Numerous widely used chemicals induce genetic and epigenetic alterations implicated in various diseases, including cancer. Safety assessment of potential carcinogens is necessary to minimize their hazardous impact. While genotoxicity assays are widely used to evaluate genetic changes, quantification of epigenetic changes requires advanced and expensive sequencing techniques. Researchers from Japan have developed a simple and cost-effective cell-based reporter assay that can quantify chemical-induced epigenetic effects, and enhance the safety evaluation of environmental chemicals.

Utilizing numerical simulations, researchers have succeeded in recreating the fluid dynamics of flowing cells like blood or immune cells in the circulatory system. The team recreated the cells by programing them as deformable ‘capsules’ and placed them in a tube with a pulsating ‘flow.’ This in-silico model revealed that capsules will move to a specific position depending on two factors: the deformation of the capsule and the pulsation frequency.

Coupling reactions are essential in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced materials, but traditional methods often rely on costly and environmentally taxing transition metal catalysts. Now, researchers from Japan have reviewed emerging transition metal-free alternatives that align better with green chemistry principles. Their study highlights hypervalent iodine-mediated coupling, a strategy that enables selective bond formation without rare metals. By leveraging diaryliodonium salts, this approach can greatly enhance efficiency and reduce waste in coupling reactions.

Nanoplastics are an increasing threat to the ecosystem; however, their mobility in the soil is still underexplored. Against this backdrop, researchers from Waseda University and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology investigated the adsorption and aggregation behavior of nanoplastics in different types of soil under different pH conditions. The study offers new perspectives on the migration and environmental interactions of nanoplastics, while broadening our knowledge of pollution dynamics and soil contamination processes.