With growing urbanization worldwide, concerns for its effects on wildlife is also growing. Many species, however, are able to adapt to urban life by taking advantage of urban resources, like supplemental feeding. While supplemental feeding is considered to contribute to reproductive success of urban wildlife, the exact effects on mammalian reproduction remains unclear. Now, researchers provide evidence that supplemental feeding can boost reproductive conditions of squirrels in urban areas.

Slow earthquakes have been discovered to exhibit anomalously slow, long-lasting, and small slips, adjacent to regular earthquakes where we sometimes feel catastrophic vibration. However, no one knows the reason why they show such strange characteristics. In a study published in a scientific journal Nature Communications, researchers at The University of Osaka succeeded in experimentally reproducing the multiple features of slow earthquakes in the lab and suggested the grain-scale origin of them based on their direct observations.

Researchers from The University of Osaka created a reagent for important building-block molecules with an abundant main-group element, gallium. These early findings show that an organic gallium compound can display transition-metal-like reactivity under light irradiation. Using common main-group elements like gallium offers a new way to make sustainable catalysts that do not need expensive transition metals, which are environmentally damaging and vulnerable to supply disruption.

Scientists have developed plant-based decomposable plastics using phenylpropanoids, compounds from essential oils. These high-biomass polymers are heat-resistant, durable and recyclable, capable of breaking down under mild conditions for use in chemical recycling or upcycling. They offer a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, reducing environmental impact and supporting a circular economy.

Japan faces the challenge of aging infrastructure, especially bridges, amidst lack of integration between field expertise and digital data. Providing a novel solution, a researcher from Hosei University, Japan, has proposed an integrated data model that merges two international standards—IFC and CityGML—to significantly streamline and advance maintenance workflows, including inspection, diagnosis, and repair planning, for aging infrastructure. This next-generation technology can lead to a society where future generations can live more securely.

Researchers from The University of Osaka developed mirror-image semiconductor polymer molecules for organic solar cells. The new acceptor molecules prevent recombination of electrons and holes by generating currents with spin-polarization of about 70% in which one electron spin dominates. Solar cells containing the new acceptors showed three times higher efficiency than the non-mirror-image version. Using mirror-image acceptor molecules provides a new way of increasing efficiency in clean energy technology.

Researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo have developed a groundbreaking neural-network-based 3D imaging technique that can precisely measure moving objects—a task long considered extremely challenging for conventional optical systems. Presented at the International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV) 2025, the new neural inverse rendering method reconstructs high-resolution 3D shapes using only three projection patterns, enabling dynamic 3D measurement across diverse applications in manufacturing inspection, digital twin modeling, and performance capture in visual production.

Aggregation of α-synuclein leads to fibril formation and finally the formation of Lewy bodies, the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. The exact molecular mechanism of this aggregation process is elusive. A group of researchers from Juntendo University recently found that ubiquilin-2 liquid droplets influence and catalyze this process. Their study also suggests that SO286, a small compound, inhibits the interaction between these proteins, hindering the aggregation process.

Climate change and extreme weather drive a globally growing interest in technologies to control the weather. Japanese government research seeks to harness such technology to reduce storm and flood damage. Yet such interventions could fundamentally change the relationship between people and the weather. New research published in npj Climate Action proposes “Weather Commons” as a democratic, community-centric approach that puts people in charge, and calls for a broad public conversation about weather control.

The hepatitis C virus -- HCV -- can persist in the livers of those infected and even lead to liver disease or failure in extreme cases. It affects tens of millions of people worldwide and there is no vaccine to prevent infection, but effective treatment can resolve most cases.

Until about a decade ago, hepatitis C infection was difficult to cure because treatment relied on prolonged interferon injections with severe side effects. The advent of oral direct-acting antivirals, or DAAs, revolutionized care for HCV. However, whether clearing HCV would also alleviate chronic immune activation remained uncertain, especially in people living with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, whose immune systems are already under strain.

This uncertainty is exacerbated by inequalities in research and care across international borders. Previous research on the immunological effects of DAAs has largely originated from the Global North and involved patients from those regions. None existed from Southeast Asia where viral strains, methods of transmission, host genetics, and access to care differ. This motivated a collaborative team of researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Indonesia to address this knowledge gap.