University of Tokyo

Earth has been blasted by the second strongest ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray ever observed. While its origins remain unknown, astrophysicists are pointing the finger at the Local Void, a fundamentally empty area of the cosmos next to the Milky Way.

What has eyes, antennae, swimming bristles, a genes stash and a feel for autonomy? The rear end of the bizarre Japanese green syllid worm. Scientists now know how the end of the animal detaches and swims off to find a similar tail of the opposite sex.

Japanese scientists have developed a new type of plastic that can easily break down on demand into its base components. In seawater it starts to break down into food for marine life, and just to top it off, it can self-heal and remember past shapes.

Cosmic radio signals are beaming to Earth every day – and astronomers are stumped as to their origin. Now a new study finds evidence that these signals, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), could be caused by “starquakes.”

When it comes to locating landing pads or other landmarks, drones rely largely on visual cues. So, what happens if it's dark or foggy, and there's no ground-based power for lights? Well, that's where the Millisign system is intended to come in.

GPS doesn’t work as well inside buildings, underground or underwater. Now engineers in Japan have developed and tested an alternative technology that uses cosmic rays to track movement beneath a building with precision of a few meters.

Equipping people with extra sets of robotic arms could definitely help them perform certain tasks, but what role might such arms play in social interactions? The wild-looking Jizai Arms were designed with that question in mind.

Unlike the stuff underneath your TV cabinet, interstellar dust plays a major part in the total luminosity of the galaxy. Scientists have used long-term observational data to see how interstellar dust correlates with a star’s brightness.

A remarkable group of drone prototypes from a team at the University of Tokyo takes multirotor complexity to the next level. These hypnotic flying robots are able to change their structural shape mid-air, creating some unprecedented capabilities.

Microalgae are widely used in products such as biofuels, nutritional supplements and cosmetics. A newly-described type has been found in a home aquarium – and it could prove to be particularly useful.

Researchers in Japan have demonstrated a promising new cancer treatment. The team developed artificial DNA sequences shaped like hairpins that latch onto molecules overexpressed in cancer and trigger a strong immune response.

DNA is a promising data storage medium, but it’s difficult to retrieve and manipulate data written to it. Now a team has developed “chemical neurons” that can conduct calculations on data stored in DNA and read back the answers easily.