Living cells cool much slower than our current understanding of heat conduction can explain, according to new research from the University of Tokyo. Researchers used two techniques — high-speed temperature mapping and artificial heating — to observe how heat dissipated from living cells and similar-sized artificial, fluid-filled sacs (liposomes). While heat dispersed quickly from the artificial liposomes as expected, cells cooled significantly more slowly due to other biomolecules within the cell. Understanding the process behind slower heat dissipation within cells could affect how we treat conditions linked to changes in body temperature, such as epilepsy, inflammation and cancer.

Spin waves are a promising way to reduce the energy-consumption of computing. New research shows that sending spin waves along a zig-zag path boosts the signal over 5,000 times compared to previous methods.

Humans have evolved to be able to link intentions to emotions or physical actions. This is why we may approach someone with open arms but flee if someone approaches using threatening body language. While AI can accurately identify emotions, it struggles to derive intention from them. A research group, with the help of performers from Japan and Taiwan, has helped facilitate a means to bridge this gap.

As a growing share of total power output comes from wind turbines, sudden spikes in power generation from unpredictable changes in atmospheric conditions is becoming an increasingly urgent and potentially dangerous threat to grid stability. Using a 20 km-wide wind farm as a giant physics experiment, researchers have now developed a framework to predict the risk of power fluctuations for individual turbines, farms, and the whole grid, based on existing geospatial data. Their model will help establish the risk profile of existing and future developments, providing a powerful tool to ensure reliable and sustainable power generation for plant operators, grid engineers, and energy planners.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team found that deficiencies in vitamin B₁₂ and folate lead to elevated homocysteine levels, which may be linked to fatigue and decreased motivation.

Researchers from The University of Osaka created stable cobalt-based honeycomb structures inside a layered material and observed ferromagnetic-like ordering at low temperatures. By introducing a small amount of cobalt into NaSbO₃, the team demonstrated a new platform to study Kitaev materials using abundant 3d transition metals, potentially supporting future cost-effective quantum technologies.

Researchers from The University of Osaka and collaborators proposed the Insect Synergy Circuit (ISC), a new concept for bio-hybrid control that uses AI to interpret internal biological signals from insects. By integrating heartbeat, neural signal features, and body movement data, the team developed a cyborg cockroach system that can estimate environment-associated internal states and guide movement while reducing unnecessary stimulation.

 Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and the University of California, San Diego, have revealed the exact mechanism underlying how a key protein, called SPD-5, helps regulate where and when spindle fibers assemble in C.elegans during cell division.  Published in Science Advances, the study shows that SPD-5 is activated through a precise, step-by-step process that changes the protein’s shape, unlocking the binding sites needed to begin forming spindle fibers.

While virtual-reality path integration (VR-PI) may reveal subtle changes that precede the onset of clinical cognitive symptoms, the association between PI performance and structural brain changes remains unclear. Now, researchers have demonstrated that poor PI performance is linked to accelerated cortical thinning in several brain regions and is tied to key blood biomarkers of neurodegeneration. The findings suggest that VR navigation tasks may offer a non-invasive approach for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases.