A new large-scale Ward-type tornado simulator has been built at Central South University in 2023. Stationary tornado-like vortices are generated and tested to explore the characteristics of the velocity field and surface pressure field. The results show the significant influence of swirl ratios and little influence of fan speeds on vortex structures. The simulator has the good capability of generating tornado-like vortices.

Fifty-two people have died on Catalan roads so far this year, according to data from the Catalan Traffic Service. Although there have been fewer accidents in the first four months of the year than in the same period last year, accidents continue to have a terrible impact: more than 3,500 people were involved in 2,414 traffic accidents in 2024, 48 of them with fatalities. In more than 85% of cases, the human factor is to blame with distractions, fatigue, drowsiness, and consumption of alcohol and other substances being recurrent causes. Aware of this, the automotive industry is working on active safety systems that, among other things, monitor drivers' alertness and warn them when they are not paying attention. Researchers from the NEPHOS research group have developed a prototype capable of doing this more efficiently than conventional systems.

Vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) is a nonlinear spectroscopic method widely used to investigate the molecular structure and dynamics of surface systems. However, in far-field observations, the spatial resolution of this method is constrained by the diffraction limit, which restricts its ability to resolve molecular details in inhomogeneous structures smaller than the wavelength of light. To address this limitation, we developed a tip-enhanced VSFG (TE-SFG) spectroscopy system based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Using this system, we detected VSFG signals from molecules adsorbed on a gold substrate under ambient conditions. Phase analysis of the interferometric VSFG spectra provided insights into the molecular orientation. Furthermore, the observed VSFG signals were confirmed to originate from a highly localized region within the gap between the STM tip apex and sample substrate. Thus, this method offers an innovative platform for nonlinear optical nanospectroscopy, enabling the investigation of surface molecular systems beyond the diffraction limit.

An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed Boccia XR, a rehabilitation program using extended reality technology that can be introduced even in environments with limited space.

A research team led by Associate Professor Koji Iwano at Okayama University of Science has been awarded the 2025 MEXT Award for Science and Technology for groundbreaking work in improving typhoon forecasting and climate change prediction. By constructing Japan’s only large-scale indoor typhoon simulation tank, the team succeeded in precisely measuring momentum, heat, and CO₂ exchanges at the air-sea interface under extreme wind conditions. Their findings reveal how these transfers shift dramatically beyond wind speeds of 30 m/s, offering critical insights for refining global climate models and developing future typhoon mitigation strategies.