An investigational drug called davunetide, sprayed into the nose, reaches the brain in different amounts depending on biological sex and, in females, on the phase of the reproductive cycle. Working in mice and then in a small group of healthy adults, researchers at Tel Aviv University found that female mice took up more drug into the head region when estrogen was highest, during proestrus and estrus. In people, women trended toward higher peak plasma concentrations while men held the drug longer. The authors argue that averaging across sexes can hide a real drug effect, and that timing and hormones belong at the center of how brain therapies are designed and dosed.

Researchers at the University of Osaka have developed a quantum mechanical model for concentrated organic radical solutions considering stochastic collisions between molecules. The first-order contribution to intermolecular interactions is averaged to zero by collisional fluctuations, but the second-order term survives and enhances the magnetic susceptibility. These results explain experimental observations of an anomalous increase in the magnetic susceptibility at the solid-to-fluid transition that cannot be predicted by conventional theories.

NIMS succeeded in developing a technique to form a GaN epitaxial film with extremely low resistance and robust thermal stability, which is essential for realizing vertical gallium nitride (GaN) devices on low-cost silicon (Si) wafers. This novel technique, an “amorphous-like interlayer (AL-IL)” approach, uses an ultrathin film composed of Si and nitrogen (N) to accommodate lattice mismatch between Si and GaN, and enables vertical current flow between the substrate and the GaN film. This achievement constitutes a fundamental technology for fabricating vertical GaN devices on Si wafers, and is expected to contribute to reducing the cost of high-efficiency power devices and micro-LED devices in the future. This research result was published in Advanced Physics Research on May 29, 2026.