Magnesium is essential for both plant growth and human nutrition, yet how rice grains accumulate this mineral has remained unclear. A new study identifies OsMGR2 as a magnesium transporter required for moving magnesium into rice grains. Rice plants lacking this transporter produced smaller, shriveled grains with reduced magnesium content and poorer eating quality. The findings reveal how magnesium distribution affects grain development and could help support future breeding strategies for nutritionally improved rice varieties.

LRBA deficiency has long been viewed primarily as an immune disorder, but researchers at Science Tokyo have found that the condition may also impair urinary concentrating ability.

Using patient registry data from 43 individuals, mouse models, and protein analysis, the study found that LRBA deficiency can cause excessive urination and electrolyte abnormalities, highlighting the need for closer fluid and sodium monitoring in affected patients.

Researchers characterized the oral microbiomes of the Japanese population across time by analyzing the DNA preserved in dental calculus of human skeletal remains. The researchers compared microbial composition in dental calculus primarily from Edo-period individuals with that of modern dental calculus, and identified differences associated with time period, region, and the phylogeny of several oral bacterial species. The findings show that dental calculus can provide new avenues for examining human history and the relationships between humans and microorganisms.

Exciting new research at Tohoku University’s Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) explains how to transform decades of scattered literature data into design rules for catalysts.

Scientists found that certain chemical impurities, such as hydrogen and oxygen, help amorphous carbon form graphite-like, ultralow-friction interfaces under mechanical stress. The findings reveal how impurities can enable self-forming lubricating surfaces, offering a new strategy for designing durable, energy-efficient materials.

Researchers from The University of Osaka, SEC, and Juntendo University have developed quantum multi-programming auto mode, a function that automatically runs quantum programs from different users in parallel. Implemented in OQTOPUS and launched on QIQB’s quantum computer cloud service, the system reduces idle qubit resources, improves throughput, and may help ease congestion in quantum cloud computing.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed novel kirigami structures with periodic parallel inclined cuts. Stretching these materials longitudinally causes them to twist and rotate. Thus, these structures provide a mechanism for coupling tension and rotation. The mechanical deformation of these structures can be characterized in terms of a geometrical property, the chirality. Some of the developed chiral structures were auxetic, longitudinal stretching resulting in lateral expansion, instead of contraction. The findings have applications in soft robotics and soft actuators.

Professor Akihiro Kaneko of Okayama University of Science has achieved international recognition for a second consecutive year at Kura Master, a prestigious Japanese sake competition held in France. “Aldebaran,” a red wine produced from Muscat Bailey A grapes grown in Ibara, Okayama Prefecture, under Professor Kaneko’s supervision, received a Gold Award in the Muscat Bailey A category. The award highlights ongoing efforts to preserve a historic local grape variety whose cultivation has declined in recent years. In addition, “Junmai -eme-,” a sake brewed using yeast isolated from Muscat of Alexandria grapes by Professor Kaneko and his research team, earned the competition’s highest distinction, the Platinum Award, in the Junmai Sake category. The awards demonstrate the growing international impact of research and innovation in viticulture and enology at Okayama University of Science.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used simulations to show that a newly developed, compact X-ray telescope could be used to map the chemical composition of the entire Moon surface, a vital breakthrough for understanding its geological evolution. Detailed modeling of the detector and a realistic satellite mission show that two years would be enough to map five key elements, while an array of five-by-five detectors could improve resolution and get results faster.