Template-assisted synthesis dramatically improves the yield of functionalized oligophenylene cages, report researchers from Japan. By using covalent templates to guide a six-fold Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction, the researchers achieved significantly higher yields of around 68% in comparison to conventional methods, which struggle to exceed a 10% yield. The resulting molecular cages feature tailored cavities with inward-facing OH and NH₂ groups for selective molecular encapsulation—opening new avenues for host-guest chemistry and catalysis.

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed a lipid nanoparticle that delivers mRNA to cells five times more effectively. By attaching a sulfur-containing ring structure—a cyclic disulfide—to lipid molecules, they found that significantly more mRNA can escape from cell components that normally destroy genetic material. When tested as a cancer vaccine in mice, the new delivery system stopped tumor growth. The study, published in the journal RSC Medicinal Chemistry, demonstrates the first successful use of cyclic disulfide-containing lipids to improve mRNA delivery in animals and suppress tumor growth.

Kyoto, Japan -- As the demand for more secure data transmission increases, conventional communication technologies are facing limitations imposed by classical physics, and are therefore approaching their limits in terms of security. Fortunately, quantum communication may help us overcome these restrictions.

Quantum communication harnesses the quantum nature of light by utilizing single photons as information carriers. This is a fundamentally different approach from conventional communication technologies and has the potential to lead to the development of secure, high-performance communication systems.

These future quantum technologies will require new single-photon emission sources. Recently, extremely thin two-dimensional semiconductors with a thickness of only a few atomic layers have shown great potential due to their excellent electrical and optical properties. Although increasing the efficiency of such single-photon generation is extremely important, the capacity of these materials and its strategy had not been thoroughly explored.

Metal sulfides with seven to eight d electrons show optimal performance as catalysts for water electrolysis, as reported by researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. In a comprehensive analysis of various metal sulfides, they identified a volcano-shaped relationship between catalytic activity and the number of d electrons in metal atoms. This newly uncovered principle will form the basis of catalyst design guidelines, accelerating the development of efficient water-splitting catalysts for green hydrogen production.

The question “What is the meaning in life?”, asked for millennia, is one of the central questions of philosophy. There has been a growing movement to approach this question by carefully analyzing the “meaning in life.” Now, Professor Masahiro Morioka of Waseda University has proposed a new idea: to explore “meaning in life” as a kind of geographical landscape experienced when a person tries to engage with their life with a certain attitude or intention.

The laminin-411 protein is vital for the formation of the myelin membrane by oligodendrocytes, report researchers from Japan. Furthermore, the A4G47 peptide from the E8 region of laminin-411 was found to be the main active amino acid sequence that drives myelin formation. The research findings have the potential to transform current cell culture practices to study myelination and may enable the development of novel therapeutic agents to treat demyelinating diseases.  

Researchers are one step closer to finding a common target for treating ALS - a fatal neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive muscle weakness.

Age-related memory decline is often linked to reduced activity and division of neural stem cells (NSCs), but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In a recent study, researchers from Japan investigated age-related changes in mouse NSCs at the molecular level and found that a gene named Setd8 plays a key role in NSC aging. Targeting this gene could offer a promising strategy to combat early brain aging and neurodegenerative conditions.

Self-disclosure is vital for communication. In the present century, various innovative forms of communication have emerged, including video-conferencing and embodied virtual reality (VR). In this context, researchers from Japan have recently demonstrated that embodied VR, especially with unrealistic avatars, facilitates the revelation of personal feelings. Moreover, female-to-female pairing had the highest self-disclosure score, underlining the role of gender.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer treatment, but not all patients respond equally. Now, researchers from Japan have explored why two anti-PD-L1 antibodies, which target the same immune pathway, produce vastly different therapeutic outcomes in a mouse cancer model. They found that an immune mechanism known as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity can inadvertently destroy antitumor immune cells. These findings underscore the importance of selecting antibody drugs that minimize off-target effects to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.