Thanks to their special iridescence and unmatched beauty, pearls have been highly sought after throughout history. Due to their rarity and demand, the development of pearlescent pigments to mimic the natural beauty of a true pearl became inevitable. Here, researchers utilize plate-like particles to create substrate-free pearlescent pigments, a low-cost and straightforward solution to the issue of substrate-based pigments which can be complex and expensive.

Sixth-generation, or 6G, cellular networks are the next step in wireless communication, and electromagnetic terahertz waves are seen as crucial to its development. However, terahertz waves, with their higher frequency and shorter wavelength, are subject to greater interference from electromagnetic noise, making clear and secure transmission a challenge. Researchers from the University of Tokyo, as part of a multi-institution team, have now created an electromagnetic wave absorber for waves between 0.1–1 terahertz (THz). This greatly expands the range of the terahertz frequency which could be commercially used in the future. The ultrathin film is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and can be used outdoors, as it is resistant to heat, water, light and organic solvents.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have elucidated how hydrogen and carbon monoxide is adsorbed into solids containing a crown-motif structure of platinum and gold. Using quick-scan X-ray absorption measurements and theoretical calculations, they studied a solid of [PtAu₈(PPh₃)₈]-H[PMo₁₂O₄₀] called PtAu8-PMo12 and found that gas adsorption is affected strongly by the dimension of nanoscale voids in the structure. This highlights the importance of engineering voids in materials for next generation sensors and gas separation.

A research team led by Professor Hajime Monzen and Dr. Hiroyuki Kosaka from the Department of Medical Physics at Kindai University has developed the world's first non-contact system for monitoring respiratory motion during X-ray and CT imaging procedures. This breakthrough technology, developed in collaboration with SMK Corporation, uses millimeter-wave sensors to precisely track patient breathing patterns without physical contact, offering a significant advancement in medical imaging accuracy.

An international collaboration led by Nagoya University in Japan sheds new light on the relationship between quantum theory and thermodynamics. The research group demonstrated that while the laws of quantum theory alone do not inherently prevent violations of the second law of thermodynamics, any quantum process can be implemented without actually violating the law. This surprising result suggests a peaceful coexistence between quantum theory and thermodynamics, despite their logical independence. This discovery could have profound implications for understanding the thermodynamic limits of quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and nanoscale engines. 

AI transformational impact is well under way. But as AI technologies develop, so too does their power consumption. Now, researchershave developed a new spintronic device that can potentially revolutionize AI hardware through higher efficiency and lower energy costs.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have developed a highly accurate method for predicting rents by applying computer vision and machine learning models to street view images.

Kavli IPMU researchers are part of an international team that has found dark matter dominating the halos of two supermassive black holes 13 billion light years away.

"We feel sorry because we cry," wrote philosopher and psychologist William James, "angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble," suggesting that emotional bodily responses like crying cause cognitive changes, such as feelings of sorrow.

 

In reality, research has shown that human bodily responses and cognitive shifts affect each other in both directions. We feel sorry because we cry, but also cry when feeling sorry. So how then for our primate cousins? To date, their connections have remained largely unexplored.

 

Now a team of researchers at Kyoto University has led a study on six Japanese macaques living in KyotoU's Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, in Aichi prefecture. The researchers focused on self-scratching -- a bodily response linked to negative emotions like anxiety and fear -- and its relationship to pessimistic judgment bias, which is the tendency to expect a negative outcome when faced with ambiguous information.