Giant DNA viruses that infect eukaryotic cells are thought to have played a role in the evolution of life, according to the nuclear virus origin hypothesis. Now, the discovery of a new giant DNA virus in Japan that infects vermamoeba further supports this idea. Named ushikuvirus, it joins a growing number of such viruses being discovered worldwide, suggesting that ancient viruses may have contributed to the evolution and diversity of eukaryotic cells.

The complex fluid–structure interaction underlying blood flow through vessels has proved challenging to analyze both numerically and experimentally. Addressing this gap, researchers developed a new experimental platform that uses polarized light to directly visualize stress fields in artificial blood vessels and in the flowing blood analogue in real time. Their findings reveal how stress is distributed during pulsating flow and could help design safer devices and improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

A way to electrically modify the chirality of organic–inorganic hybrid materials, in which chiral molecules adsorb onto inorganic surfaces, has been demonstrated by researchers at Science Tokyo. By using an electric double-layer transistor with a chiral electrolyte, specific chirality was imposed on an otherwise achiral molybdenum disulfide surface. This reversible method enables tunable chiral electronic states and opens new possibilities for advanced spintronic devices and the emerging field of “chiral iontronics.”

A collaborative research team from Nagoya University and Tokyo Electron Miyagi Ltd. has demonstrated that the company's new semiconductor etching method achieves five times faster than conventional techniques. This new method employs plasma etching with hydrogen fluoride (HF) at very low temperatures. In contrast to conventional fluorocarbon etching gases, which have high global warming potentials (GWPs), HF has a substantially lower GWP.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have, for the first time, recorded the songs of the Chinese hwamei Garrulax canorus (designated as an invasive alien species) in the alpine zone of Mt. Kisokoma in the Central Alps (approximately 2,770 m above sea level). These songs, produced by males during the breeding season, serve to establish territories and attract females. This finding raises concerns that the breeding range of Chinese Hwamei may be expanding from lowland habitats into the alpine zone.

An ultrathin ferroelectric capacitor, designed by researchers from Japan, demonstrates strong electric polarization despite being just 30 nm thick including top and bottom electrodes—making it suitable for high-density electronics. Using a scandium-doped aluminum nitride film as the ferroelectric layer, they achieved high remanent polarization even at reduced thicknesses. This breakthrough demonstrates good compatibility with semiconductor devices combining logic circuits and memories, paving the way for compact and efficient on-chip memory for future technologies.

A newly designed robust mechanophore provides early warning against mechanical failure while resisting heat and UV, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. They combined computational chemistry techniques with thermal and photochemical testing to show that their mechanophore scaffold, called DAANAC, stays inert under environmental stress yet emits a clear yellow signal when mechanically activated. This could pave the way for smart, self-reporting materials in construction, transportation, and electronics.

Researchers at Kumamoto University, in collaboration with colleagues in South Korea and Taiwan, have discovered that a unique cobalt-based molecule with metal–metal bonds can function as a spin quantum bit (spin qubit)—a fundamental unit for future quantum computers. The findings provide a new design strategy for molecular materials used in quantum information technologies.

Researchers at Kumamoto University have uncovered a previously unknown molecular mechanism by which human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) drives the development of adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL), one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat blood cancers. The findings provide critical insight into why only a small fraction of HTLV-1 carriers develop leukemia—and point toward new strategies for targeted therapy.