Kyoto, Japan -- Whether you practice ballet or prefer the tango, the benefits of dancing are self-evident. It's good exercise both physically and mentally due to the complexity of the movements, and it's also a fun social activity. But the benefits of dancing may extend beyond this: the mental activity and social interaction involved in dancing may also help prevent cognitive decline.

Previous research indicates that dance practice can improve the cognitive test scores of older adults with mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, an intermediate state of cognitive decline between normal aging and dementia. This inspired a team of researchers from Kyoto University to extend this research to older adults in an earlier stage of cognitive decline called subjective cognitive decline, or SCD. This refers to an individual's self-reported worsening memory or increased confusion that cannot yet be verified by tests.

"We focused on SCD because earlier intervention is more important from the viewpoint of dementia prevention," says first author Masatoshi Yamashita.

A recent study shows that human employees can believe their jobs are at risk and their morale can sink when working with robots, specifically where performance comparisons are involved. Just as employees can divide into cliques -- psychologically identifying themselves with an "in" group they belong to and "out" groups they don't -- humans can feel in competition with robot counterparts and outclassed by them. recent study shows that human employees can believe their jobs are at risk and their morale can sink when working with robots, specifically where performance comparisons are involved. Just as employees can divide into cliques -- psychologically identifying themselves with an "in" group they belong to and "out" groups they don't -- humans can feel in competition with robot counterparts and outclassed by them. Fortunately, companies may be able to ease the discord. One possibility the researchers found, was to assess employee performance against a benchmark. Even more promising though were team-based incentive policies. When study participants were told they were being evaluated and rewarded in a human-robot team instead of individually, their workplace attitudes were not negatively impacted.

Up to now, it has only been possible to deduce indirectly why high-temperature batteries lose efficiency and durability while in use. For the first time, a team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now used so-called operando X-ray radiography to look directly into a sodium-zinc molten salt battery at approximately 600 degrees Celsius. The images reveal previously hidden processes and show that, under real operating conditions, the separating layers within the battery can prove problematic. The findings deliver important information for new, simplified cell concepts for large-scale energy storage (DOI: 10.1016/j.ensm.2025.104654).

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have advanced the knowledge required to improve large-scale energy storage. In doing so, they have revealed distinct chemical reactions that improve the stability and efficiency of a promising energy-storage system. Their findings suggest positive implications for U.S. energy security, including increased national power grid reliability and affordability.

Artificial intelligence becomes a predictive tool that can provide assistance in defining a nutritional plan for preterm infants. This is the concept of an innovative study recently published in the Journal of Perinatology, part of the Nature portfolio. It is the joint work of researchers from the IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori Foundation (FSGT) and the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) of the Politecnico di Milano.