Semi-structured interviews conducted with bereaved family caregivers and healthcare professionals involved in end-of-life care show that family caregivers’ desires and healthcare professionals’ support are misaligned, leading to unintended, percolated work. Scientists investigated family caregivers’ experiences during their care journeys and the factors affecting cooperative activities between caregivers and medical professionals to understand the importance of collaboration in end-of-life care. Their findings propose a potential research trajectory towards medical professionals and technological support.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have developed a novel technology that allows the distribution of components within a single cell to be accurately detected and visualized. Positioning a t-SPESI (tapping-mode scanning probe electrospray ionization) unit above an inverted fluorescence microscope allows visualization of both the sample and the exact location of chemical components analyzed. This provides an increased understanding of complex biological samples, aiding the development of advanced therapies and diagnostic techniques.

Researchers in Japan have developed a digital laboratory (dLab) system that fully automates the material synthesis and structural, physical property evaluation of thin-film samples. With dLab, the team can autonomously synthesize thin-film samples and measure their material properties. The team’s dLab system demonstrates advanced automatic and autonomous material synthesis for data- and robot-driven materials science.

Collagen, a prevalent and predominant part of the structure of bodies, still has some mystique surrounding the finer aspects of its existence. Here, researchers look into the mechanism of orientation within collagen to elucidate some of the lesser-known aspects of this protein and how it can be used in future applications.

A research group led by FUJINO Misako and HARUNO Masahiko at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), has demonstrated that experiencing active flight in VR allows individuals to predict that they can transition to a safe state even if they fall from a height, thereby reducing fear responses. This discovery challenges the traditional understanding that fear extinction necessarily requires repeated exposure to fear-inducing stimuli.

In this study, the researchers compared a group of participants who actively experienced low-altitude VR flight (Flight Group) with a control group who passively watched recordings of the flight experience. The Flight Group showed significantly greater reductions in both physiological (skin conductance response, SCR) and subjective (self-reported fear score, SFS) fear responses when walking on a virtual plank at high altitude compared to the Control Group. Furthermore, among the Flight Group participants, those who more strongly felt "I can fly, so falling is not dangerous" exhibited a greater reduction in fear responses.

These results suggest that "action-based prediction" can reduce fear responses without relying on repeated exposure, potentially offering a new approach to fear extinction.

The findings were published online on May 13, 2025, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A research team from The University of Osaka has made a significant breakthrough in cancer radiotherapy by identifying conditions under which carbon ion beams—delivered at ultra-high dose rates (uHDR)—can protect normal cells. This phenomenon, known as the “FLASH effect,” could revolutionize cancer treatment by reducing side effects and improving patients’ quality of life.

Scientists have demonstrated a dual-laser Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry system that performs distributed strain and temperature sensing while shifting the Brillouin signal to a much lower 200 MHz band. The simpler, less-costly layout broadens the range of practical applications for fiber-optic sensing.