Music makes people move, but whether musicians intentionally induce specific movements, such as vertical bouncing or horizontal swaying, or what musical features would contribute to these, is more complex. Four musicians composed short excerpts intended to elicit either “tate-nori” (vertical movement), “yoko-nori” (horizontal movement), or neither movement type, and in a listener-rating experiment, participants heard each excerpt and rated the extent to which it made them feel like moving vertically and horizontally. The researchers found that the listeners’ directional dancing inclinations matched the musicians’ intended expressions.

Professor Dongsheng Liu of Tsinghua University, Professor Ziyang Hao of Capital Medical University, and Researcher Yuanchen Dong of the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have collaborated to develop a circular single-stranded DNA molecule capable of simultaneously silencing multiple miRNAs. This molecule can be used for multi-gene synergistic tumor therapy. Based on the KIMU principle, the circular single-stranded DNA molecule, an anti- miRNA oligonucleotide (circAMO), can be synthesized with high selectivity and high yield by adjusting the length of the DNA clamp. The unique covalently closed circular structure endows circAMO with high biostability, allowing long-term intracellular gene regulation without any chemical modifications. By designing multiple miRNA binding sites in circAM, one circAMO can simultaneously inhibit multiple oncogenic miRNAs and upregulate the levels of downstream mRNAs, ultimately inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as increasing apoptosis. This strategy provides a new research tool and platform for multi-target gene therapy. The article was published as an open access research article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A mathematician who has helped transform our understanding of population genetics, one of the most eminent chemical engineers in China, and leading international innovators in biotechnology and retail marketing have been awarded Honorary Degrees from Heriot-Watt University as part of its 2025 winter graduation programme.

To understand the aerodynamics of a dental drill, which can contribute to odontophobia, Tomomi Yamada and her collaborators used Japan’s flagship supercomputer to conduct large-scale aeroacoustics simulations. They analyzed the internal and external airflow of the dental drill, which can generate high-pitched sounds reaching nearly 20 kilohertz, and tested its psychological effects with children and adults. Now, Yamada and her colleagues are working on optimizing the blade geometry and exhaust port of the drill to minimize the noise while maintaining the performance.

To a human, microplastics are very small at less than 5 millimeters (mm) wide. But to an insect, microplastics might be the same size as the food they usually eat. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have shown that crickets can and will consume polyethylene microplastics if their mouth is larger than the plastic particle. The study suggests that crickets — and likely many other insects — cannot distinguish plastic from food.