As we age, stem cells responsible for maintaining our blood and immune systems gradually lose their resilience, but why this happens has remained unclear. A novel study from Japan and the US turns the spotlight on MLKL, a protein traditionally associated with cell death, uncovering an unexpected new dimension to its role. The findings shed light on how cellular stress shapes stem cell aging and highlight potential pathways for developing therapies to counter age-related decline.

Photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methane offers a promising route for carbon recycling, but its low efficiency and unclear mechanisms limit its practical use. Researchers at Chiba University have now examined how light-driven and heat-driven processes work together in Ru–Ni–ZrO₂ catalysts, achieving record methane production rates. This work clarifies the reaction pathway and highlights new strategies for designing more efficient systems to convert CO₂ into fuels and valuable chemicals.

What if AI could discover breakthrough materials before we even test them? A new physics-informed AI model makes discovery faster and more reliable. This approach could reshape the future of electronics.

Metals such as titanium are prized for their strength, light weight, and resistance to corrosion, making them essential for aircraft, spacecraft, and medical implants. Now, a joint research team has developed a groundbreaking processing technique that dramatically improves the strength and toughness of titanium alloys—in just a few milliseconds.

Environmental DNA surveys allow us to see what’s living in bodies of water like oceans, rivers and ponds by analyzing the DNA of just a cup of water taken from these sources. About a decade and a half has passed since the chance discovery of floating DNA of aquatic organisms came during other research, and since then, survey methods have been established and knowhow has been passed on to researchers from a wide range of universities and research institutes, as research continues to evolve and improve each day. We talked with Professor MINAMOTO Toshifumi of the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, a pioneer in the field, about his journey in environmental DNA research, the current state of its social implementation and future prospects for the field.

How do people perceive the risks of chemical substances in their everyday lives? Associate Professor MURAYAMA Rumiko of the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, an expert in environmental health, performs research on that very topic. Her research covers everything from risk perception to the role of communication, while also focusing on how awareness shifts with the changing times. The content of her research is thought-provoking even in understanding the risks associated with things that don’t involve chemical substances. She told us about the nature of risk perception in humans that she has uncovered through her research.

India is set to overtake Japan as the fourth strongest economic superpower as early as this year. With a population of over 1.4 billion, India is known around the world for producing talent in information technology, with many Japanese corporations now heading to India as well. What is behind this growth, and what are some potential problems for sustainable development? We sat down with Professor SATO Takahiro, deputy director of the Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration and an expert on the Indian economy and development economics, to talk about the present and future of India, a global growth engine.

Kyoto, Japan -- The larynx, also known as the voice box, is home to your vocal folds and is the reason you can talk and sing while manipulating the pitch and volume of your voice. The vocal folds, which are part of the larynx, are covered with mucosa, or mucous membranes.

Besides vocalization, the larynx also serves other essential functions such as breathing, airway protection, and swallowing. For this reason, any kind of damage resulting in laryngeal dysfunction, or vocal cord dysfunction, can severely disrupt a person's life and lead to symptoms such as voice disorders, chronic cough, or aspiration.

"Vibration of the vocal fold in the larynx plays a crucial role in voice production," says Japanese researcher Koichi Omori. "However, these tissues are difficult to regenerate after injury or the surgical removal of head or neck tumors, which can significantly affect a patient's quality of life."

A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory at Toyohashi University of Technology investigated how facial expressions are perceived when a face is located behind an observer. Participants wearing a head-mounted display observed 3D face models presented either in front of or behind them in a virtual reality (VR) environment and made binary judgments about the facial expression. The stimuli varied continuously from neutral to angry, and participants judged whether each face appeared neutral or angry. Across four experiments—including conditions using happy and fearful expressions in addition to anger—the results consistently showed that faces presented behind the observer tended to be perceived as more emotionally intense than those presented in front (a “behind-enhancement bias”). Notably, for angry expressions, a similar tendency was observed even when participants did not turn around but instead viewed the face behind them via a virtual mirror. These findings suggest that it is not the act of turning itself, but rather the spatial position of the face behind the observer, that may influence emotion perception. This study suggests the existence of a spatially modulated perceptual bias related to the processing of emotionally salient stimuli (e.g., potential threats) located behind the observer.

The findings were published online in Cognition on March 30, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106532

An international group have discovered associations between pathogenic variants of the BRCA 1 and 2 genes and four types of cancer. Published in ESMO Open, the findings expand the potential for personalized medicine to several cancer types that currently have limited treatment options and poor prognoses.