Peer Reviewed

Scientists have developed a model that predicts six tropical fish species will expand into northern parts of Japan as sea temperatures rise.

Researchers discovered the gene expression regulation mechanisms that drive coral transition from a floating larvae to one that sits sedentary in reefs.

An analysis method for protein–protein interactions using proximity-dependent biotinylation for next-generation drugs

- New HPHAC analogues with an embedded nonbenzenoid aromatic ring have been synthesized. - The newly synthesized HPHACs exhibit multistep redox properties and their dicationic species showed an aromatic nature based on macrocyclic conjugation. - Methylation on the nonbenzenoid aromatic ring resulted in the development of "antiaromaticity".

Tests using a mouse model of Alport syndrome suggests that turning off a cell signalling protein may significantly prolong life by preventing kidney scarring.

A research team led by the National Institute for Physiological Sciences and joined by Hokkaido University explored the role of pain neurons in the regulation of endotoxic death. They found that peptide named Reg3γ acts as a pain neuron-enriched brain-targeted hormone that protects the host from endotoxic death.

Scientists develop a method to genetically label neurons with a single gene of interest in mice by combining the anterograde transsynaptic spread of adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) with intersectional gene expression. In two distinct circuits: the retina/primary visual cortex to the superior colliculus and the bilateral motor cortex to the dorsal striatum, injections of AAV1 expressing either Cre or Flpo recombinases and the Cre/Flpo double-dependent AAV into two upstream regions and the downstream region, respectively, were used to label postsynaptic neurons receiving inputs from the two upstream regions.

An innovative sample preparation method for cellular proteomics and protein structural analysis

A team of researchers at Tohoku University have developed a simple lab-based system for growing human muscle cells that are capable of vigorously contracting.

Scientists developed a procedure to reproduce the double peak feature of x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) spectra in liquid water.

Our visual processing is facilitated by spaces near the hand in a process known as hand proximity attention. Using a visual phenomenon called the flash-lag effect, researchers showed that proprioceptive information of a hand contributed to hand proximity attention.

Scientists demonstrate an optical trapping technique using nanotextured black silicon that can efficiently trap polymer chains. By adjusting the laser intensity, these “optical tweezers” can control the florescence color emitted through a local concentration of a perylene-modified polymer solution. From a low intensity blue to high intensity orange, this reversible and fully remote technology can almost reach the entire RGB spectrum.

With the aid of mathematics, materials chemistry enables dimension travel, unveiling that all properties of materials are governed by their dimension.

A Detailed comparative study on the structures and electrical properties of related insulators and superconductors

Scientists have developed a prototype sensor that could help doctors rapidly measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and lactate levels in blood samples from patients, aiding in the rapid assessment of the severity of some diseases.

A Japanese research team created a new way to sort living cells suspended in fluid using an all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip that required only 30 minutes for the entire separation process.

A recent study conducted by Lingnan University and the University of Oxford proposes finds that university graduates retain rewards despite their diminishing scarcity as long as they possess good cognitive skills.

Using electricity, a new method offers the possibility of recycling CO2 while also performing a notoriously difficult reaction, producing compounds potentially useful for drug development.

• Your chances of getting resuscitated by a bystander in Asia if your heart suddenly stops while in a public place depends on whether you’re a man or a woman. • Across nine Asian communities, in public locations, the bystander CPR rates were 31.2 per cent for females and 36.4 per cent for males. • For women, the chances of receiving bystander CPR when suffering a cardiac arrest in a public out-of-hospital setting is lower than for men; in homes or private places, the likelihood is reversed.

Diarrhea is common in calves and causes enormous financial losses to the livestock industry worldwide. Antibiotics are often used to treat this, but it causes harmful side effects. A research group addressed this problem by exploring an alternative method. Feces from healthy donors were analysed before being transplanted into calves suffering from diarrhea in a process called fecal microbiota transplantation.

The compact, lightweight device generates electricity when shaken and can power 100 LEDs.

New research finds the extent of arterial occlusive disease in the popliteal artery correlates with the prognosis of peripheral arterial disease in lower limbs. The study of 31 patients who underwent percutaneous angioplasty of femoropopliteal artery (FPA) proved for the first time that ulcerated plaque observed in the FPA during angioscopy is the source of the thromboembolic mechanism in the popliteal artery.

An international team of researchers respond to criticisms on previous work that demonstrated Mirror Self-Recognition (MSR) in the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus, by 1) successfully repeating the mark test with a larger sample size, 2) showing the MSR behaviour to be the visual result of the mark not a physical response to it, and 3) showing that MSR-trained fish do not show aggression to spatially varied mirror images of themselves. Additionally, they further demonstrate potential self-awareness in L. dimidiatus by showing that they do not demonstrate MSR behaviour when visually presented with the mark on other fish and solidify the importance of ecologically relevant marks presented in previous work by showing MSR behaviour of L. dimidiatus with brown marks, meant to resemble a main food source of the fish, as opposed to no such behaviour in fish with green or blue marks.

This is a novel study that attempted to construct a pH-sensitive delivery system into T cells and their subsets using carboxy-terminal Phe- and CHex-modified dendrimers with different structures, i.e. PAMAM-CHex-Phe and PAMAM-Phe-CHex. The findings contribute to the development of nanoplatforms for direct delivery to T cells to control the functions of T cells, which play key roles in cancer immunotherapy. This is the first report on direct delivery into T cells using pH-sensitive DDS.

Simulations have led to the fabrication of a polymer-DNA gel that could be used in tissue regeneration and robotics.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo demonstrate the theoretically optimal search method for organisms that employ the “run-and-tumble” technique, and find that it conforms with observations of chemotaxis by E. coli, which may help automate drones

Through numerical simulations, a researcher details the discovery of a new isolated skyrmion with a half-integer topological quantum number in the ferromagnetic phase of the magnetic quantum fluid Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The new skyrmion is generated by applying a spin current to a magnetic domain wall and it has an eccentric (off-center) spin singularity inside it.

A new study on nematode worms reveals physical contact with objects can help prevent neuromuscular decline in simulated microgravity. The research provides new insights into maintaining human health in space.

Better understanding of regeneration in hemichordates may eventually lead to advances in reparative medicine

Research by Japanese scientists at Hiroshima University reveals a way to make ammonia from its constituent molecules of nitrogen and hydrogen at ambient pressure.