Researchers at Tohoku University and collaborators have demonstrated key technologies for controlling and measuring electrons in zinc oxide quantum dots, an important step toward developing spin-based quantum devices. Their results provide a new platform for exploring how electron spins behave in this promising material.

Researchers at the University of Osaka found that simultaneous stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex and insular cortex may produce richer artificial bodily sensations than stimulating either region alone. In three patients, dual-site stimulation evoked sensations including gentle touch and combined numbness and warmth. These preliminary findings suggest that multisite stimulation may influence how sensory qualities are integrated, with potential applications in sensory neuroprosthetics and functional brain mapping in humans.

The valence-electron concentration has been conventionally used to identify and classify magnetic ground states in various intermetallic compounds. In quasicrystal approximants, the predictive power of valence-electron concentration is found to be limited across different alloy families and constituent elements. Now, researchers establish the lattice parameter as an experimentally accessible, unified structural descriptor for magnetic ground state selection in Tsai-type icosahedral compounds. This breakthrough will help identify novel quasicrystals and approximant crystals with emergent magnetic properties. 

A team of researchers led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan discovered unexpectedly intricate magnetic structures above quiet-Sun regions, by observing the Sun with the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise-III.

Correlation does not imply causation. Using AI to discover new materials is becoming more common, but data-driven approaches sometimes rely heavily on correlations and make testing AI-based predictions difficult. A new perspective paper published by Tohoku University researchers developed a framework for incorporating physics-based principles into AI to generate more interpretable, testable, and meaningful predictions.

On social media, Professor Eiryo Kawakami humorously introduces himself as a ‘Triple Dr.’ —a medical doctor (Dr.), a PhD holder (Dr.), and a drummer (Dr.). Behind this playful self-introduction lies a serious mission: advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science technologies for the early detection and prediction of disease. Professor Kawakami serves as the Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research in Therapeutics, while also playing a central role in the management meetings of the Chiba University Data Science Core (DSC). Balancing these responsibilities with his research and personal interests makes for a busy but stimulating life.

“I enjoy intellectually exploring in many different directions,” he says. We spoke with him about his vision for the future of medicine powered by AI.

Pyrimidine-nucleoside phosphorylase adopts different conformations that influence how it interacts with molecules. Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, used molecular dynamics simulations to show that closed conformations retain ligands more strongly than open ones and that sugar preference varies by compound and conformation, highlighting enzyme flexibility as an important consideration for drug design, artificial nucleoside synthesis, and greener biocatalytic manufacturing, and provide a framework for future enzyme engineering and inhibitor-design studies. 

Solar evaporation offers a low-cost way to produce fresh water from seawater using only sunlight, but salt buildup on the evaporator surface limits long-term performance. Now, researchers from Japan addressed this issue by developing a biomass-based aerogel inspired by fish gills. Using this material, their evaporator maintained a high evaporation rate over long tests in extremely salty water without any salt deposition or performance loss, paving the way for sustainable and accessible freshwater production.

An autoinhibitory domain in the C-terminal tail of TMEM63B, a mechanosensitive lipid scramblase, helps maintain its inactive state under resting conditions, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. Any modifications in this regulatory region, particularly the Leu776 residue, reverses the inhibitory action and causes constitutive lipid scrambling, disrupting normal phospholipid asymmetry. These findings provide new insights into TMEM63B regulation and may improve our understanding of how its dysregulation contributes to neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis.

Researchers identify a molecular mechanism that links the autophagy adaptor OPTN to ATG9A vesicles, providing insight into how autophagic membranes are initiated around damaged mitochondria.