Glycine, a non-essential amino acid derived from serine, plays an increasingly recognized role in metabolic regulation. Epidemiological studies consistently show that reduced circulating glycine levels are associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and obesity across diverse populations. However, the molecular mechanism linking glycine to insulin production has remained incompletely understood, limiting therapeutic applications.

Kyoto, Japan --  The species Orcinus orca, generally known as orcas or killer whales, is made up of many genetically distinct populations called ecotypes. Each ecotype indicates an ecological specialization with its own ecological and phylogenetic characteristics. The North Pacific is home to three known ecotypes of killer whales, called the transient, resident, and offshore ecotypes. While transient ecotype killer whales are mammal-eating, the resident and offshore orcas are fish-eating.

Though killer whale populations in the eastern North Pacific near Vancouver Island and Alaska have been studied extensively, populations in the western North Pacific have been less studied, especially around Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. One of these sea areas, Shiretoko, is the best in Japan to spot killer whales and is even home to a UNESCO natural World Heritage site, yet information on its killer whale population has remained limited. Researchers from Kyoto University and collaborating institutions worked together with a shared determination to change that.

"Clarifying the ecological characteristics of killer whales is crucial for achieving coexistence with them, as they are deeply entwined with human activities such as tourism and fisheries in Hokkaido," says first and corresponding author Momoka Suzuki.

Kyoto, Japan -- Aged and frail people often suffer a decline in tissue reserve capacity during aging. This reserve, called resilience, helps the body maintain homeostasis through various defense, compensation, modulation, and repair responses. When resilience is impaired, elderly people tend to experience a gradual waning of their daily activity and an increase in multimorbidity, or dealing with multiple chronic illnesses.

One major cause of resilience decline is an increase in senescent cells that have stopped dividing. The human body has a natural mechanism for eliminating these cells called senolysis, but as we age this 'clearing' mechanism becomes less efficient.

Senescent cells exert harmful effects through the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, or SASP: the release of pro-inflammatory molecules that can adversely affect surrounding cells. This leads to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases, partly explaining why elderly people suffer impaired resilience. Yet how metabolic resilience is involved in survival capacity and SASP has remained unclear.

A groundbreaking video from Kumamoto University's Center for Water Cycle, Marine Evironment and Disaster Management (Aitsu Marine Station) has been selected as one of "November's Best Science Images" by the scientific journal Nature. This special feature celebrates the most visually striking and scientifically innovative research images each month, and the selection is an incredible honor for Associate Professor. Yoshikawa and his team.

Understanding the evolution of insect mating behavior is essential for explaining how early insects adapted to life on land. A new study examines Petrobiellus akkesiensis, a rare jumping bristletail, and reveals that its highly specialized male genital structures enable direct spermatophore transfer via genital coupling—a mechanism previously undocumented in apterygote insects. This discovery provides an important missing link in the evolution of mating strategies within Archaeognatha.