The discovery of changes to a 200-million-year-old gene in a mutant clownfish with a unique pattern provides a central clue to the mystery of how nature can create sharply defined boundaries: clear communication. This new research upends our understanding of the mathematical rules that pigmentation cells follow, and suggests a common mechanism shared across species.

Researchers Soma Chiyoda, Ko Mochizuki, and Atsushi Kawakita from the University of Tokyo have discovered that nocturnal hawkmoths are the main pollinators of Jasminanthes mucronata, a plant species native to Japan that produces black nectar. This is the first time that a colored-nectar flower is confirmed to be mainly pollinated by nocturnal insects. The discovery thus promotes further research into this so far unexplored ecology. The findings were published in the journal Ecology.

Cells naturally exchange cytoplasmic components like proteins, RNA, and mitochondria, but scientists lack tools to control such transfers in living cells. Now, researchers in Japan have developed a nanotube membrane-based injector—a system that enables high-efficiency, minimally invasive cytoplasmic transfer between cells. This platform preserves cell viability and can even transfer functional mitochondria, opening new possibilities for cell engineering and regenerative medicine.

A first-in-human trial from Institute of Science Tokyo and EVA Therapeutics, Inc., demonstrates that enteral ventilation, a technique that could deliver oxygen through the intestine, is safe and feasible in healthy subjects. The method involves intrarectal administration of an oxygen-carrying fluid into the gut, where oxygen may diffuse into the bloodstream. These findings provide important evidence for further testing of enteral ventilation as a potential alternative oxygenation method for patients with respiratory failure.

Kyoto, Japan -- Mangrove forests are natural wonders that protect coastal areas, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. They are able to dissipate wave energy and limit flooding, which can even mitigate tsunamis and coastal inundations during tropical cyclones. For this reason, mangroves are attracting attention as Nature-based Solutions, or NbS: natural infrastructure with the potential to enhance coastal resilience in an environmentally friendly way.

As climate change is altering ocean conditions and intensifying storms, many coastal communities face growing risks from flooding and extreme wave events; hence mangroves can serve to both mitigate disasters and help communities adapt to climate change. However, these forests remain underutilized in engineering applications due to a limited understanding of how they interact with hydrodynamic forces. Accurately modeling their complex root structures, known as prop-roots, while quantifying their wave attenuation effects has posed a particular challenge.

A collaborative team of researchers from Kyoto University's Disaster Prevention Research Institute resolved to address this knowledge gap. "Japan has a long history of using pine trees for coastal defense, and we want to apply this knowledge to mangroves to develop smart, cost-effective disaster risk reduction," says first author Yu-Lin Tsai.

The inherent dispersion of laser beams limits their effectiveness in precision applications. Researchers at Chiba University, with collaborators in the USA and India, developed a compact approach combining a Bessel lens and a flat multilevel diffractive lens to generate sharply defined, robust nondiffracting optical bottle beams. These beams feature alternating high-contrast regions and remain propagation-invariant over distances beyond 5 cm, enabling applications in advanced imaging, optical trapping, harmonic generation, micromachining, and high-fidelity quantum operations.

Observing the Taurus Molecular Cloud, a research team led by Kyushu University has found that during the early growth period of a baby star, the protostellar disk blows magnetic flux 1,000 au in size and creates a giant, relatively warm ring. Describing these phenomena as a baby star’s “sneezes,” these expulsions of energy and gas help the star to properly develop.