From pollinating flowers to enabling decomposition and supporting nutrient cycles, insects’ abundance and biodiversity are critical for maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, recent studies showing population declines have raised alarm about how insects are coping with the modern world. Understanding whether recent observations are part of longer timescale trends can help inform global conservation efforts, and identify the reasons behind the so-called “Insect Apocalypse”. 

Published in Science, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) used a community genomics approach to explore ant populations in the Fijian archipelago as a model system to understand insect biodiversity trends. By studying the genomics of museum collections, they were able to trace the ants’ evolutionary relationships to explore their arrival to the islands and reconstruct the population history of the species.  

A new analysis by UN University scientists reveals that African women remain significantly underrepresented in key leadership positions in the water sector across the continent. This study highlights the urgent need for policies and initiatives to promote gender equality and empower women in this critical field.

Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a realistic, highly sensitive method to detect the Unruh effect—a long-predicted phenomenon at the crossroads of relativity and quantum theory. Their approach opens new possibilities for exploring fundamental physics and developing advanced technologies.

As atmospheric observations of exoplanets become increasingly precise, it is more important than ever to correctly account for the effect of starspots on host stars. An ideal opportunity to study starspots arises when a transiting planet passes directly across them—a phenomenon known as a spot-crossing transit. An international research team led by scientists at the Astrobiology Center (Tokyo, Japan) has combined ground-based observations to reveal the detailed properties of the starspots and the orbital geometry of the planetary system TOI-3884.

How did different countries fare in achieving a balance between infection control and economic stability during the COVID-19 pandemic? To address this question, researchers studied the temporal dynamics of number of deaths, vaccination rates, production, and economic recovery across multiple countries. The study highlights that countries differed in risk attitudes and economic preferences that shaped policy decisions, hence impacting their performance. These insights will benefit governments and citizens in forming social defense during future pandemics.

Higher activity of PGC-1α enables brown fat cells in females to thermogenic activity and energy expenditure compared to males, reveals a study conducted in Japan. This research demonstrates that PGC-1α protein promotes phospholipid synthesis, which strengthens mitochondria of brown fat cells and enhances their heat-generating capacity in female mice. The findings reveal a female-specific mechanism of energy metabolism, boosted by PGC-1α and estrogen, which could inspire new therapies for the prevention of obesity and diabetes.

People are constantly exposed to fungal spores, including those of Aspergillus fumigatus, but individuals with weakened immune systems may develop life-threatening infections. In a recent study, researchers from Japan clarified the mechanisms by which the dendritic cell immunoreceptor (Dcir) suppresses neutrophil activity during infection with A. fumigatus. Their findings highlight Dcir as a potential therapeutic target for aspergillosis and suggest promising research avenues in the field of immunology.

Perimetry (visual field testing) quantifies a patient’s retinal sensitivity to light and clarifies a deviation from normal retinal sensitivity. Visual field tests generally require high patient concentration, which can be exhausted. We constructed a framework for deep reinforcement learning to train ViFT (Visual Field Transformer), which controls all processes of visual field testing. ViFT achieves the same or higher accuracy than the state-of-the-art strategies, with less than half the test time of the state-of-the-art strategies.

The University of Osaka D3 Center will begin trial operations of the “Osaka University Compute and sTOrage Platform Urging open Science” (OCTOPUS), a computational and data platform promoting open science built by NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), starting this September, with full-scale operations commencing in December.

Inspired by molecular motors in biological systems, researchers at Doshisha University develop the world’s first symmetric ratchet motor in which a perfectly circular disk spins in one direction when placed on vibrating particles. While conventional rachets rely on asymmetry, this motor emerges from spontaneous symmetry breaking. This discovery highlights a new principle in physics of extracting order from noise, setting the stage for innovative energy-harvesting devices that work on ambient vibrations.