Hiroshima University researchers use the previous 20 years of data to project what the currently implemented treatment and management strategy does for the HBV and HCV cases in 2050.

Cancers caused by mutations in the KRAS gene are challenging to treat, and current KRAS inhibitor therapies can leave behind reversible drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells that survive therapy, contributing to tumor regrowth and relapse. Researchers from Chiba University found that these surviving cells adapt by reshaping their metabolism. By targeting these metabolic adaptations, the team succeeded in reducing the survival of DTP cells. The findings may help develop therapies to reduce relapse in KRAS-mutant cancers.

In group decision-making, discussing from an overarching perspective is often difficult. Imagining oneself from a third-person perspective during group discussions may significantly change how people communicate and make decisions together. In this context, researchers investigated the effect of third-person perspective and first-person perspective in a virtual environment on group decision-making. They found that participants using a third-person perspective in virtual reality showed better consensus, improved understanding of others’ opinions, and reduced conflict.

Researchers in Japan explored whether a wearable, neck-mounted camera could offer a new way to document and review performance during Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Focusing on a procedure that requires careful observation of hand movements and technique, the pilot study examined the feasibility of capturing assessments from the examiner’s perspective and its potential role in future clinical skills evaluation. The findings provide new insights into how wearable technologies could support assessment practices in medical education.

Cells can spontaneously change shape even without external signals, but the underlying mechanisms behind this form of self-organization have remained unclear. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered self-propelled treadmilling actin filaments (SpTAs), mobile protein assemblies that function as self-propelled particles. Their study shows that even though SpTAs move randomly, they push the cell membrane outward and accumulate to grow protrusions, thereby defining the overall shape of the cell.

Hydrogen can store renewable energy, but then what stores the hydrogen? A new AI-powered, logic-based method provides probable materials for the job – and explains the reasoning behind its decision.

The study discovered that soil pH is a key factor in regulating the symbiotic relationship between pests and soil bacteria.

Researchers at the University of Osaka found that direct survey questions may overstate negative attitudes toward the news media in Japan. In two web-based randomized experiments, 45.1% of respondents agreed that “the mass media are harmful to society” when asked directly, compared with an indirect estimate of 29.7% from a list experiment. The findings suggest that, where media criticism is easy to express, direct questions may inflate anti-media sentiment.

Magnetic fields are generally known to destroy superconductivity in a material. However, in exceptional cases they can lead to what is known as “reentrant superconductivity”— where superconductivity disappears as expected but then unexpectedly returns when the magnetic field is increased further. This behavior is sometimes seen in bulk, three-dimensional materials, but now, researcher have seen the phenomenon in a very thin conducting layer at the boundary between two insulating oxide materials.

Pollinators are commonly classified into functional groups based on similarities in morphology and behavior, under the assumption that such groupings reflect comparable contributions to plant reproduction. Researchers at University of Tsukuba challenge this conventional assumption by analyzing pollen carried on insect bodies. The team found that even among morphologically similar pollinators differed substantialy in both the types and composition of pollen they transported. These differences suggest considerable variation in floral fidelity—the tendency to repeatedly visit specific plant species—and may also affect the potential for heterospecific pollen transfer (HPT).