What components of elaborate pair dances serve mutual signals? Japanese researchers revealed that the sequence and timing of behaviors play a crucial role in the pair dances of the red-crowned cranes. The study provides a novel framework for identifying the structure of bidirectional communication in animals. These results were published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Snowfall deep inside East Antarctica has increased in recent decades, and distant ocean temperature changes may be partly responsible. Using long-term climate data and observations from Dome Fuji station, researchers found that the increase in snowfall is strongly linked to atmospheric blocking patterns that carry moist air into inland Antarctica. These patterns are, in turn, influenced by sea surface temperature changes in the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean—highlighting important climate connections across vast distances.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that gradually affects a person's ability to move, speak, and breathe. It advances differently in every patient. Now, researchers at Nagoya University have developed an AI tool that uses data from patient follow-up studies to estimate the speed of disease progression and identify patterns of muscle decline. The study was published in npj Digital Medicine.

A method to interpret artificial intelligence (AI) models used in materials discovery by analyzing their learned features has been developed by researchers from Japan. The method extracts key features from an AI model trained on atomic structural data and optical absorption spectra, and then groups materials with similar structural and spectral characteristics. This approach can be extended to reveal how atomic arrangements influence other material properties, paving the way for more efficient materials design.

A research group led by Professor Katsuhiro Ichikawa (Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University) and Professor Kaoru Tada (Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kanazawa University Hospital) has successfully developed an ultra-high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) system dedicated to extremities, achieving approximately five times higher spatial resolution than conventional X-ray CT systems (voxel size: 0.08–0.10 mm).

Based on their 18-year long cohort study, researchers at Tohoku University have found which depressive symptoms have the most impact on the “healthspan” (remaining years of healthy living) of older adults, and how this differs for men compared to women.

Okayama University of Science and Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, have launched a joint research project to establish the world’s first fully closed-cycle land-based aquaculture system for chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) using the university’s proprietary “Third Water” technology. The project aims to address the dramatic decline in salmon returns caused by climate change and changing marine ecosystems. More than 2,000 juvenile salmon are currently being reared in a 35-ton closed recirculation aquaculture system at the university’s Next-Generation Aquaculture Center. Researchers expect the fish to reach market size within one to two years. If successful, the project could provide a sustainable alternative to ocean-dependent salmon production and contribute to the long-term resilience of salmon fisheries in Japan and worldwide.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new paradigm for identifying online phishing campaigns. Their new system, PhishLumos, is triggered when links show signs of concealing information, and looks for clues in the “infrastructure” of the website to uncover the whole campaign of which the site is only a tiny part. Real-world testing showed detection which was 8 days faster than an expert, with 190,000 URLs detected over 6 months.

Researchers at Kanazawa University have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which structural changes in the cerebellum influence social behavior. The study demonstrates that disruption of specialized extracellular structures surrounding cerebellar neurons alters neuronal activity across brain circuits involved in social behavior. The findings provide new insight into the neural mechanisms associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).