A new meta-analysis led by researchers in Japan investigates whether lithium (LIT) supplementation can slow cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Building on preclinical evidence of LIT’s neuroprotective effects, the study systematically evaluates data from six randomized controlled trials to clarify its clinical potential. The findings aim to shed light on whether LIT, long used in psychiatry, could play a future role in MCI or AD prevention or treatment.

Electronics traditionally rely on harnessing the electron’s charge, but researchers are now exploring the possibility of harnessing its other intrinsic properties. In a recent study, scientists from Japan demonstrated that sound waves in certain solids can generate orbital currents—flow of electron orbital angular momentum. Their findings establish a foundation realizing next-generation ‘orbitronic’ devices using existing acoustic technology.

Scientists developed an automated, high-throughput system that relies on imaging biofluid droplets for disease diagnosis, reducing the number of consumables and equipment needed for biomedical testing. In the workflow, images of a drying droplet are analyzed by machine-learning algorithms to diagnose abnormalities in blood. Differences in the drying process of biofluid droplets are used to distinguish between normal and disease samples. This technology can also be used with other bodily fluids, including saliva and urine, and may provide a fast, cost-efficient diagnostic testing means in underserved communities and developing countries.

Producing this critical item consumes vast amounts of electricity, with current electrodes relying on noble metals that are costly and limited. However, a research group has used “volcano” modeling to identify new catalyst candidates that do not require scarce metals.

A research team has developed a fluorescent probe that allows scientists to visualize how individual lipid droplets break down inside living cells in real time. The probe changes its fluorescence properties depending on the chemical composition of each droplet, which allows researchers to observe not only their location within cells, but also their metabolic activity during lipid breakdown. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may contribute to the development of new strategies to treat metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, as well as cancers associated with abnormal lipid metabolism. 

Kyoto, Japan -- Predicting earthquakes has long been an unattainable fantasy. Factors like odd animal behaviors that have historically been thought to forebode earthquakes are not supported by empirical evidence. As these factors often occur independently of earthquakes and vice versa, seismologists believe that earthquakes occur with little or no warning. At least, that's how it appears from the surface.

Earthquake-generating zones lie deep within the Earth's crust and thus cannot be directly observed, but scientists have long proposed that faults may undergo a precursory phase before an earthquake during which micro-fracturing and slow slip occur. Yet, despite their obvious potential, exactly how these processes could enable prediction of a main shock remains unclear. Furthermore, observational studies have suggested that small and large earthquakes appear indistinguishable during the beginning of their rupture, raising doubts about the usefulness of short-term precursors.

These difficulties have prompted interest in the use of machine learning to search for potentially predictive fault signals. Machine learning models have demonstrated an ability to predict stick-slip laboratory earthquakes  in small, centimeter-scale experiments, but this approach has not yet been applied to larger, more complex systems that more closely mimic natural faults.

 Physicists at The University of Osaka have unveiled a breakthrough theoretical framework that uncovers the hidden physical rule behind one of the most powerful compression methods in laser fusion science — the stacked-shock implosion. While multi-shock ignition has recently proven its effectiveness in major laser facilities worldwide, this new study identifies the underlying law that governs such implosions, expressed in an elegant and compact analytic form.

A Japanese research team has studied the variations in beryllium-7 concentrations in the surface air over the Antarctic regions of Southern Ocean. Beryllium-7 is a radioactive isotope of beryllium produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The team explored, over space and time, how the beryllium-7 is transported from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface. Their goal was to better understand the mechanisms of atmospheric mixing on Earth.

Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like objects that can be used as information carriers in memory and computing devices. Researchers from Waseda University recently studied the flow behaviors of many skyrmions in structured magnets and found that skyrmions can behave like chiral fluids. They proposed that fully developed skyrmion flows can be used for fluidics, which significantly reduces complexity of skyrmion logic, as it eliminates the need for deterministic creation, precise control, and detection of individual skyrmions.

Abnormal rhythmic electrical signals in the retina are a hallmark of several vision disorders, but their origins have remained unclear. Researchers have discovered how the loss of the TRPM1 ion channel disrupts communication between retinal cells, triggering oscillations that distort visual signaling. Oscillations observed in Trpm1 knockout mice are strikingly similar to those found in retinitis pigmentosa–model mice, revealing a common generative mechanism for these abnormal rhythmic signals in retinal diseases.