Japan

News

bones
27 Feb 2023
Scientists at Tokyo Medical and Dental University have discovered a new type of bone repairing material that could be used to more precisely fix bone defects.
More than half of patients suffer long COVID symptoms
24 Feb 2023
A research group from the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine conducted a survey of 285 patients regarding the long-term aftereffects of COVID-19. As a result, they revealed that more than half of COVID-19 patients still had residual symptoms, even close to a year afterward. It became clear that fatigue, abnormalities in senses of taste and smell, hair loss, and sleep disorders could persist, regardless of the severity of the initial COVID-19.
 Photograph of the semitransparent hydrogel used in this study. (Satoshi Tanikawa, et al. Scientific Reports. February 14, 2023)
24 Feb 2023
Synthetic hydrogels were shown to provide an effective scaffold for neuronal tissue growth in areas of brain damage, providing a possible approach for brain tissue reconstruction.
The pioneering solid-state electrochemical thermal transistor developed in this study (Photo: Hiromichi Ohta).
21 Feb 2023
An effective, stable solid-state electrochemical transistor has been developed, heralding a new era in thermal management technology.
Dynamics at the single-molecule level
21 Feb 2023
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have developed principles and technologies of nanofluidic devices to freely manipulate nanomaterials, biomaterials, and molecules at the single-molecule level using fundamental technologies such as nanofluidic processing, functional integration, and fluidic control and measurement, which has pioneered the way to integrate various fields under nanofluidics.
21 Feb 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Angewandte Chemie International Edition how the formation and deformation speed of interlocked molecular structures called rotaxanes can be tuned — a discovery that may lead to an enhanced functionality of rotaxanes as building blocks for molecular machines.
Collecting samples at a wastewater treatment plant for the study (Photo provided by Masaaki Kitajima).
21 Feb 2023
Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.
Antioxidants discovered in meat!
16 Feb 2023
Osaka Metropolitan University scientists found that 2-oxo-imidazole-containing dipeptides (2-oxo-IDPs) exhibit very high antioxidant activity. Furthermore, they established a method to selectively and sensitively detect very small amounts of 2-oxo-IDPs and revealed for the first time that several types of 2-oxo-IDPs are contained in meat, including beef, pork, and chicken.
15 Feb 2023
To clarify the mechanism of serial dependence in number perception, a research team from Osaka Metropolitan University conducted two tests, independently asking subjects to estimate the number of coins, or to estimate the value of those coins, shown on-screen for half a second. The results showed that serial dependence was confirmed in both tasks and that the most significant effect on serial dependence was not caused by the last stimuli, but the subjects last response. These results indicate that higher-order cognitive processing has a greater influence on the occurrence of serial dependence.
13 Feb 2023
Team studies discrimination, mental distress, and work impairment in COVID-19 survivors.
13 Feb 2023
Researchers from Osaka University have shown sex-specific differences in the immune response to COVID-19 infection. By identifying and analyzing the immune cell population in COVID-19 patients, they showed that infection results in a reduced ratio of circulating follicular T regulatory (cTfr) cells to a network of antibody-producing proteins, correlated with dysregulated antibody production. This cTfr cell reduction is more significant in males, providing cellular evidence for the observed association between increased risk and male sex.
Thermal conductivity of 3C-SiC compared to other semiconductor materials
13 Feb 2023
A research group from the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University has shown that 3C-SiC exhibits high thermal conductivity equivalent to the theoretical value, based on thermal conductivity evaluation and atomic-level analysis, for the first time. They demonstrated that a 3C-SiC film on silicon substrate had a high thermal conductivity and expect that fabricating large-diameter wafers can be achieved at a low cost. The discovery should lead to improved heat dissipation in everyday electronic devices.
12 Feb 2023
In hepatic steatosis, hepatocytes "die," resulting in liver damage. Severe steatosis increases hepatocellular deaths, thus aggravating liver damage. The mechanism is unclear. Using mice, we show that mild steatosis causes apoptosis whereas severe steatosis predominantly causes necroptosis leading to cell rupture. This induces strong inflammation and new cell death, producing further liver damage. We reveal the transcription factor ATF3 to be involved in this process. Our results are expected to contribute to therapeutic method development.
Research Vessel Hakuho Maru conducted the observations used for this study.
10 Feb 2023
Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.
Bluestreak cleaner wrasse, a fish that can recognize themself in photographs
10 Feb 2023
Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have demonstrated that fish can recognize “it’s me” when they themselves in a picture for the first time in non-human animals. Further testing made it clear that the fish recognize their own face in the pictures like humans.
Microtiter plates that were used in the study for the assessment of antibiotic activity (Photo: Akira Katsuyama).
08 Feb 2023
Hokkaido University researchers have developed a novel method to design and develop peptide antibiotics in large numbers, which will prove critical to controlling antibiotic resistance.
A schematic of the beam diameter measurement using transmitted X-rays old and new methods
07 Feb 2023
A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has derived a new evaluation method for the measuring the size X-ray microbeams (diameter) through mathematical analysis. The group then verified the validity of the mathematically derived evaluation method by measuring the diameter of X-ray microbeams using metal wires of various diameters with an X-ray fluorescence analysis system for small areas and found that it was possible to calculate the beam diameter more accurately than the previous conventional evaluation method.
Depiction of blue light irradiation and two ‘catalyst gears’ cooperating to enable a reaction. (Credit: Tsuyoshi Mita)
07 Feb 2023
Two catalysts working in tandem enable inexpensive formate salts to perform difficult dearomative reactions, giving products potentially useful for drug development.
06 Feb 2023
Researchers led by Osaka University used cryogenic electron microscopy to analyze the atomic structure of the centromeric region of the chromosome, essential for cell division. A protein called CENP-A marks the centromere; the researchers showed that during interphase, CENP-A is bound by a protein called KNL2 to maintain the location of the centromere. During mitosis, KNL2 is replaced by CENP-C, allowing correct formation of the kinetochore complex for cell division.
06 Feb 2023
Researchers from Osaka University expanded the synthetic toolkit for preparing valuable chemical precursors from renewable feedstocks. They used microwave irradiation to dramatically improve the selectivity of the formose reaction, forming a simple six- and seven-carbon mixture that can be readily purified. These findings will help the chemicals industry minimize the use of fossil resources and improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes.
JWST pinpoints the ‘invisible’ engine that powers the galaxies in the middle of a collision
03 Feb 2023
Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to identify the precise location of a powerful energy source hidden by cosmic dust in the luminous merging galaxy IIZw096.
 Close up of the semi-automated synthesis robot used to generate training data (Photo: ICReDD).
03 Feb 2023
Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts.
02 Feb 2023
Researchers from Osaka University have used single carbon atom doping to form four chemical bonds in one step. Gamma-lactams (cyclic molecules that are common in antibiotics) were easily synthetically accessible from alpha, beta-unsaturated amides (an important molecule in cancer progression). The team chemically modified an anti-seizure medication in 96% yield, highlighting the work's utility to otherwise synthetically complex aspects of pharmaceutical development. The results of this work could become foundational to drug discovery and development.
The fluorescent blinking of cyanine dye (Alexa Fluor 647, pink star) bound to RNA changes depending on the structure of the RNA. When the RNA is folded like a hairpin, the fluorescent blinking is fast, and when the RNA switches to a G-quadruplex, the blinking is slow (Akira Kitamura).
02 Feb 2023
A new microscopic technique allows for the real-time study of RNA G-quadruplexes in living cells, with implications for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
01 Feb 2023
Osaka University researchers investigated the physics of laser-driven neutron sources, and found the relationship between the power and the neutrons generated. They were able to decrease the exposure time needed for neutron absorption experiments, which may be employed in biomedical research.
A process of continual learning for a synthetic multi-label dataset
31 Jan 2023
A research group at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Informatics has developed a new learning method for artificial intelligence that combines classification performance for data with multiple labels with the ability to learn continually from data. Numerical experiments on real-world multi-label data indicate that the new method outperforms conventional approaches. The simplicity of this algorithm makes it easy to integrate it with other algorithms to devise new ones.
Drilling the ice core
31 Jan 2023
Data stored in ice cores dating back 55 years bring new insight into atmospheric levels of a molecule that can significantly affect weather and climate.
31 Jan 2023
Researchers from Osaka University have shown that a system known as the GET pathway is essential for efficient mitophagy, the process by which mitochondria are removed from cells. The GET pathway targets a protein assembly called the Ppg1–Far complex, which inhibits mitophagy, to the membrane of a part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum. When the GET pathway is defective, this complex instead becomes targeted to mitochondria, where it acts to suppress mitophagy.
30 Jan 2023
Researchers from Osaka University compared the sensitivity of rapid antigen tests (RATs) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 using data produced by the Japan Professional Football League. They found the comparative sensitivity of RATs for Omicron was not affected by the duration from the onset of symptoms to testing.
The back-projection analysis of seismic P-waves revealed correlations with eruptions observed by satellite (Kotaro Tarumi, Kazunori Yoshizawa. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. January 15, 2023)
27 Jan 2023
A “back-projection” technique reveals new details of the volcanic eruption in Tonga that literally shook the world.

Events

28 Feb 2019
The Nagoya Medal Award is awarded every year to two organic chemists who have made significant original contributions to the field. This year’s Gold Medal will be presented to Professor David W. W. MacMillan (Princeton University, USA), and the Silver Medal will be presented to Professor Chihaya Adachi (Kyushu University, Japan).
04 Oct 2018
ISTbM-6 with the 14th Hirata Award and the 4th Tsuneko and Reiji Okazaki Award.
10 Jun 2018
The Kavli IPMU invites you gain insight into how physics predicts our Universe may exist alongside an infinite number of other universes, and how philosophy suggests the world as we know it may not exist at all.
22 Dec 2017
The Nagoya Medal Award is awarded every year to two organic chemists who have made significant original contributions to the field. This year’s Gold Medal will be presented to Prof. “Bert” Meijer (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands), and the Silver Medal will be presented to Prof. Hiroaki Suga (The University of Tokyo, Japan).
20 Nov 2017
ISTbM-5 with the 13th Hirata Award and the 3rd Tsuneko and Reiji Okazaki Award
03 Aug 2017
The International ERATO Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Symposium 2017 will be held on August 3-4, 2017 at Nagoya University, Japan. This symposium will focus on recent achievements in the synthesis, utilization, and analysis of structurally well-defined nanocarbons and related materials.
27 Jan 2017
The Nagoya Medal Award is awarded every year to two organic chemists who have made significant original contributions to the field. This year’s Gold Medal is awarded to Professor Stephen Buchwald of MIT (USA) and the Silver Medal is awarded to Professor Masaya Sawamura of Hokkaido University (Japan).
12 Dec 2016
ISTbM-4 with the 12th Hirata Award and the 2nd Tsuneko and Reiji Okazaki Award
17 Oct 2016
This symposium will highlight research and education for the creation of a healthy society toward the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The lectures and discussions cover the themes including the promotion of safe water environments, hazardous material elimination, and mother-and-child health.
27 Jul 2016
This year, we will hold its second symposium to further seek novel molecules and materials for dissecting and controlling mechano-nanoarchitectonics of life. Presentations in the symposium are made by a wide variety of speakers from material science, sensors and actuators, mechanochemistry, interfacial sciences, and of course biology.
26 Jun 2016
On behalf of the ISEE-ISES AC2016 Sapporo organizing committees, it is great pleasure to welcome you to the 5th ISEE Asia Chapter and the first joint symposium of ISEE and ISES, Asia chapter. The program theme is “Environment, Health, and Sustainable Society” and will be held in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan on June 26-29th, 2016.
13 Jun 2016
The First International Symposium on Advanced Soft Matter: Celebrating the Kick-off of the Global Station for Soft Matter, GI-CoRE, Hokkaido University, Japan.
22 Jan 2016
The Nagoya Medal Award is awarded every year to two organic chemists who have made significant original contributions to the field. This year’s Gold Medal is awarded to Professor Stuart Schreiber of the HHMI, Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Harvard University, USA and the Silver Medal is awarded to Professor Zhaomin Hou of RIKEN, Japan.
25 May 2015
This international symposium brings together world-class scientists in biology and chemistry, including, Dr. Ashraf Brik (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) and Dr. Feng Zhang (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, USA).
21 Oct 2014
GREEN Open Seminar will be held on 21st October, 2014, to have a lecture by Dr. Hiroaki Benten, Assistant Professor, Department of Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University.
27 Oct 2014
The Nagoya Medal Award is awarded every year to two organic chemists who have made significant original contributions to the field. This year’s Gold Medal is awarded to Professor John F. Hartwig of the University of California, Berkeley, USA and the Silver Medal is awarded to Prof. Itaru Hamachi of Kyoto University, Japan.
12 May 2014
The 2nd International Symposium on Transformative Bio-Molecules 2014 is an annual event held by the ITbM, inviting prestigious speakers from around the world to enhance interdisciplinary research between molecular synthetic chemistry and plant biology.
01 Jul 2013
NIMS Conference 2013 will be discussing the latest innovations in nano electronics. Registration deadline is June 23 and abstract submission deadline is May 17.
15 Nov 2012
The Irago Conference 2012 (Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research Conference 2012) will be held November 15-16, 2012 in Irago, Aichi prefecture, Japan.
04 Jun 2012
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) is pleased to announce “NIMS Conference 2012” to be held from June 4 to 6 2012. The theme is “Structural Materials Science and Strategy for Sustainability - Back to the Basics“
29 Feb 2012
The MANA International Symposium, jointly held with International Center for Young Scientist (ICYS) is organized once a year to disseminate the research results of MANA and ICYS to a wide audience.
17 Feb 2012
In this symposium, advancement of R & D especially on renewable electrical energy sources and structural materials for seismic safety using nanotechnology will be reviewed.
17 Nov 2011
This conference provides an ‘interdisciplinary-platform’ to enhance mutual understanding between scientists, engineers, policy makers, and experts from a wide spectrum of pure and applied sciences in order to resolve the daunting global issues facing mankind.
17 Oct 2011
This Conference focus on the development in micro and nanotechnologies. It will take place at Hotel Sinaia in Romania from 17th to 20th October 2011.
15 Sep 2011
SIBCON-2011 is the leading Conference in Siberia for learning the latest development on control systems, compound semiconductors, RF devices and microwave circuit applications.
19 Sep 2011
The ASAM-3 is organised by Kyushu University for interdisciplinary discussion between scientists from Asian universities, research institutions and companies on chemistry, physics and biology of advanced materials. Deadline for Early Registration is August 1, 2011
25 Oct 2011
This conference provides an international forum on VLSI circuit, device and process design. It will take place in the Xiamen, China from 25th to 28th October 2011.
03 Nov 2011
This congress showcases the latest progress in Nanomedicinal R&D. It will take place in Shenzhen, China from 3rd – 5th November.
15 Mar 2012
The International Conference on Devices, Circuits and Systems aims to provide a common forum for academic and experts on Electronics devices, circuits and system. It will be held in Karunya University, India on 15th – 16th March 2012. The deadline for abstract submission will be on 31st October, 2011.

Researchers

Tohoku University
Director of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University since April 2014, and also is a professor of Tsunami Engineering
Hokkaido University
Professor, Faculty of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Materials scientist studying structure and microstructure of metal and alloys by transmission electron microscopy. Specialize in light metals and quasicrystals.
Kyoto University
Masanori Shimono is an associate professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.

Giants in history

Baron Kitasato Shibasaburo (29 January 1856 – 13 June 1931) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist whose work led to a new understanding of preventing and treating tetanus, diphtheria and anthrax.
By isolating soil microorganisms and studying the compounds they produce, Satoshi Omura (born 1935) discovered almost 500 organic compounds with unique properties that were produced by these microorganisms, including many new antibiotics.
In 1915, pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa and his research assistant Koichi Ichikawa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
In 1915, Koichi Ichikawa along with pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) and Tsuneko (7 June 1933) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
Tsuneko (7 June 1933) and Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
Hideki Yukawa (23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 for predicting the existence of the pi meson subatomic particle. Japan’s first Nobel laureate, Yakawa also expressed his support for nuclear disarmament by signing the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955.
Shinichiro Tomonaga (31 March 1906 – 8 July 1979), together with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, for their contributions to advance the field of quantum electrodynamics. Tomonaga was also a strong proponent of peace, who actively campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Japanese chemist Kenichi Fukui (4 October 1918 – 9 January 1998) was the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Together with Roald Hoffman, he received this honour in 1981 for his independent research into the mechanisms of chemical reactions.
Minoru Shirota (April 23, 1899 – March 10, 1982) was a Japanese microbiologist who invented the popular fermented drink Yakult.
Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962) made the world’s first artificial snowflakes. He started his research on snow crystals in the early 1930s at Hokkaido University, where there is an unlimited supply of natural snow in winter. By taking over 3,000 photographs, he established a classification of natural snow crystals and described their relationship with weather conditions.
The techniques that make industrial pearl culturing possible were developed over a century ago at the Misaki Marine Biological Station in Japan. The station’s first director, Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri, emphasized to Kokichi Mikimoto in 1890 that stimulating pearl sac formation was important for pearl growth, and they went on to successfully develop methods for culturing pearls.
The field of solid-state ionics originated in Europe, but Takehiko Takahashi of Nagoya University in Japan was the first to coin the term ‘solid ionics’ in 1967. ‘Solid-state ionics’ first appeared in 1971 in another of his papers, and was likely a play on ‘solid-state electronics’, another rapidly growing field at the time.
Chika Kuroda (24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focussed on the structures of natural pigments.
Motoo Kimura (13 November 1924 – 13 November 1994) was a Japanese theoretical population geneticist who is best remembered for developing the neutral theory of molecular evolution.
Osamu Shimomura (27 August 1928 – 19 October 2018) was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist who dedicated his career to understanding how organisms emitted light.
Kikunae Ikeda (8 October 1864 – 3 May 1936) was a Japanese chemist who discovered the fifth basic taste, umami.
Umetaro Suzuki (7 April 1874 – 20 September 1943) was a Japanese scientist best remembered for his research on beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, characterized by limb stiffness, paralysis and pain.
Kono Yasui (16 February 1880 – 24 March 1971) was a Japanese botanist who researched the genetics of poppies, corn and spiderworts and surveyed the plants that had been affected by the nuclear fallout after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hitoshi Kihara (1893 – 1986) was one of the most famous Japanese geneticists of the 20th century. One of his most significant contributions was identifying sex chromosomes (X and Y) in flowering plants.
Michiyo Tsujimura (17 September 1888 – 1 June 1969) was a Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist recognized for her research of green tea components.
A Japanese surgeon, Tetsuzo Akutsu (20 August 1922 – 9 August 2007) built the first artificial heart capable of keeping an animal alive.
Ogino Ginko (3 March 1851 – 23 June 1913) was the first registered female doctor to practise modern medicine in Japan.
Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi developed the first method and tools for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater