Published on June 12 in the Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials, and Metrology (JM³), Professor Tsumoru Shintake of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), has proposed a radical redesign to the illumination systems and projectors used in high numerical aperture (high-NA) EUV lithography. Simulations suggest that his design could eliminate troublesome optical (so-called ‘mask 3D’) effects, enhance resolution and enable the manufacture of smaller computer chips at lower cost than current EUV methods. 

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Sharp Corporation, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, and TECHLAB Co., Ltd. jointly reduced the total weight of a planar antenna for NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) applications by 47% (from 5.5 kg to 2.9 kg) through a new heat dissipation device design.

This was achieved by integrating a CFRP heat dissipation device using a composite material combining carbon fiber prepreg and graphite sheet into the NTN planar antenna. The required electrical performance of the planar antenna was also confirmed. In addition, operation including the modem was confirmed as a satellite communication user terminal.

The achievement greatly expands the range of mobility platforms on which the terminal can be deployed, including drones and vehicles. It is expected to support the establishment of communication links in mountainous areas and disaster-affected regions, real-time transmission of location information from various types of mobility, and future applications such as autonomous driving, thereby representing a major step toward the realization of NTN.

Physicists have long wondered whether the fundamental laws of nature contain freely adjustable external “dials.” A researcher at Kyushu University and collaborators have shown, under certain assumptions, that continuous parameters in conformal field theories can be generated by operators within the theory itself. The findings support Einstein’s idea that apparent free parameters in quantum gravity should be explained by dynamical fields rather than chosen externally.

Tedious trial-and-error, or a systematic screening method? The latter is the clear winner, but how do we go about doing it? Researchers at Tohoku University explain the workflow, and how it screened for an efficient, Ruthenium-based catalyst.

Researchers from The University of Osaka found that using a sequence analysis approach that incorporates awareness of insertions and deletions in extramembrane domains enabled accurate reconstruction of ancestral rhodopsins that folded correctly and functioned as predicted when expressed in E. coli. The researchers’ ConsistASR analytical pipeline could be used to engineer other ancestral proteins in the future.

Peptides are important biological compounds that carry key information for many biological processes. However, accurately reading their sequences has long been a challenge. In a new study, researchers developed a mass-spectrometry-based approach that attaches a coumarin-derived tag to the N-terminus of each peptide, enabling accurate and reliable sequencing of even short peptides, directly from spectral data without relying on protein sequence databases. This helps in identifying novel peptides.

A new fluorescent reporter capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution has been developed, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using this new tool, they revealed striking differences in the distribution of iron and oxygen across organs and even between neighboring cells of the same type. This innovation could serve as a platform for studying cancer, liver diseases, neurodegeneration, and aging.

New research shows that the nutritional value of Indian millets includes a rich diversity of lipids, including a previously undetected group that may offer potential health benefits.

New culture system enables the stable, scalable, and low-cost production of clinical-grade intestinal organoids, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Whereas conventional organoid cultures rely on materials and substances unsuitable for clinical use, this innovative strategy uses clinical-grade collagen and good manufacturing practice-compliant reagents/factors and techniques to achieve drastically enhanced growth. The results put us one step closer to organoid-based regenerative therapies for conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.

Researchers at the University of Osaka have developed a quantum mechanical model for concentrated organic radical solutions considering stochastic collisions between molecules. The first-order contribution to intermolecular interactions is averaged to zero by collisional fluctuations, but the second-order term survives and enhances the magnetic susceptibility. These results explain experimental observations of an anomalous increase in the magnetic susceptibility at the solid-to-fluid transition that cannot be predicted by conventional theories.