Ippei Danshita from Kindai University and Daichi Kagamihara from Chuo University used Oqtant, a cloud-based service for state-of-the-art physics experiments provided by the company Infleqtion in the USA, to successfully demonstrate the influence of the anomalous tunneling effect on the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) by operating a BEC experimental setup through the cloud. This is the first time that academic research results obtained using Oqtant have been published as a peer-reviewed scientific paper.

These research findings exemplify the value of a new research approach, in which theoretical physicists conduct experimental studies using cloud-based experimental platforms, and thus hold the potential to significantly expand what theoretical physicists can do in their research. Moreover, the anomalous tunneling is a universal phenomenon predicted to occur not only in BECs but also in materials such as magnets. In this sense, it is of great significance that the influence of such an important phenomenon has been experimentally observed for the first time.

The original paper regarding this work was published in Communications Physics by Nature Portfolio on July 31, 2026.

The initial sequencing and assembly of the medaka genome excluded the assembly of approximately 1,000 regions with repetitive sequences and elements that were too complex for traditional DNA sequencing and assembly techniques. A team of researchers recently used HiFi and ultra-long sequencing technologies to generate reads capable of spanning these repetitive regions, completing one and nearly completing two other medaka strain genomes. The completed genome sequences provide potential roles for variation in genome structure in the phenotype, or observable characteristics, of organisms.

Microwave-assisted catalytic reactors can convert biomass into useful gases such as hydrogen much faster than conventionally heated ones, and researchers from Kyushu University, Japan have captured evidence of why. Using advanced X-ray techniques to observe the catalyst in real time, the team showed that microwaves create tiny, localized hot spots on nickel catalyst particles, accelerating the catalytic reaction. The team hopes to establish an electrified, high-efficiency pathway for carbon-neutral biomass conversion.

A force-responsive molecular system that reversibly switches circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) on and off at the single-molecule level has been developed, as reported by researchers from Japan. The team designed a platform consisting of a supramolecular mechanophore embedded in a polymer network gel, whose CPL emission is switched via swelling with a solvent. This approach provides an accurate way to evaluate force-induced CPL and expands the possibilities for next-generation mechanically responsive optical materials.

The ability to read facial expressions is a vital part of social communication and can be influenced by the observer’s emotional state. In a study, researchers examine whether positive emotions, induced by watching a comedy video, can help improve observers’ sensitivity to subtle positive facial expressions. The study also explores whether this effect differs when faces are covered by masks and whether individual traits, such as empathy and depressive tendencies, are related to these differences.

Researchers found that eye-level neighborhood characteristics and residents’ perceptions of their surrounding environment are associated with sleep health among working adults in Tokyo. Streetscapes with a greater sense of enclosure and perceived safety were linked to longer sleep duration, while greenery may support sleep indirectly by enhancing feelings of safety.