A recent study found that dust from snow- and ice-free areas of the Arctic could be an important contributor to climate change in the region. Higher levels of dust help promote the formation of ice crystals in the clouds, which weakens the efficiency of clouds to contain more liquid droplets and fewer ice crystals by Arctic warming.

This unobtrusive, leaf-mounted sensor saves time and improves productivity by remotely monitoring the health of plants in real-time.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers propose a new method to generate meteorological data that takes into account the interdependence of meteorological factors, such as temperature, humidity, and solar radiation.

Researchers Samuel Poincloux (currently at Aoyama Gakuin University) and Kazumasa A. Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo have clarified the conditions under which large numbers of “squishy” grains, which can change their shape in response to external forces, transition from acting like a solid to acting like a liquid. Similar transitions occur in many biological processes, including the development of an embryo: cells are “squishy” biological “grains” that form solid tissues and sometimes flow to form different organs. Thus, the experimental and theoretical framework elaborated here will help separate the roles of mechanical and biochemical processes, a critical challenge in biology. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Physical reservoir computing (PRC) utilizing synaptic devices shows significant promise for edge AI. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science have introduced a novel self-powered dye-sensitized solar cell-based device that mimics human synaptic behavior for efficient edge AI processing, inspired by the eye's afterimage phenomenon. The device has light intensity-controllable time constants, helping it achieve high performance during time-series data processing and motion recognition tasks. This work is a major step toward multiple time-scale PRC.

Mitochondrial diseases, often stemming from complex genetic factors, impact the mitochondria's energy production. Japanese researchers have now linked MICOS10 gene variants to mitochondrial diseases for the first time. This discovery shows that defects in the MICOS complex disrupt mitochondrial structure and function, offering new insights into the genetic basis of these disorders. Their findings underscore the potential for improved genetic diagnostics and therapeutic approaches targeting mitochondrial function in affected patients.

Researchers explored protective coatings on advanced to resist corrosion in fusion reactors. They tested α-Al₂O₃ oxide layers on ODS alloys in a high-temperature, flowing lithium-lead environment. Even bare ODS alloys formed a durable γ-LiAlO₂ layer in situ, which suppressed further corrosion. The layers exhibited strong adhesion under mechanical stress, making these findings crucial for improving material durability in fusion reactors and high-temperature energy systems.

LEDs with low polarization in a direction similar to standard LEDs show greater efficiency at higher power by resisting 'efficiency droop', a Nagoya University study shows. The findings open the door to a new generation of efficient, high-powered LED lighting which exceeds the capabilities of existing systems.

To understand the practical challenges of indoor augmented reality applications on smartphones, researchers from Osaka University conducted 113 hours of extensive experiments and case studies over 316 patterns to determine the factors that degrade localization accuracy in real-world indoor environments. Landmarks for vision systems, LiDAR, and the IMU were evaluated. To solve the identified problems, the researchers suggest radio-frequency–based localization as a potential solution for practical augmented reality applications.

A novel hydrogen sensor developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo offers a promising solution for real-time hydrogen leak detection, addressing safety concerns in industrial applications. This sensor, made with nano-patterned cupric-oxide (CuO) nanowires (NWs) with voids, can detect hydrogen at extremely low concentrations with high response, recovery speed, and precision, significantly improving previous CuO-based sensors. It has the potential to enable safer and more reliable use of hydrogen in clean energy applications.