Illiberal pro-China narratives serve as sharp power tools, influencing democratic societies. Researchers analyzed Twitter (now X) data and conducted experiments on political ideology and aversion to protests. Findings show both left- and right-wing groups engage with these narratives. Notably, right-wing individuals, despite criticizing China, accept illiberal narratives when triggered by protest aversion. Further experiments confirm that those strongly averse to protests resist liberal narratives, revealing a key vulnerability in Japan’s political discourse.

Large-scale multidisciplinary ecological survey reveals long-term changes in the eastern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

Koun Shirai from The University of Osaka gives an answer to a long-standing question in theoretical glass physics: what does it mean to be an order parameter for an inherently out-of-equilibrium system? Starting from first principles, Shirai reexamines what it means to be in equilibrium and arrives at the conclusion that order parameters of glass are merely time-averaged positions of atoms. 

Researchers from the NCVC discover that ATF3 expression in cardiomyocytes triggers the transition to heart failure in mitochondrial disease patient.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team investigated the case of a male Asian small-clawed otter that fell down the stairs while sleeping, after which it developed left-sided paralysis.