Osaka Metropolitan University researchers successfully synthesized spherical Rh-Pd-Ir-Pt-Au HEA NPs with a mean diameter of approximately 10 nm in an aqueous mixed metal salt solution without any additional chemical reductants.

How dinosaurs digested food has long remained a mystery because soft tissues such as stomachs and intestines are rarely preserved in the fossil record. In a new study, researchers analyzed the shapes and wear patterns of gastroliths—stones preserved in the abdominal cavities of dinosaurs—and compared them with those of living birds and crocodilians. The results suggest that rounded, heavily worn gastroliths indicate the presence of muscular stomachs used to grind food, while angular gastroliths are associated with less muscular stomachs. Applying this framework to dinosaurs, the team found evidence that different groups evolved distinct digestive strategies. Some toothless theropods likely processed plant material using bird-like muscular stomachs, whereas herbivorous dinosaurs such as sauropods and ornithischians may have relied more on their teeth and prolonged intestinal fermentation than on gastrolith-assisted grinding. The study presents a new hypothesis for the evolution of dinosaur digestive systems and provides a framework for reconstructing feeding biology by integrating gastrolith evidence with other dietary indicators.

Researchers from the University of Osaka found that hepatocyte-derived extracellular vesicles treated with sPLA2 (SPLEVs) induce a lipid counterstorm that counteracts cytokine storm in mice with acute respiratory distress syndrome. SPLEVs also demonstrated significant beneficial effects in mouse models of sepsis, coagulopathy, liver injury, colitis, and pneumonia. As lysophosphatidylglycerols were identified as a key mediator of SPLEV activity, these findings suggest a promising approach for developing inexpensive, cell-free anti-inflammatory treatments.

Hiroshima University researchers show that natural tooth count serves as a prognostic marker associated with long-term overall survival following pancreatectomy for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. 

Grounding intermittent art festivals such as the Setouchi Triennale within the resource capacities and social thresholds of the island communities that host them is a path to the sustainable long-term revitalization of these communities.

Xenophagocytosis is a natural immune process that limits interspecies organ generation by eliminating living donor cells, report researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By uncovering how embryonic macrophages eliminate living donor cells, the researchers developed strategies to block this response. Using this strategy, they significantly improved donor cell survival and generation of rat pancreas in mice, bringing us one step closer to producing transplantable human organs in animals.

A new study suggests that a soy-derived lysolecithin, LPC70, reduced high-salt diet (HSD)-induced hypertension, social behavior deficits, and object recognition memory impairment in mice. The benefits are associated with receptor-specific regulation in prostaglandin (PG) signaling. An increased production of arachidonic acid-derived PGs was also noted. The findings suggest LPC70 may serve as a functional food ingredient to mitigate HSD-associated cardiovascular and cognitive decline.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers found that participation in community gathering places was associated with a lower risk of cognitive disability among older adults without regular exercise habits. In this group, participants had about half the risk of developing cognitive disability compared with non-participants, whereas no such association was observed among older adults who already exercised regularly. 

Researchers at Hokkaido University have developed an efficient new technology that delivers mitochondria into target cells in a way that maintains their energy-producing functions.