Researchers have developed a platinum-nickel core-shell catalyst for oxygen reduction reactions. The design improves efficiency and stability, addressing key challenges in catalyst performance, and could open the door to breakthroughs in renewable energy research. 

Osaka University researchers elucidated the molecular details of how Drosophila larval epidermal cells (LECs) undergo cell death in a controlled manner to regulate epithelial tissue remodeling. Specifically, lower activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway occurs following reduced endocytosis. Decreased EGFR pathway activity allows LECs to switch from undergoing single-cell apoptosis to more widespread cell death in clusters. This supports faster LEC elimination and allows for proper tissue remodeling.

This study investigated patients with primary lung cancer who received PET/CT scan, a medical imaging test, and subsequently underwent immunotherapy. The study quantitatively evaluated the degree of inflammation in lungs using AI analysis of PET/CT images. The results demonstrated that high degree of inflammation in lungs is related to high incidence of interstitial lung disease, a severe side effect of immunotherapy.

Herbal medicine is difficult to produce on an industrial scale. A team of Kobe University bioengineers manipulated the cellular machinery in a species of yeast so that one such molecule can now be produced in a fermenter at unprecedented concentrations. The achievement also points the way to the microbial production of other plant-derived compounds.

Destructive winds during storms and cyclones often cause tree failures, especially through uprooting and stem breakage. However, how trees respond to wind under various forest configurations and weather conditions remains unclear. A recent study on Cryptomeria japonica plots shows that trees dissipate wind energy by switching between two swaying behaviors at specific wind speeds, offering insights that may help in improved forest management to minimize damage caused by storms.

A research team, including members from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo University of Science, and the National Institute for Materials Science, has released “HYPOD-X”, an extensive database for quasicrystals and their related materials called approximant crystals. Quasicrystals, with their unique ordered yet aperiodic atomic structures, exhibit distinctive physical properties, distinguishing them from conventional crystals. HYPOD-X is the first comprehensive database in this field, compiled through an extensive survey of a broad range of literature. This database is intended to serve as a foundation to advance data-driven research in quasicrystal science.

An international team led by researchers in Japan and Europe has discovered a new multi-planet system around a Sun-like star, including an ultra-short period planet with one of the highest densities ever measured. The findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports on 8 November, shed new light on the formation and evolution of planets in extreme environments. The newly discovered system, named K2-360, is located approximately 750 light-years from Earth. It consists of two planets orbiting a star similar to our Sun.

Osaka University and NEC Corporation will showcase a research result at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24) scheduled to be held from November 17 to 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The experiment to be conducted will transfer huge research data between servers using a 100 Gbps line between Japan and the United States. One file of huge research data stored in the storage of one server is transferred to the other server at high speed. In the preliminary evaluation, we have confirmed that the transfer of 1TB of data can be completed in 87 seconds (effective 92.0Gbps) over a short distance. This experiment will confirm the performance of the long-distance transfer between Japan and the U.S.

Measurements of air pollutants in the northwest India region suggest the undeniable role of crop residue burning (CRB) in the increase in rural air pollution. The Aakash Project has been conducting measurements in the region since autumn 2022.