Peer Reviewed

(1) The development of solid state and time-step VCD methods opened a new horizon to reveal the mechanism of chirality amplification from microscopic to supramolecular scales. (2) The authors were selected as PCCP Emerging Investigators of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

A team of scientists and researchers from A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network and Jinan University, Guangzhou, have deciphered human embryonic immune cell development and discovered how the earliest macrophages in humans, a type of white blood cell of the immune system, stems from a distinct embryonic source and not the bone marrow.

An adenovirus is now better able to target and kill cancer cells due to the addition of an RNA stabilizing element.

The generation of alkyl radicals was achieved by direct visible-light excitation of the organoborate complex, which was designed and synthesized from “boracene,” which has a boron atom in the tetracene-like skeleton. The alkyl radicals thus obtained could be used as a carbon source for chemical reactions, enabling the synthesis of complicated/bulky organic compounds. The present study offers a new protocol for organic synthesis, which is expected to accelerate e.g. drug discovery.

A re-analysis of dinosaur skulls from northern Alaska suggests they belong to a genus that lived over a broad latitudinal range extending into the Arctic.

Even though the deeper layers of the ocean are warming at a slower pace than the surface, animals living in the deep ocean are more exposed to climate warming and will face increasing challenges to maintain their preferred thermal habitats in the future.

Wastewater could be used as a surveillance tool to monitor the invasion, spread and eradication of COVID-19 in communities.

Researchers have succeeded in detecting anti-avian influenza virus antibody in blood serum within 20 minutes, using a portable analyzer they have developed to conduct rapid on-site bio tests. If a suitable reagent is developed, this technology could be used to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of COVID-19.

When studying the larval morphology of Toramini (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) we found that larvae of the genus Toramus attach their exuviae to their distal abdomen, with each exuvia from the preceding instar attached to the next to form a vertical pile. Exuvial attachment is facilitated by modified hook-like setae with flattened shafts inserted into the exuvia of the previous instar. We discuss the possibility that the exuvial attachment serves as a kind of autotomy — “exuvial autotomy”.

A group of Hokkaido University researchers has developed a paper-based device that can easily and cheaply measure lithium ion concentration in blood, which could greatly help bipolar disorder patients.

Research into how the SARS-CoV-2 virus induces death is suggesting potential treatments for its most destructive complications.

New data on East Asian populations will guide researchers and clinicians to develop novel therapeutic strategies tailored to individual lung cancer patients.

Scientists say some myelin-damaging disorders have a distinctive pathology that groups them into a unique disease entity.

Research at Kanazawa University, Theragen Etex Bio Institute and Seoul National University as reported in Nature Communications points towards pathways for the metastasis and malignant transitions that result from changes in the protein p53. The results suggest that the cooperative development of mutations in the proteins helps tumours spread and metastasis.

Japanese 'bone engineers' have developed a bone-substitute biomaterial used in dental grafts that reduces the need for harvesting bone from the patient's own body.

The group clarified for the first time whether formate dehydrogenase reduces carbon dioxide, biocarbonate ion, or carbonate ion to formic acid. Points to a catalyst in developing and designing an artificial photosynthesis system that efficiently converts carbon dioxide into organic molecules.

Hydrogen fuel cells made with coordination polymer glass membranes could produce as much energy as their liquid-based counterparts while adding strength and flexibility.

Insights into a flipping crystal could further research into the development of autonomous robots.

There is currently a strong demand to replace organic liquid electrolytes used in conventional rechargeable batteries, with solid-state ionic conductors which will enable the batteries to be safer and have higher energy density.

In a recent study published in Molecular Cell, researchers at Kanazawa University report the role of cellular structures called PML bodies in regulating gene function

When the master regulator of protein production malfunctions, it may contribute to the development of neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

A study presenting evidence for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the air is published in Nature.

Nationwide mobile phone data tracking aggregated movements of people in China can accurately predict the geographical and temporal spread of COVID-19 infections up to two weeks ahead of time, according to a study in Nature.

A multinational team of researchers from Tohoku University and institutions in the UK, Germany and Switzerland has revealed the magnetic states of nanoscale gyroids, 3D chiral network-like nanostructures. The findings add a new candidate system for research into unconventional information processing and emergent phenomena relevant to spintronics.

An international research team has revealed that this ‘super-rotation’ is maintained near the equator by atmospheric tidal waves formed from solar heating on the planet’s dayside and cooling on its nightside.

A small mitochondrial protein is necessary for energy production and its malfunction could be behind a range of degenerative diseases, according to study by Duke-NUS Medical School and their collaborators.

A theoretical mineral physics approach based on the ab initio methods was adopted to determine the viscosity of hexagonal, close-packed iron at the extreme pressures and temperatures corresponding to the Earth’s inner core. The results are found to deny geophysical observations of large fluctuations in the inner core rotation rate. The obtained viscosity also rules out inner core translation and provides support that the dynamics of the inner core may be governed by solid-state convection.

The best timing for endoscopy of patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is still controversial among the medical community. A recent study conducted by the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) found that for patients with overt signs of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, urgent endoscopy performed within 6 hours after gastroenterological consultation was not associated with lower mortality and risk of further bleeding, compared with endoscopy performed between 6 and 24 hours after consultation. In other words, earlier endoscopy did not lower mortality nor improve outcomes. The study results have just been published in the top medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Researchers at Kanazawa University and Tsukuba University report in Nanoscale that the physical properties of extracellular bacterial membrane vesicles are significantly diverse. The properties for a single type of bacterium as well as for different types are found to be highly heterogeneous.

New understandings of how lipids function within tears could lead to better drugs for treating dry eye disease.