Researchers at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) have explored how a combination of photovoltaic energy and heat pumps could be used to carry out the energy retrofitting of social rental housing. The Basque Government’s Zero Plan was used as the basis, and the technologies that the European Union is keen to promote were assessed. The buildings in Araba-Álava were generally found to offer the greatest potential for implementing the system.

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).

Researchers monitoring chimpanzee communities in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, noticed that individuals were helping each other with wound care and hygiene. Some of the chimpanzees even used fresh, chewed leaves from plants known for their traditional medicinal uses and bioactive properties to treat their own and their companions’ wounds. Remarkably, they helped individuals they were genetically related to and individuals they weren’t, despite the potential risk from being exposed to pathogens. Scientists believe these findings could help us understand the cognitive and social foundations of healthcare.