Juvenile-adolescent rats produce ultrasonic vocalizations characteristic of a pleasant sensation in response to repeated tickling by human hands. This interaction, which mimics natural rough-and-tumble play, is thought to be pleasure-inducing and lead to affinity-like behavior in rats. Researchers have now found that increased expression in a key brain region drives affinity-like behavior and identified neurons involved in the social bonding process. The findings offer crucial insights into the neural basis of cross-species bonding.

Colon cancer is often driven by cancer stem cells, which resist treatment and lead to relapse. In a recent study, researchers from Japan revealed how transcription factors CDX1 and CDX2 suppress cancer cell stemness by blocking β-catenin’s ability to activate key genes like LGR5. Their findings showed that CDX1/2 prevent the formation of key transcriptional complexes involving DSIF and PAF1, identifying these as critical regulators and potential therapeutic targets in colon cancer.

Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is the simplest and cheapest fluorinating reagent available, but its volatility and toxicity limit its practical use. Now, researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, introduce a new approach for the generation of HF, which is both safe and scalable. Using the cation exchange method between Potassium fluoride (KF) and Amberlyst 15DRY, they generated HF and converted it to amine-3HF complexes, thereby expanding the range of accessible complexes for fluorination reactions.

Cell division in bacteria, the process that allows a single bacterial cell to divide into two, is regulated by the FtsZ protein and FtsZ-associated proteins. ZapA, a FtsZ-associated protein, has gained attention for its dynamic interaction with FtsZ. However, the structural basis of this interaction and their functional coordination remains unclear. In this study, researchers focused on understanding the structure and dynamics of the FtsZ-ZapA complex.

Earth’s magnetosphere protects us from charged particles constantly emitted by the Sun, but intense conditions can breach it through a process called magnetic reconnection. Now, researchers from Japan propose a novel method using soft X-ray imaging to remotely measure the reconnection rate, a key parameter in magnetic reconnection. This study showcases a powerful tool for forecasting hazardous space weather events, paving the way to safer near-Earth space applications and exploration.

Researchers from Japan and France have successfully reconstituted the development of mouse egg cells, known as oocytes, from embryonic stem cells entirely in vitro, without the need for ovarian support cells. This new method offers researchers a powerful new platform to investigate the molecular mechanisms that control oogenesis, the process by which egg cells develop, and lays important groundwork for future applications in human reproductive biology.

Kyoto, Japan --  During the midday Friday prayer hours on 28 March 2025, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Myanmar along the Sagaing Fault. With an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, it was the most powerful earthquake to strike Myanmar in more than a century and the second deadliest in its modern history.

The cause was a strike-slip fault, in which two masses of earth "slip" past each other horizontally along a vertical fault plane. To an observer, it would look like the ground were split in two along a defined line, with both sides being wrenched past each other in opposite directions.

Previous seismological studies have inferred pulse-like rupture behavior and curved slip paths from the analysis of seismic data. However, because the recording instruments were at a considerable distance from the fault itself, these findings were indirect.