A Japanese research team has uncovered how sugar chains (glycans) modifications dynamically regulate the structure and function of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. By integrating nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the study reveals "molecular meridians"—structural pathways through which glycan signals propagate across the Fc region. Published in PNAS, this work provides a new framework for designing next-generation therapeutic antibodies.

Chemical-free pesticides and integrated pest management are the need of the hour to limit the damage to the environment while improving food productivity. In a new study, researchers from Japan have turned their attention to aromatic bush basil plants to contain agricultural pests. They found that the volatile organic compounds emitted from bush basil could activate plant defense-related genes in the leaves of common bean plants cultivated closer to bush basil.

A joint research team from Japan has observed "heavy fermions," electrons with dramatically enhanced mass, exhibiting quantum entanglement governed by the Planckian time – the fundamental unit of time in quantum mechanics. This discovery opens up exciting possibilities for harnessing this phenomenon in solid-state materials to develop a new type of quantum computer.