023, according to World Health Organization, diarrhea disease death in Nigeria among children reached 144,724 or 9.77% of total death [5].

As we usher in the new year with the first issue of 2024, it is my pleasure to contribute to the discourse within the esteemed pages of Medicon Dental Sciences. This editorial aims to shed light on the transformative landscape of dentistry, particularly the paradigm shift brought about by advancements in minimally invasive dentistry (MID).

Traditionally, dental interventions often involved invasive procedures, causing discomfort and anxiety among patients. However, the field has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, emphasizing a more patient-centered and conservative approach.

To live a healthy life style and be free from diseases, fruits must be incorporated in one’s daily food. Fruits are of high nutritional value and provide the body with the required daily allowance. They are highly perishable, but can be made into different products to make them available all year round. They can be processed into products which includes; fruit juice, jellies, marmalades, candies, fruit bars and jams. This study analyses jam produced using date powder and compared it with commercial jam produced using table sugar. The percentage compositions of the blends considered were 50%:50%; 70%:30%; 30%:70% of orange and apple pulps respectively with constant amount of date powder (50%). In addition to the pulp blends, 2.9% commercial pectin was added together with citric acid, and date powder. The entire mixture was heated at 120°C for 25 mins to enhance the viscosity of the blends. Proximate, microbial, physico-chemical analyses, sensory evaluation and Vitamin constituents of the experimental samples and the commercial jam were evaluated. The commercial jam was found best having higher scores in all the sensory parameters. However, in respect to proximate composition, the experimental samples had the highest in protein, ash, moisture, and fibre while the commercial jam only scored high in fat, carbohydrate. In respect to microbial count minimum fungal and bacterial growth, 1.00 cfu X 103 g-1 and 1.00 cfu X 105 g-1 respectively were recorded in the experimental samples at 3 weeks after production. The control sample had the highest value in vitamin A content (130.35mg/100g) and the least in vitamin C content (1.64mg/100g).The nutritional analysis and sensory evaluation obtained proved that the orange and apple jam samples made with date powder is a promising functional product which can be consumed by both young and adults.
Keywords: Orange; Apple; Date; Jam; Composite; Nutritional properties; Sensory analysis

Gene therapy is a fantastic new technology that has opened up a plethora of options to treat or prevent previously untreatable diseases. Gene therapy is the use of nucleic acids (either DNA or RNA) is used to  manipulate the genetic information of a patient’s cells. This is particularly helpful for diseases like Cystic Fibrosis where the ability to add a gene that makes the protein product the patient lacks or to just the gene itself is ideal. The addition of CRISPR-Cas for easier and more streamlined gene editing has also been a boon. However, the unfortunate truth is that despite decades of research, only a few gene therapies have made it to market. One of those reasons is the problems with carriers of gene therapy. For over three decades viral vectors were considered the go to for gene therapy carriers however they aggravate the immune system and can cause unwanted genotoxicity. This compromises their usefulness as a therapeutic treatment or preventative. So other methods of gene therapy carriers have been considered. Nanotech deliverers such as exosomes, gold nanoparticles, and others have shown great promise of being able to transport gene therapy with mitigated or no toxicity to the patient. This review will briefly go over both viral vector and nanotech non-viral vector alternatives to delivery of gene therapy.
Keywords: Gene therapy; nanotechnology; gene delivery; CRISPR; exosomes; viruses; magnetosomes

Transdermal drug delivery refers to the drug administration route through the skin that achieves the local or systemic treatment approved for clinical use. It is the third-largest drug delivery system after oral administration and injection. The advantages of the transdermal route are that the administration route of the drug is convenient and could reduce the fluctuation of blood drug concentration and toxic side effects. What is more, the drug could bypass the first-pass side-effect of the liver to prevent the drug from being destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract. Invasomes are new modified liposomes that differ from the liposomal vesicles in that they contain essential volatile oils, which are called terpenes. Also, ethanol in a low percentage is present in the vesicle either in the phospholipid layer or in the hydrous core. These modified newly discovered vesicles are intended to be used for topical and transdermal drug delivery due to their permeation effect and high deformability as compared to transferosomes.
Keywords: Invasomes; Transdermal drug delivery; phospholipids; terpenes; deformable vesicles

Design and use of enzyme inhibitors against viral enzymes is one of the new and effective ways to control viruses and treat viral infections, Enzyme inhibitors inactivate these enzymes by binding to the nucleotides functional groups of the virus vital enzymes, thus can directly disrupt the virus replication cycle and indirectly prevent the spread of viral infections by reducing and controlling the population and number of viruses, these inhibitors, on the one hand, inhibit the virus by filling and Occupying the active sites of the enzyme and on the other hand, they change the stereochemistry of the enzyme by binding to the structure of the enzyme, for this reasons, they are used as an effective and complementary drug in the treatment of infections and viral diseases. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus because it has the reverse transcriptase enzyme. Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) are a class of Antiretroviral HIV drugs. Non- ucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) block HIV reverse transcriptase enzymes by connecting to it. Tetrazole derivatives have strong antiviral activity against efavirenz and nevirapine-resistance viruses that have different genetic mutations. In this research, we study NNRTIs function and overview synthesis of 5-aryloxy- etrazole derivatives in the development path of NNRTIs.
Keywords: Anti-HIV Drugs; NNRTIs; Tetrazole; HAART; Retrovirus; Reverse Transcriptase Enzyme 

Therapeutic bioengineering is a rapidly growing discipline in medical science that combines biology and medicine with engineering principles to create products and methods that can tackle the widest range of a variety of medical and health-related issues in today’s society