Plants cannot uproot themselves to go and find the optimal environment for their survival. The circadian clock is a crucial survival strategy enabling plants to stay alive while they respond appropriately to a changing environment. Each cell has a clock gene, and these genes are thought to be synchronized somehow. How is the circadian clock involved in the physiological phenomena of plants? And given that plants do not have a central organ equivalent to the mammalian brain, how do they synchronize their multiple clocks?

Over the course of their evolution, the ancestors of plants incorporated microbes called cyanobacteria and gained the ability to carry out photosynthesis to produce organic matter from inorganic substances. As a result, plants came to play a part in nourishing almost all living organisms. Furthermore, plants developed more sophisticated immune functions thanks to symbiosis with microorganisms called endophytes, evolving in tandem with them, leading to the acquisition of temperature resistance and other functions that minimized the adverse impacts of the external environments. The interests of plants and endophytes are similar, and one might say it was the providence of nature that resulted in their finding common ground after a long time.

Photosynthesis is the reaction in which plants use light to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic matter and emit oxygen. Thanks to photosynthesis, the organisms on Earth that require oxygen are able to survive and evolve. Accordingly, photosynthesis has been described as one of the best mechanisms to have emerged since life on our planet came into existence. The detailed mechanism had remained shrouded in mystery down through the ages. However, a fragment of that mechanism has now, at last, been revealed. Further studies on the process may lead to the realization of artificial photosynthesis, which will undoubtedly contribute substantially to the combat against global warming.

Plants cannot simply get up and move to a different environment. However, plants that have adapted to the environment in which they have emerged and expanded their habitats via methods of reproduction that ensure the continuation of life flourish across the globe. They have the ability to produce organic matter from inorganic substances by means of photosynthesis and their unparalleled productivity helps to provide nourishment for animals. Charles Darwin is reputed to have said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." This statement truly does apply to plants.

Covering about 70% of the earth's surface, the ocean is home to a diverse array of organisms that significantly affect our planet's ecosystem. These include microscopic phytoplankton, which play a major role as a carbon sink. This means marine phytoplankton are a crucial factor influencing climate. And it is virtually certain that giant viruses are one of the factors regulating phytoplankton. Unraveling the relationship between these giant viruses and phytoplankton is likely to make a substantial contribution to future measures to combat climate change.

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. As almost all infected bacteria die, phages could be described as the natural predators of bacteria. The treatment of infectious diseases using this effect is called phage therapy and was once very common. However, due to the discovery of antibiotics, phage therapy eventually became a forgotten approach. In recent years, though, phage therapy has come back under the spotlight, with the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, against which antibiotics are completely ineffective.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the emergence of next-generation sequencers has made large-scale genome analysis possible, resulting in dramatic advances in research into enteric bacteria and other microorganisms indigenous to the human body. However, hardly any of the approximately 9,000 types of viruses said to infect humans are understood as yet. So far, it has become clear that there are 39 types of viruses in the human body, but many aspects of how they affect our bodies and health remain unknown. Hopes for future research are high.

While Robert Koch asserted that infectious diseases were caused by bacteria, the existence of viruses —— biological entities even smaller than bacteria —— was not known at that time. "Virus" is a Latin word meaning "venom" and the perception of viruses as something bad has become firmly established thanks to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. However, advances in genome analysis have led to the discovery that endogenous retroviruses and a variety of other viruses are involved in the evolution of many organisms. Viruses that do not fit conventional definitions have also been discovered. A new picture of viruses is emerging.

Japan is said to have low rates of adolescent obesity. One factor reportedly contributing to this is the school lunch program, which ensures that children all eat the same meals based on appropriate nutrition standards. Japan's world-class school lunch program has long been the focus of attention, but there had been no large-scale epidemiological studies of its effects. However, the last few years have seen the publication of results from epidemiological research with a public health perspective, based on diverse big data amassed across society. So, what emerged from these results?

Why do children hate vegetables? Given that quite a few vegetables have a sour or bitter taste that induces a defensive response in the body, this is actually an appropriate reaction. However, children's hatred of vegetables is something that bothers many caregivers. What can we do to alleviate that reaction and nurture in children the palate and skills that will prevent them from turning their nose up at vegetables? Experts say the process begins when babies are still in the womb. A well-balanced diet during pregnancy is also key to overcoming children's dislike of vegetables.