Conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which use carbon-negative electrodes, are prone to catching fire due to the similar operating potentials of carbon and lithium. Recently, Wadsley–Roth phase oxides, like the TiNb₂O₇ (TNO), have received considerable attention as potential alternative negative electrode materials that have higher operating potentials than lithium, reducing the risk of fire. In this study, researchers investigated the atomic configuration and network structure of TNO, unveiling key insights for developing safer, high-performance LIBs.

Helical structures are ubiquitous across biology, from the double-stranded helix of DNA to how heart muscle cells spiral in a band. Inspired by this twisty ladder, researchers from Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering have developed an artificial polymer that organizes itself into a controlled helix. Helical structures are ubiquitous across biology, from the double-stranded helix of DNA to how heart muscle cells spiral in a band. Inspired by this twisty ladder, researchers from Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering have developed an artificial polymer that organizes itself into a controlled helix. 

Pretrained large-scale AI models need to ‘forget’ specific information for privacy and computational efficiency, but no methods exist for doing so in black-box vision-language models, where internal details are inaccessible. Now, researchers from Japan addressed this issue through an innovative strategy based on latent context sharing, successfully getting an image classifier to forget multiple classes it was trained on. Their findings could expand the use cases of large-scale AI models while safeguarding end users’ privacy.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University showed that agricultural land preserved around river confluences can help mitigate floods. They make a case for Eco-DRR, an approach that uses existing environmental resources to improve resilience against flooding. Statistical analysis showed that municipalities with agricultural land in areas with high water storage potential suffered fewer floods, with stronger correlation when agricultural land was situated near river confluences. The team hope their findings inform effective land usage.

Researchers at the Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institue of Science and Technology (OIST) and their collaborators at the University of the Ryukyus and NTT Communications, have established a robust system to monitor mesophotic coral ecosystems using a combination of underwater robots and eDNA barcoding. Their findings have been published in the journal Coral Reefs. By collecting and analyzing genetic material that corals naturally release into the water – environmental DNA or eDNA – multiple species present in these deeper-water environments can now be identified without direct observations, using these robots. This makes it easier to study previously hard-to-access biodiversity hotspots.

Researchers at Kyushu University have revealed a new mechanim underlying how spatial distance between specific regions of DNA is linked to bursts of gene activity. Using advanced cell imaging techniques and computer modeling, the researchers showed that the folding and movement of DNA, as well as the accumulation of certain proteins, changes depending on whether a gene is active or inactive.

A newly developed luciferase-based reporter can detect problems in protein translocation and disulfide bond formation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Inspired by natural mechanisms found in bacteria, this reporter offers a simple and robust tool for studying ER-related protein synthesis processes, with potential applications in understanding diseases and developing new treatments.

Researchers from Kyushu University and Nagoya University in Japan have developed a model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict organoid development at an early stage. The model, which is faster and more accurate than expert researchers, could improve the efficiency and lower the cost of culturing organoids.