Japan

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters the discovery of a biomolecular dynamical process likely relevant to gene expression. The process, revealed by means of high-speed atomic force microscopy, involves DNA and its packaging molecules.

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists identified about 140,000 molecular clouds in the Milky Way Galaxy from large-scale data of carbon monoxide molecules, observed in detail by the Nobeyama 45-m radio telescope. Using artificial intelligence, the researchers estimated the distance of each of these molecular clouds to determine their size and mass, successfully mapping the distribution of the molecular clouds in the Galaxy in the most detailed manner to date.

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.

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.

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.

An effective, stable solid-state electrochemical transistor has been developed, heralding a new era in thermal management technology.

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.

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.

Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.

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.

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.

Team studies discrimination, mental distress, and work impairment in COVID-19 survivors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Two catalysts working in tandem enable inexpensive formate salts to perform difficult dearomative reactions, giving products potentially useful for drug development.

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.

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.

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.

Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.