Peer Reviewed

In a phase 2 trial, researchers from Osaka University have found that erythromycin, a commonly used antibiotic, has acceptable safety and tolerability profiles in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1. This common form of muscular dystrophy currently has no cure, and the research team is hopeful that phase 2b and 3 trials will further reveal the efficacy of erythromycin as a treatment—at least in some patients.

Researchers from Osaka University and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory found that neuronal activity induces gene expression at sites of acetylation by promoting the emergence of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), CREB binding protein (CBP), and RNA polymerase II. These proteins are targeted to the appropriate sites by CBP-mediated histone acetylation at activity-dependent gene loci.

- Professor Sunghoon Im's team at DGIST has developed depth-sensing technology that can be reliably used in diverse environments by analyzing the relationship between the neural network structure and distance sensing in autonomous driving. - The new technology is expected to contribute to the development of a wide range of AI fields, such as autonomous driving, which must be performed safely in various urban settings and weather conditions

- Professor Kyung-In Jang’s research team at DGIST has developed a complex taste sensor that mimics the gustatory system and detects saltiness, sourness, bitterness, and sweetness in real-time. - It is expected to be applied in various fields, including the food, cosmetics, and medicine industries

Kavli IPMU researchers are part of a team that has shown it is possible to image small animal tissue clearly to several hundred micrometers using multi-probe imaging.

Researchers employ common plastics to kickstart radical chain reactions, creating a way to reuse plastic waste while improving process safety and efficiency.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University assessed the correlation between human mobility restrictions and the medical costs associated with lifestyle-related diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A cross-sectional study revealed that an increase in walking and public transit use was associated with reduced medical costs of lifestyle diseases. These findings implicate governments to take measures other than restricting walking and public transit during pandemics and emphasize the importance of walkable cities.

Scientists at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed an efficient, non-invasive, and pain-free method to generate canine-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They identified six reprogramming genes that can boost canine iPSC generation by 120 times compared to conventional methods using fibroblasts. The iPSCs were created from urine-derived cells without the need for feeder cells, an impossible feat until now. Their findings are expected to advance regenerative medicine and genetic disease research in veterinary medicine.

A research group led by Osaka University and University of Hawaii Manoa found that in female fruit flies, microorganisms enhance reproductive function, boosting the number of cells that form eggs and the number of mature eggs. This is done by controlling the release of hormones to speed up cell division in the ovaries, and limiting programmed cell death. These findings could improve reproductive medicine and could aid the development of new methods to enhance fertility.

Identifying low-cost metal oxide electrocatalysts is essential to help us wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Yet doing so is a time-consuming process, with lots of trial and error required. A group of researchers has explored how data mining can be employed to help speed up this process.

Researchers from Osaka University have shown that the rare D-form of the amino acid alanine shows a clear circadian rhythm, and is able to affect the circadian clock and regulate gluconeogenesis, a method of glucose release, in the kidney. D-alanine upregulates genes linked to both gluconeogenesis and the circadian rhythm through the circadian transcriptional network. D-alanine is linked to many metabolic and immunological diseases, and this mechanistic insight could potentially lead to novel therapeutic approaches.

A research team at Osaka Metropolitan University has fabricated a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor using diamond, which of all natural materials has the highest thermal conductivity on earth, as a substrate, and they succeeded in increasing heat dissipation by more than two times compared with conventional transistors. The transistor is expected to be useful not only in the fields of 5G communication base stations, weather radar, and satellite communications, but also in microwave heating and plasma processing.

Researchers from Osaka University have discovered how amino acids activate a key cell, TORC1, which is a master regulator in living organisms that controls whether cells grow or recycle their contents in yeast. Notably, the team found that the amino acid cysteine is sensed by a protein called Pib2 and that the two bind together to trigger TORC1. This is important because faulty TORC1 has been linked to disease such as cancer.

We’re all familiar with our body’s internal clock: it gives us cues on when to wake and when to rest, but it also can determine the rate and time of day at which your body most effectively heals wounds.

Using conventional X-rays and lasers to detect the atomic state of hydrogen is challenging, given its small size. A group of researchers may have overcome this barrier by unveiling a new visualization technique that employs an optical microscope and polyaniline to paint a better picture of how hydrogen behaves in metals.

SUTD researchers developed an advanced system of breast cancer cell detection with improved speed and sensitivity, using a viral mechanism to enhance the tool’s sensing accuracy.

Researchers identify RBFox1 as a key intrinsic regulator of heart muscle cell maturation, overcoming a major limitation in cardiac regenerative therapy and disease modelling and demonstrating for the first time that RNA splicing control can significantly impact this process.

Riding the momentum of the environment-aware agenda, SUTD researchers were part of an international collaboration that developed a sustainable approach to discover and identify materials for next-generation electronics.

A previously mysterious small RNA molecule in mice is found to play a crucial role in gene expression, and may be the first identified member of a new class of regulatory RNAs.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences a computational method to predict the placement of proteins on AFM substrates based on electrostatic interactions.

Researchers from Osaka University created an online space for conversation, collaboration and knowledge sharing among patients with rare diseases, their families, researchers and policymakers. A series of workshops generated evidence that could contribute to new policies in the field of rare diseases and explore ways that stakeholders could be involved in the process.

Researchers from Osaka University and collaborating partners have developed a new means of manipulating Mie scattering from nanostructures. By judicious choice of the laser illumination position with respect to the center of a nanostructure, one can strongly enhance optical responses that would not have been otherwise possible. This work is an important milestone in modern meta-photonics and will benefit computing and communication technologies.

Asteroids offer valuable windows into the early solar system, given that they are remnants of planetary embryos that failed to form into planets. A recent analysis of samples from Ryugu offered insights into the composition of water- and carbon-rich small bodies in the solar system.

Researchers from Osaka University investigated the thermal energy changes across nanopores that allow the selective flow of ions. Switching off the flow of ions in one direction led to a cooling effect. The findings have applications in nanofluidic devices and provide insight into the factors governing ion channels in cells. The nanopore material could be tailored to tune the cooling and arrays could be produced to scale up the effect.

- Professor Jong-min Choi’s research team at DGIST develops a stabilization technology that simultaneously increases efficiency and stability by applying MXene to quantum dot photovoltaic cells - The introduction of MXene is expected to improve the performance of various electronic devices

- DGIST Professor Dae-ha Seo's research team has successfully developed optical microscopy analysis technology, based on nanochemistry and machine learning, that can observe the phase separation phenomenon of the cell membrane - The technology accurately analyzes the nanoenvironment of the cell membrane and is expected to greatly contribute to disease mechanism research and diagnostic technology

- Doctor Heo Su-jin and Professor Jang Jae-eun’s research team from DGIST developed an ultra-small nano vacuum tube transistor that stably operates in atmospheric pressure without being affected by extreme environments.

A research team led by Osaka Metropolitan University focused on generative AI as an information-gathering tool in the medical field. The results showed that one of the generative AIs suggested mostly fictitious references, while the other suggested multiple references with the same level of accuracy as the researchers. The use of generative AI in literature search suggests the possibility of efficiently collecting a vast amount of medical information, provided that users are well aware that the performance of generative AI is still in its infancy and that not all information presented is necessarily reliable. It is advised to use different generative AIs depending on the type of information needed.

While anger and aggression are instinctive behaviors found across many species, leaving these emotions unchecked can lead to conflict and violence. In a recent study, researchers at Tohoku University demonstrated that neuronal-glial interactions in the cerebellum determine the degree of aggression exhibited by mice. This suggests that future therapeutic methods could adjust glial activity in the cerebellum to help reduce unwanted aggression.

Decreasing pancreatic beta cell numbers – the only cells that produce insulin – is a leading cause of diabetes. In a promising development, a research group has revealed that stimulating autonomic vagal nerves connected to the pancreas can improve the function and also increase the number of pancreatic beta cells in mice.