Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University showed that agricultural land preserved around river confluences can help mitigate floods. They make a case for Eco-DRR, an approach that uses existing environmental resources to improve resilience against flooding. Statistical analysis showed that municipalities with agricultural land in areas with high water storage potential suffered fewer floods, with stronger correlation when agricultural land was situated near river confluences. The team hope their findings inform effective land usage.

A team led by Prof. DONG Erbao from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with Prof. YU Xinge from the City University of Hong Kong, developed a novel tactile perception method based on the structural color of flexible grating structural color.

Researchers at the Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institue of Science and Technology (OIST) and their collaborators at the University of the Ryukyus and NTT Communications, have established a robust system to monitor mesophotic coral ecosystems using a combination of underwater robots and eDNA barcoding. Their findings have been published in the journal Coral Reefs. By collecting and analyzing genetic material that corals naturally release into the water – environmental DNA or eDNA – multiple species present in these deeper-water environments can now be identified without direct observations, using these robots. This makes it easier to study previously hard-to-access biodiversity hotspots.

NCCN hosts a Patient Advocacy Summit bringing together leading experts to promote strategies and best practices for improving cancer care, focused on practice and policy solutions for sharing accurate, evidence-based health information with patients and caregivers.

Researchers have developed a novel device that couples magnetic fields and kirigami design principles to remotely control the movement of a flexible dimpled surface, allowing it to manipulate objects without actually grasping them – making it useful for lifting and moving items such as fragile objects, gels or liquids. The technology has potential for use in confined spaces, where robotic arms or similar tools aren’t an option.

With the help of a new experiment, researchers at Linköping University, among others,  have succeeded in confirming a ten-year-old theoretical study, which connects one of the most fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics – the complementarity principle – with information theory. Their study has been published in the journal Science Advances and provides a piece of the puzzle for understanding future quantum communication, metrology, and cryptography.