Pulmonary Regurgitation (PR) is a common and significant complication after treatment of the congenital heart disease Tetralogy of Fallot. MRIs are the standard method to evaluate the severity of PR, but may not be accessible to all patients due to limited availability or contraindications such as pacemakers or claustrophobia. Researchers have developed a new technique using dynamic chest radiography to analyze PR severity that can evaluate it with 93% accuracy with only a seven-second scan.

A pilot study has developed a new sensory evaluation method that links the chemical structures of polyphenols with their distinct taste properties. Using trained human panelists, researchers showed that different polyphenols produce unique sensory effects, including bitterness, acidity, and astringency. The findings may help improve functional food design and food processing technologies while advancing understanding of how taste-related sensory pathways contribute to digestion, metabolism, and health-related responses.

Non-structural disaster measures, including early warnings and evacuation systems, helped improve coastal resilience and reduce storm-surge impacts in Macau, report researchers at Science Tokyo. After analyzing the city’s responses to three major typhoons, which included resident interviews, evaluations of early warning systems, evacuation procedures, and other typhoon mitigation efforts, the study found that earlier issuance of typhoon warnings, color-coded storm-surge alerts, and government-led evacuation guidance significantly improved public trust and reduced disaster impacts.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication and repetitive behaviors, for which no fundamental treatment currently exists. Now, a collaborative research group from Japan has shown that artificially activating a specific neural circuit in the brain can normalize structural abnormalities in the "axon initial segment" of neurons in an ASD mouse model. Consequently, this intervention successfully improved ASD-like behaviors, such as impaired sociability and increased repetitive actions. This breakthrough demonstrates that neural circuit-level abnormalities in ASD are reversible, highlighting the structural regulation of the axon initial segment as a promising new therapeutic target.

Speculative decoding is a technique used to speed up large language models (LLMs), but existing approaches were mostly developed for English and are less effective in other languages. Now, researchers from Japan have developed ADASPEC, a speculative decoding framework that automatically generates language-specific training data and adapts its vocabulary during inference. Tested across seven languages and seven tasks, ADASPEC consistently outperformed existing methods while remaining practical and efficient for real-world multilingual applications.

We have developed a method for making simultaneous soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of solid-liquid interfaces and bulk liquids. By controlling the thickness of the liquid layer, we obtained the O K-edge XAS spectrum of bulk H₂O from a liquid H₂O layer on a thin Au film using the transmission method, and we used the electron-yield method to obtain the XAS spectrum of the H₂O/Au interface by measuring the drain currents from the Au surface following soft X-ray absorption. This method for obtaining simultaneous XAS measurements of solid-liquid interfaces and bulk liquids can be utilized to investigate the mechanisms of a variety of catalytic, electrochemical, and biological reactions involving solid-liquid interfaces.

Arctic communities are increasingly exposed to dangerous weather events due to climate change and rely on accurate weather forecasts. However, conditions in the lower atmosphere remain poorly observed in the Arctic because monitoring systems are expensive and difficult to deploy. Now, researchers propose a new framework for on-demand atmospheric observations based on lightweight, low-cost profiling systems that can be operated by local communities whenever additional weather data are needed, helping improve forecasting and climate resilience.

You have gone without food for days, and the temperature drops to near freezing. What do you do? For some animals, the answer is influenced by the brain’s circadian clock. Hummingbirds, bats, and mice are among the animals that can enter torpor, which reduces body temperature and metabolism. Scientists suspected that the brain’s circadian clock controls the timing of torpor, but until now the exact mechanism was not known. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have identified the specific neural circuit responsible for this survival strategy. They have shown that the brain’s circadian clock, a small cluster of neurons located in the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, sends silencing signals through this circuit to a nearby temperature-regulating region, suppressing torpor during the day. The findings were published in Nature Communications. 

Kyoto, Japan -- As climate change alters the temperatures of animal habitats, it seems natural that endotherms, warm-blooded animals like us, would prefer to hang out in the shade during hot weather. The use of microhabitats in the sun and shade is an important thermoregulatory behavior that has been reported across a wide range of animal species, and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in how animals -- especially those with long lifespans -- flexibly cope with thermal stress.

Japanese macaques, sometimes colloquially called snow monkeys, reside further north than any other non-human primates, and also have the highest hair density, which may make it difficult for them to dissipate heat. While observing some macaques in the field, a researcher at Kyoto University noticed that some of them appeared to choose resting sites that were neither fully sunny, nor fully shaded.

"That observation led me to wonder whether semi-shade might play a more meaningful role in thermoregulation than previously recognized," says corresponding author Yoshiyuki Tabuse.

For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, found out how to determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) from either natural or anthropogenic sources can be absorbed by special concrete production methods. This can be useful for economic tools such as carbon trading and carbon accounting, and the work could lead to similar measurement techniques for other gases of concern.