To make advances in using microbes to sustainably produce materials, it is necessary to find new molecular tools, or “enzymes” — but this is labor intensive. A Kobe University team now developed a technique that can classify thousands of candidates and a workflow that can evaluate representatives overnight, in what may become a fundamental technology for biomanufacturing.

A new fossil discovery technique reveals that squids originated and rapidly became abundant, diverse, and dominant in the oceans 100 million years ago, reshaping our understanding of ancient marine ecosystems.

A research team led by Associate Professor Ayako Okado-Matsumoto from the Toho University’s Department of Biology, has made an important breakthrough in understanding Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), in collaboration with Professor Ryuji Sakakibara from the Department of Neurology, Sakura Medical Center, and Professors Hitoshi Nukada and Soroku Yagihashi from the Department of Exploratory Medicine on Nature, Life and Man, Toho University The teamdiscovered something remarkable about a specific protein in patient’s blood. The researchers found that people with DLB have significantly lower amount of a protein called α-synuclein (alpha synuclein) in their red blood cells compared to healthy people and those with other brain diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. α-synuclein is a protein that becomes problematic when it builds up abnormally in brain cells, contributing to various neurological conditions.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in Small, a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering nanotechnology, published by Wiley-WCH, Germany, how short peptides self-assemble linearly on atomically-thick solid surfaces, such as graphite and MoS₂. The research addresses a longstanding challenge in materials science: understanding the complex, sequence-specific interactions between peptides and solid substrates, and the critical role of local hydration structures in guiding nanoarchitecture formation. This work offers new strategies for integrating biomolecules with advanced materials in future bioelectronics and sensor devices.

Nanoparticles (NPs), materials with sizes ranging from 10 to 1,000 nm, are increasingly utilized as drug-delivery systems and in medical diagnosis. However, the impact of NPs on the structure and function of biological macromolecules like proteins remains poorly understood. Now, a recent study by researchers from Tokyo University of Science, Japan, reveals the changes in the protein structure of bovine serum albumin during interaction with different sizes of silica NPs.

Exciplex upconversion-type organic light-emitting devices (ExUC-OLEDs) can emit light at less than half the voltage needed for conventional OLEDs, but their development remained limited by strict requirements for compatible donor and acceptor materials. Now, researchers from Japan have introduced a nanometer-thin spacer layer, boosting blue light output by 77-fold compared to previously incompatible materials. With a greater choice of materials, this design opens doors to energy-efficient OLEDs for a wide range of uses.

Researchers from The University of Osaka observed the reactions of Japanese macaques to the deaths of their companions. They found that some macaques remained near and even groomed the dead, especially if they had been close companions. These findings suggest that macaques, like humans, may exhibit emotion-based responses to death.

A new study reveals that water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) from air-dried soils can effectively estimate microbial biomass, offering a safer alternative to traditional methods. This approach reduces the use of toxic solvents, simplifies sampling, and shows a strong correlation between WEOM and microbial biomass carbon. The findings open new doors for accessible and scalable soil microbiology research. This innovative method provides a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional chloroform fumigation extraction, enhancing soil microbiology research.

When and where the earliest modern human populations migrated and settled in East Asia are relatively well known. However, how these populations moved between islands on treacherous stretches of sea is still shrouded in mystery. In two new papers, researchers from Japan and Taiwan led by Professor Yousuke Kaifu from the University of Tokyo simulated methods ancient peoples would have needed to accomplish these journeys, and they used period-accurate tools to create the canoes to make the journey themselves.

Scientists at Nagoya University in Japan studied what happens when macrophages—a type of immune cell—encounter dying cancer cells in tumors and discovered a mechanism that accelerates tumor growth. When cancer cells begin to die within tumors, they expose signals on their surface that indicate they are dying. Macrophages then detect these signals and engage in phagocytosis, where they eat dying cancer cells. Using fruit flies as a model organism, the scientists found this triggers production of proteins called cytokines, which activate growth signals in remaining cancer cells. These cells then produce more cytokines, causing an unexpected chain reaction that promotes tumor growth.