A team led by researchers from the University of Osaka has revealed the first structure of an umami taste receptor. They found that the pufferfish receptor can sense many more amino acids than the human receptor, including some linked to flavors humans detect as sweet. This helps the fish to detect more types of savory chemicals in their food. The research also shows how the receptor’s structure makes this flexibility possible. The findings could help develop new umami flavors.

Kyoto, Japan -- You may not know what roll waves are, but you've probably seen them on a rainy day. When it rains, these traveling waves appear on steep asphalt pavements, slowly making their way down the slope. Because roll waves propagate without deforming and are typically characterized by abrupt discontinuities, they play an important role in hydraulic engineering. Understanding unsteady flows like roll waves is crucial for the design, management, and safety of hydraulic structures such as dam spillway chutes.

However, despite one accurate line of research developed by mathematicians, the partial differential equations governing roll waves have remained a niche and "astonishingly" under-explored area of research, according to an international team of scientists at Kyoto University and German Jordanian University. This group realized that a rigorous mathematical investigation was not only compelling, but unavoidable.

"We noticed the striking gap between the mathematical and visual beauty of roll‑wave phenomena, and the civil engineering community's persistently superficial understanding of them," says first author Koichi Unami. "It became difficult to ignore how confidently steady‑state assumptions were repeated despite clear evidence to the contrary."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing—and with it, the promise of solving some of academia’s toughest problems. But while many researchers focus on using AI to find answers, Associate Professor Hiroshi Kera of the Institute for Advanced Academic Research/Graduate School of Informatics is asking a different question: How can we design better problems for AI to solve?

A specialist in algebra—the branch of mathematics that explores equations using symbols and letters, from the quadratic equations taught in junior high and high school to far more abstract structures—Dr. Kera is working at the intersection of computational algebra and AI. By combining computer-based algebraic computation with AI, he aims to open new frontiers in mathematical discovery. We spoke with Dr. Kera about how AI could reshape—and expand—the world of mathematics.

Through joint research with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Tokyo, NIMS for the first time experimentally ascertained friction completely independent of sliding velocity, which had been considered ideal but had never been realized, by heating mica—a layered oxide—which is also used as a lubricant material, up to 200℃. Furthermore, NIMS clarified that the cause is the disappearance of defects within crystals at high temperature. This discovery is expected to clarify the basic principle of friction, which has remained unexplained, and to lead to the design and development of energy-saving lubricants. This outcome was published on the Physical Review Letters website on July 20, 2026.

A satellite phased-array transceiver that folds up for launch and unfolds in space has been shown to work successfully in orbit, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. By using an innovative approach to correct non-planar deformations in the deployable membrane antenna, this work lays the foundation for satellite constellation-based wireless communications in the Beyond 5G and 6G era. 

Chemical separation can be energy-intensive when molecules have similar sizes and properties. Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, developed an interlayer adaptive crystal that changes its spacing to recognize specific molecules. The crystal showed appreciable CO₂ uptake at pressures as low as 2.0 Pa (195 K) and selectively separated CO₂ from nitrogen and methane at 303 K, even under highly humid conditions. It also preferentially captured benzene over several similar molecules, offering a new approach to molecular separation.

Neurons express many extra-long genes exceeding 100 kb, but how they are accurately read remains unclear. We found that the RNA-binding protein SFPQ uses long RNAs as scaffolds to form meshwork-like nuclear condensates—membraneless assemblies of molecules. These condensates gather factors needed to read genes and process RNA, allowing them to work together. When this system is disrupted, extra-long gene expression decreases, with potential implications for neurological disorders.

Scientists use light-driven chemistry to synthesize a valuable pharmaceutical building block and generate trifluoromethyl radicals directly from inexpensive, low-toxicity fluoroform.

Researchers have developed an innovative imaging technique to visualize the transition of single cells into multicellular organisms in new detail.