Peer Reviewed

Drugs can be safely delivered to cancerous lymph nodes via the lymphatic system and then released inside the nodes using sound waves. Tohoku University researchers tested the treatment on mice with metastatic breast cancer and published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

Fossil coral records provide new evidence that frequent winter shamals, or dust storms, and a prolonged cold winter season contributed to the collapse of the ancient Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.

Large-scale study to identify human adenovirus genotypes in Singapore leads to discovery of four new adenovirus strains and increase in strains linked to severe diseases. Researchers suggest use of antiviral therapies and adenovirus vaccines, and routine monitoring of adenovirus strains.

When a fly eats sugar, a single brain cell sends simultaneous messages to stimulate one hormone and inhibit another to control glucose levels in the body. Further research into this control system with remarkable precision could shed light on the neural mechanisms of diabetes and obesity in humans.

Two new Pd-based initiating systems for C1 polymerization of diazoacetates were reported: Pd(nq)2/borate (nq = naphthoquinone, borate = NaBPh4) and [Pd(cod)(Cl-nq)Cl/borate] [cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, Cl-nq = 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone]. The former exhibited high activity, affording poly(alkoxycarbonylmethylene)s with high molecular weights in high yields. The latter was effective for controlling the stereostructure of the resulting polymers.

A group of neurons called the corticobasal ganglia projecting neurons are important for vocal learning in young birds, but not in adult birds, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A compound effective in killing chemotherapy-resistant glioblastoma-initiating cells (GICs) has been identified, raising hopes of producing drugs capable of eradicating refractory tumors with low toxicity.

Nitrogen-embedded polycyclic compounds with strong antiaromaticity and stability were synthesized and isolated for the first time using pyrrole as a key unit. An expedited approach toward stable antiaromatic polycyclic compounds enables not only the revealing of its fundamental properties, but also its application to organic electronic materials.

A research team of Ehime University paved a way to achieve unexplored III-V semiconductor nanostructures. They grew branched GaAs nanowires with a nontoxic Bi element employing characteristic structural modifications correlated with metallic droplets, as well as crystalline defects and orientations. The finding provides a rational design concept for the creation of semiconductor nanostructures with the concentration of constituents beyond the fundamental limit, making it potentially applicable to novel efficient near-infrared devices and quantum electronics.

Comprehensive genomic information of largely understudied Asian populations will expand understanding on the biology of diseases.

Polycyclic heteroaromatic molecules are a highly useful class of organic materials. In this study, synthesis of a new azacoronene, in which both pyrrole and azulene moieties are circularly fused, was achieved in just three steps. This new azacoronene exhibited multistep reversible oxidations under electrochemical and chemical conditions. Formation of an aromatic 22π-electron conjugation and a tropylium cation (6π-electron conjugation) in the dicationic state played a key role in stabilizing this cationic species.

Faulty signalling pathway causes the heart to develop unnaturally while in the embryo stage, according to Duke-NUS Medical School researchers.

Stereotypical gender role attitudes and negative images of STEM fields of Japanese parents may be associated with girls’ reduced university participation, new study finds.

The captured CO2 can be converted into useful organic materials.

Results from the first long-term cohort study of more than 36,000 Japanese men over decades suggest an association between eating mushrooms and a lower risk of prostate cancer.

X-rays could be tuned to deliver a more effective punch that destroys cancer cells and not harm the body.

Jellyfish are animals that possess the unique ability to regenerate body parts. A team of Japanese scientists has now revealed the cellular mechanisms that give jellyfish these remarkable "superpowers."

A team of Japanese and Italian researchers, including from Tohoku University, have evidenced mechanically delivered projectile weapons in Europe dating to 45,000-40,000 years - more than 20,000 years than previously thought. This study, entitled "The earliest evidence for mechanically delivered projectile weapons in Europe" published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, indicated that the spearthrower and bow-and-arrow technologies allowed modern humans to hunt more successfully than Neanderthals - giving them a competitive advantage. This discovery offered important insight to understand the reasons for the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans.

DNA amplification -- a molecular "photocopying" technique where genetic material is replicated -- has many applications in scientific research, forensic science, and medical laboratories. It is useful for detecting and identifying certain forms of cancer and viral diseases, and holds promise for treating these diseases in the future.

An experiment shows that one of the basic units of life — nucleobases — could have originated within giant gas clouds interspersed between the stars.

Hokkaido University researchers have shown how chronic pain leads to suppression of the brain reward system.

A new type of degradable synthetic polymer was prepared by Rh-catalyzed three-component polymerization of a bis(diazocarbonyl) compound, bis(1,3-diketone), and tetrahydrofuran. The resulting polymer, poly(β-keto enol ether), was highly sensitive to mild acidic conditions and degraded into a combination of well-defined low molecular weight compounds. With this unique degradability, the polymer could be utilized as an environmentally friendly polymeric material.

A magma ocean existing during the core formation is thought to have been highly depleted in carbon due to its high-siderophile (iron loving) behavior. Thus, most of the carbon forming the atmosphere and life on Earth may have been delivered by a carbon-rich embryo after the core formation. However, a new high-pressure experiment has shown that previous studies may have overestimated the amount of carbon partitioning to the core.

Dissolved oxygen in pore solution is often a controlling factor determining the rate of the corrosion process of steel bars in concrete. This study reports on the corrosion resistance and polarization properties of steel bars in a mortar specimen mixed with aerobic microorganisms. The addition of the microorganisms in mortar mixtures led to higher corrosion resistance, which was confirmed by the reduced rate of oxygen permeability, based on cathodic polarization properties.

Research groups from Tohoku University and Purdue University - which included Professor Hideo Ohno (the current president of Tohoku University) -jointly developed an unconventional spintronics device harnessing thermal fluctuations and showed a proof-of-concept for probabilistic computing.

A new study has estimated for the first time how the eruption of Mount Tambora changed the probability of the cold and wet European ‘year without a summer’ of 1816.

Differential changes in brain functional network connectivity in people with mild cognitive impairment may aid early tracking of Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science develop a new “tweezer in a tweezer” concept for controlling nanoparticles in fluid with light.

Researchers from China, France and the USA have evaluated China’s success in stemming emissions from its coal-fired power plants (CPPs).

The formation of excess fibrous tissue in the heart, which underlies several heart diseases, could be prevented by inhibiting specific proteins that bind to RNA while its code is being translated.