Two distinct stem cell lineages that drive tooth root and alveolar bone formation have been identified by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using genetically modified mice and lineage-tracing techniques, the team shed light on the cell signaling mechanisms guiding differentiation in stem cells in the developing teeth, offering key insights for future regenerative dental therapies.

New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of years before the emergence of land plants.

The question of whether piano timbre can be changed according to a pianist’s intent had not been answered in over 100 years.

Using proprietary non-contact sensors capable of measuring key positions at 1000 fps, we measured key movements when professional pianists played using various timbres.

Data science and psychophysical experiments revealed that timbres intended by pianists were perceived by listeners, regardless of whether they had any piano playing experience.

Sounds produced by keystrokes differing only in specific key movement features were perceived as distinct timbres, thereby identifying a causal relationship between key movement and timbre.

The University of Osaka researchers developed a reinforcement learning framework that lets dialogue systems efficiently learn new words while asking fewer questions. This approach enhances user experience and enables future systems to naturally acquire family-specific nicknames and expressions, becoming more familiar companions in everyday life.

Long COVID is a chronic condition that causes cognitive problems known as “brain fog,” but its biological mechanisms remain largely unclear. Now, researchers from Japan used a novel imaging technique to visualize AMPA receptors—key molecules for memory and learning—in the living brain. They discovered that higher AMPA receptor density in patients with Long COVID was closely tied to the severity of their symptoms, highlighting these molecules as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

・First field-based evidence: Marimo face severe photoinhibition immediately after ice thaw due to low temperatures and intense light (LT-HL environment).

・Climate Change Risk: Earlier ice melt prolongs Marimo's exposure to damaging LT-HL conditions, threatening their long-term survival in Lake Akan.

・Astrobiological Significance: Marimo's resilience in extreme conditions offers insights into potential life strategies on icy extraterrestrial bodies and how life adapts to planetary environmental changes.

Quantum metals are metals where quantum effects—behaviors that normally only matter at atomic scales—become powerful enough to control the metal's macroscopic electrical properties. 

Researchers in Japan have explained how electricity behaves in a special group of quantum metals called kagome metals. The study is the first to show how weak magnetic fields reverse tiny loop electrical currents inside these metals. This switching changes the material's macroscopic electrical properties and reverses which direction has easier electrical flow, a property known as the diode effect, where current flows more easily in one direction than the other.  

Notably, the research team found that quantum geometric effects amplify this switching by about 100 times. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides the theoretical foundation that could eventually lead to new electronic devices controlled by simple magnets. 

Tokyo faces severe risks due to soil liquefaction, a phenomenon where the ground behaves like a liquid during strong seismic events. To improve existing hazard maps, researchers from Japan developed a new framework that combines extensive borehole data with artificial neural networks. Their model can accurately predict soil properties, producing high-resolution 3D liquefaction hazard maps, helping to improve earthquake risk management in Tokyo and other vulnerable megacities.