Kyoto, Japan -- Tens of thousands of years ago, our own species, Homo sapiens, coexisted with Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis. Many of us living today carry a small amount of Neanderthal DNA, indicating that the two species may have shared much more than just the same land. Now, a breakthrough archaeological discovery has revealed that the two species did not merely cross paths: they possibly shared a common culture that spanned over 20,000 years.

Humans migrated from our original home in Africa to other parts of the world in the Out of Africa event, but human fossils around this time have been scarce in the Levant, a primary corridor between Africa and Eurasia. In search of more evidence of both modern humans and Neanderthals, an international team of researchers -- including scientists from Türkiye, France, and Japan, including Kyoto University -- headed to Üçağızlı II Cave in southern Türkiye for excavations.

At this site, five years of meticulous millimeter-by-millimeter excavation revealed evidence of both species living in the same space, utilizing identical stone tool technologies and survival strategies. Remarkably, the evidence also suggests this shared behavior extended beyond practical aspects and included the use of non-utilitarian materials.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Japanese technology company Fusic Co., Ltd. are collaborating to explore the development of artificial intelligence-enabled ground systems that could help operators manage increasingly large and complex satellite constellations. The collaboration will study how AI could assist ground-control teams with routine satellite operations, mission scheduling, ground-station allocation and the early detection of technical problems.These proposed systems can also be used to automate routine tasks with human oversight, helping operators respond more quickly and manage larger satellite fleets more efficiently. The partnership aims to bring together NTU's satellite operations expertise with Fusic's capabilities in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and software engineering. The NTU-Fusic Memorandum of Understanding was signed today, 6 July, at SPACETIDE 2026, a major space business conference held in Tokyo, as Singapore and Japan mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Researchers have developed a real-space topological strategy to stabilize fractional orbital angular momentum modes, which are normally unstable in free space. Inspired by quark confinement, the team used optical conformal mapping to stitch fractional phase structures into stable composite wave states. The mechanism was experimentally demonstrated on an elastic flexural wave platform and may offer new opportunities for wave manipulation in acoustics, photonics and on-chip information systems.