Kyoto, Japan -- Whether you are lucky enough to have a cat companion or must merely live this experience vicariously through cat videos, Felis catus is a familiar and comforting presence in our daily lives. Unlike most other feline species, cats exhibit sociality, can live in groups, and communicate both with other cats and humans, which is why they have been humans' trusted accomplices for millennia.

Despite this intimacy, there is still much that we don't know about our feline friends. Numerous behavioral studies have been conducted on other mammal species, but relatively few on cats.

In part to fill this gap, a team of researchers at Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University are investigating the genetic background of cats' behavioral traits. Specifically, they aim to understand the association between traits like purring and variation in the androgen receptor gene. Though the exact function of purring remains unclear, previous studies have indicated that it is beneficial for feline communication and survival.

Current regulations for nanomedicines overlook the effects of the different forms of the same element, such as ions, nanoparticles, and aggregates. In a recent study, Japanese researchers developed a new analytical method combining an asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation system and mass spectrometry to separately quantify these forms. This technique allows for better quality control and safety evaluation of metal-based nanomedicines, promoting their development and clinical use, with applications also extending to food, cosmetics, and the environment.

In a major advancement for sustainable construction, Japanese scientists have created a cement-free soil solidifier from industrial waste. By combining Siding Cut Powder and activated by Earth Silica, an alkaline stimulant from recycled glass, scientists produced a high-performance material that meets compressive strength standards exceeding the 160 kN/m² construction-grade threshold and eliminates arsenic leaching through calcium hydroxide stabilization. The technology reduces landfill volumes and carbon emissions, offering a circular solution for infrastructure development worldwide.

Researchers from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences/the Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS)/the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) in Japan have identified a monoacylglycerol acyltransferase-coding gene named bishu-1. It is involved in the thermal responsiveness of cool temperature-sensing neurons by regulating ionotropic receptor expression, thereby maintaining the cool temperature avoidance behaviors in Drosophila larvae.

An international research team led by the Photonic Network Laboratory at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and including Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Electric) have set a new world record in optical fiber communications, achieving data transmission at 1.02 petabits per second over a distance of 1,808 kilometers (roughly equivalent to the distance from Sapporo to Fukuoka, from Missouri to Montana or from Berlin to Naples). The experiment used a specially designed 19-core optical fiber with a standard 0.125 mm cladding diameter, compatible with existing fiber infrastructure. With a capacity-distance product of 1.86 exabits per second x km—the highest ever recorded—this demonstration marks the fastest long-distance transmission achieved in any optical fiber to date. The result represents a major step forward in developing scalable, high-capacity networks and addressing the world’s growing demand for data.

A standard cladding diameter 19-core optical fiber has been demonstrated to transmit more than 1 petabit per second in the past, but over relatively short distances, well below 1,000 km. The research team has achieved a dramatic extension of the transmission distance by developing a novel 19-core optical fiber also with a standard cladding diameter but with low loss across multiple wavelength bands used in commercial optical fiber transmission systems. In addition, an optical amplification system was developed to support the new optical fiber, which enabled a world record for long-distance high-capacity transmission. The newly developed technology is expected to make a significant contribution to both the expansion of the communication capacity and the long-range extension of optical communication infrastructure in the future, when communication demand increases.

The results of this experiment were accepted as a post-deadline paper presentation at the 48th Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC 2025) and presented on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

How do we think, feel, remember, or move? It all depends on transmission of chemical signals in the brain, carried and released by molecular containers called vesicles. In a new collaborative study, published in Science Advances, researchers in Japan and Germany have modeled the vesicle cycle in unprecedented detail, revealing new information about the way our brains function.

The paper describes an advanced computational model, which considers the complex interplay of vesicles, their cellular environments, activities and interactions, to predict vesicle behavior under different conditions.

“Technological advances have enabled experimental scientists to capture more and more data. The challenge lies in integrating and interpreting different data types, to understand the complexities of the brain,” said Professor Erik De Schutter, head of the OIST Computational Neuroscience Unit and co-author on this study. “Our model provides better detail of the vesicle cycle, and much faster, than any other systems before. And it’s transferable to different cells and scenarios too. It’s a significant leap forward towards scientific aspirations of full cell and full tissue simulation.”