Build systems are a fundamental component of modern software development. Dependency-related errors represent a significant portion of build errors in large-scale projects. However, existing tools for detecting these errors struggle to achieve both high performance and accuracy. In a new study, researchers developed mkcheck2, which reduces performance overhead by up to 99.7% while maintaining accuracy through an efficient eBPF-based system call tracing method and incremental analysis, thereby making continuous dependency verification practical.

Following the 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, freshwater and marine threespine stickleback hybridized in a newly formed wetland in Otsuchi, Iwate, Japan. Nine years of genomic tracking revealed rapid elimination of marine-derived genomic regions within ten generations, identifying key reproductive-isolation loci controlling freshwater survival and migration to the sea. The study also found that widespread genetic incompatibilities contribute to genome-wide elimination, providing rare real-time insight into the genetic mechanisms maintaining species boundaries.

A study of older adults in Japan found that routine health checkup measures were associated with healthcare costs 3–4 years later, revealing nonlinear and sex-specific patterns.

A research team from the Vision and Action Laboratory, Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory, and Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, led by Associate Professor Hideki Tamura, has shown that the temporal patterns of pupillary responses differ depending on whether observers evaluate the same object images in terms of glossiness or attractiveness. The research team used images of 60 everyday objects as visual stimuli and measured pupil diameter while participants separately evaluated their perceived glossiness and attractiveness. Exactly the same set of images was used in both tasks. The results showed that higher glossiness ratings were associated with greater pupil constriction during a relatively early time window centered at approximately 1 second after stimulus onset. In contrast, higher attractiveness ratings tended to be associated with greater pupil dilation at later time points. These findings suggest that even when viewing the same objects, the temporal characteristics of pupillary responses may differ depending on what observers are evaluating.

The study was published in Journal of Vision on September 1, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.26.9.1

Researchers have developed a laser-assisted method that rapidly detects tiny amounts of CEACAM-5, a colorectal cancer biomarker, in blood. The technique enhances antibody–antigen interactions and achieves detection even at low concentrations within minutes. The researchers also identified nanoscale CEACAM-5 aggregates that may enhance the method’s sensitivity.

Researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, assessed the ethics of large language model-generated advice for modifying built environments to support health. In the first study of its kind, researchers evaluated 180 ChatGPT responses across six health pathways, neighborhood income contexts, and budget conditions using four ethical criteria. ChatGPT consistently avoided harmful recommendations and rarely gave lower-income neighborhoods weaker proposals, but showed less consistent community participation and oversight, particularly under constraints.

While gut bacteria clearly influence host health, determining whether they or their metabolic byproducts alone contribute to longevity remains challenging. A recent study using gnotobiotic flies colonized with genetically engineered Escherichia coli demonstrated that bacterial polyamines directly extend host lifespan. By clearly separating metabolite effects from bacterial presence, these findings highlight gut-derived polyamines as a tangible, promising target for future life-extending strategies for healthy longevity.

Electronic materials can change their behavior when molecules interact with surrounding ions, but controlling these effects remains challenging. Now, researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, have developed π-electronic cations whose molecular shape and electronic properties are controlled by counteranions. The ion-dependent changes modulate photoinduced electron transfer, pressure-responsive photophysical behavior, and solid-state assembly, offering design principles for smart materials, molecular switches, sensors, and tunable charge-transport technologies. These findings could accelerate development of next-generation responsive electronic devices.

Researchers at the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), one of the centers under the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, discovered that atomic-scale steps can guide superconducting vortices in an ultrathin superconductor. Vortices moved more than 1,000 times more easily along the steps than across them, and this guiding effect could be tuned by temperature and magnetic field.