You’ve heard of qubits, now get ready for p-bits! These units form the building blocks of probabilistic computers that can solve certain problems more efficiently than traditional computers. A team of international researchers found a way to do without a power-hungry, bulky, analog component to allow for a fully digital p-bit design.

Computer simulations revealed the detailed mechanism of how the protein "dynamin" works to form small vesicles within cells.

While dynamin uses GTP hydrolysis energy to change shape, it was unclear how this leads to membrane constriction. Simulations showed that instead of simply tightening, dynamin "loosens" (expands) at a certain stage to generate the force needed to narrow the surrounding membrane tube.

This study provides a clearer explanation for membrane deformation and vesicle formation processes in cells, offering insights for artificial nano-device design.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have developed a novel reverse genetics system to study norovirus, the leading cause of gastroenteritis. This efficient system can generate infectious viral particles by simply injecting viral genetic material into zebrafish embryos. They were able to alter the genetic material to create modified viruses, enabling the evaluation of antiviral drugs and novel vaccine development. The advances provided by this new system will have a significant effect on public health.

Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have discovered a way to make a superconducting thin film from iron telluride, which is surprising because it is not normally superconducting. Being superconducting at extremely low temperatures makes it suitable for use in quantum computing. In addition to this particular new thin film, the new method of fabrication should greatly impact thin-film research in general.

Polydopamine-coated magnetic liposomes offer insight into the lectin–glycan interactions in motion. By observing minute changes in the rotational motion of magnetic nanoparticles under alternating magnetic field, the technique reveals binding patterns, including strong multivalent binding events under natural and physiological conditions. The findings of this study emphasize the role of structure–property relationships, while designing magnetic liposome-based biorecognition systems. This approach could accelerate innovations in diagnostics, glycoscience research, and drug discovery.

Biological supramolecular structures exhibit both lateral and longitudinal interactions, rendering the structure responsive to changes. Thus far, lateral interactions of synthetically assembled supramolecular polymers have only been elucidated. Inspired by microtubules, this study reports cooperative self-assembly of aryl barbiturate molecules into helical coils, driven by the concerted action of noncovalent lateral and longitudinal interactions. These synthetic polymers uniquely alter with changes in temperature. This conceptual advancement will influence future material designs of next-generation polymers.

When cell division (mitosis) takes too long, it can be a sign that something is wrong with the cells, for example DNA damage or chromosomal instability. That’s why our cells come with an innate ability to tell the time, with a stress response known as the mitotic stopwatch pathway activating after prolonged mitosis. Now, researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have found that certain cancers can ‘lose their sense of time’ to avoid cellular stress responses, revealing new insights that could shape future anti-cancer therapeutics.

The 9th Tsuneko & Reiji Okazaki Award was presented to Professor Masatsugu Toyota of Saitama University on November 27, 2025, at Nagoya University. The international honor recognizes Professor Toyota’s research on how plants sense and respond to touch and chemical signals. The award ceremony took place during the 11th International Symposium on Transformative Bio-Molecules.

Listening to the "whispers" of electrons and crystals has lead to a quantum discovery with terahertz light that could help us advance technological innovations and life science research.

Researchers have developed new means of recycling a common pollutant associated with groundwater and agricultural runoff: nitrate.  By developing an electrocatalyst that turns nitrate into ammonia, they have also helped make ammonia production more greener.