Japan

Scientists developed a novel device that predicts whether an ICU patient taken off mechanical ventilation is likely to suffer from respiratory emergencies, helping critical care teams to provide immediate life-saving interventions.

Researchers led by Osaka University report the development of INCIDER, a fluorescent sensor system that enables high-contrast microscopic imaging of temporal changes in cellular interactions mediated by the N-cadherin molecule. This sensor system, which emits much brighter fluorescence than the currently used system while detecting these interactions, is expected to have a wide range of applications in developmental biology, neuroscience, and other fields.

Training individuals to inhibit imitation of others increases empathy and allows them to recognize facial expressions in others regardless of their situations.

Using cryogenic electron microscopy, a research team from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (ReCAP) at Osaka Metropolitan University has revealed, for the first time, the structures and binding environments of pigments bound to a protein called a photosynthetic antenna of the marine green macroalga Codium fragile. The team’s results extend our knowledge about the molecular mechanism by which blue-green light—the only light available in deep seawater—is efficiently utilized for photosynthesis.

Researchers led by Osaka University generated a time-stamping method to trace the development and survival of plasma cells in the bone marrow and spleen. Using a mouse model in which plasma cells were fluorescently labeled in an inducible manner, they found that plasma cells were continuously replenished by new cells, a small portion of which differentiated into long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs). These findings may aid in the development of new vaccines that efficiently induce LLPCs.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo develop a simple but effective method of bonding polymers with galvanized steel, a material ubiquitous in the automobile industry, to cheaply and easily create a lightweight and durable product.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has discovered that 2,5-distyrylpyrazine (DSP) crystals undergo a unique photoreaction. Normally, photoreactive color changes proceed uniformly throughout photomechanical molecular crystals, so that all parts of each crystal change color at the same time. However, when light shines evenly on a DSP crystal, the photoreaction propagates from edge to center, deviating from conventional photochemistry models. The group found that this phenomenon was caused by a surface effect and a cooperative effect, which make reactivity extremely high for molecules at the crystal’s edge and those adjacent to molecules that have already changed color.

A study by Osaka University has shown that the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, which included hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and mental disorders, increased after the Fukushima disaster and the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings emphasize the importance of improving post-disaster health promotion strategies and recommendations.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo show how including the effects of the surrounding water during the aggregation of charged particles can improve the accuracy of simulations, which may help elucidate biological self-assembly

Revelations about the mechanisms of two key proteins which maintain the asymmetric distribution of cholesterol within the cell membrane could help understand and treat diseases linked to its imbalance

Scientists investigate how genes in some insects can influence one another to change their expression depending on environmental conditions.

Reef corals provide an accurate, high-resolution record of the influence of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on rainfall, flooding and droughts in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam.

World's first research into relationship between rich-in-biodiversity garden greenery and health/well-being launched by University of Tokyo and Sekisui House Ltd.

Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the Sun could be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter.

Machine learning and robotic process automation combine to speed up and simplify a process used to determine crystal structures.

Precise control of quantum systems, such as quantum computers, is of great importance for modern quantum science. One way this has been done is via spin echoes. A research group has discovered a new type of echo, labelling them “energy-band echoes.”

Automated reaction path search method predicts accurate stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions using only target molecule structure.

Therapeutically superior mesenchymal stem cells derived from the cranial bone offer hope in reversing paralysis and language impairment in moderate to severe cases of stroke.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers introduced seven proteins, thought to let bacteria swim by switching the direction that their helical bodies spiral, into a strain of synthetic bacterium with minimal genetic information. As a result, they confirmed that the synthetic bacterium named syn3, which is normally spherical, formed a helix that could swim by spiraling. Further investigation revealed that only two of these newly added proteins were required to make syn3 capable of minimal swimming. This swimming synthetic bacterium can be said to be the smallest mobile lifeform genetically, as it contains the fewest number of genes.

Some mixed halogenated dioxins are more toxic than TCDD

Using a quantum computer, Osaka Metropolitan University researchers utilized quantum logic circuits to directly calculate, in a single calculation, the energy difference between two molecular geometries. The developed method was then applied to execute the molecular geometry optimization of typical molecular systems. On a classical computer, calculations based on the finite difference method require at least two evaluations of the energy for one-dimensional systems, but previous research has shown that a quantum computer can be used to calculate the energy derivatives based on this method in a single calculation. However, quantum circuits relevant to quantum algorithms capable of performing the energy derivative calculations had not been implemented. The research group has successfully created a quantum circuit to calculate the energy derivatives by modifying the quantum circuit used in the previously developed quantum phase difference estimation algorithm.

Kavli IPMU's Jia Liu is part of team which found the number of astronomy research papers being produced increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the number of new or junior researchers entering the field has dropped, and no single country's female astronomers were able to be more productive than their male colleagues on average.

The Sox9 gene is upregulated in the absence of sex-determining Y chromosome and Sry gene in Amami spiny rat.

Researchers led by Osaka University identified plasma proteins associated with critical pathogenesis in COVID-19. Using a novel blood proteomics method, the researchers evaluated two discovery cohorts and one validation cohort of patients with COVID-19 and healthy volunteers. Cell adhesion proteins WFDC2, GDF15, CHI3L1, and KRT19 were shown to be associated with disease severity in patients with COVID-19, and may serve as potential targets for therapies to treat COVID-19 infection.

A research group at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science has revealed a new system that allows them to control the behavior of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, using two different animal opsins, a type of light-sensitive protein. The first opsin was expressed in the worms’ sensory cells responsible for triggering avoidance behavior, making the worms move. This opsin was found to be approximately 7,000 times more sensitive to white light than the commonly used optogenetic protein channelrhodopsin-2. Likewise, a UV-sensitive opsin was expressed in the worms’ motor neurons, causing the worms to stop when exposed to UV light and start moving again when exposed to green light. Both opsins tested can be switched on and off repeatedly without breaking down, making them robust tools for future research, including the field of drug discovery.

A research team at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric vibration energy harvester, which is only about 2 cm in diameter with a U-shaped metal vibration amplification component. The device allows for an increase of approximately 90 times in the power generation performance from impulsive vibration. Since the power generation performance can be improved without increasing the device size, the technology is expected to generate power to drive small wearable devices from non-steady vibrations, such as walking motion.

A new model explains that water evaporating from the Arctic Ocean due to a warming climate is transported south and can lead to increased snowfall in northern Eurasia in late autumn and early winter. This information will allow for more accurate predictions of severe weather events.

An Osaka Metropolitan University study found that differences in culture affect when Japanese and American university students feel comfortable providing social support. The researchers found that Japanese university students were less likely than American students to offer assistance to a close friend or family member unless they had been explicitly asked for help, even when they knew that the person needed assistance. There were no differences in providing assistance between Japanese and American students when requests for help were explicitly stated.

The research team investigated the role of D-amino acids in severe viral infection. Mouse models of influenza A and COVID-19 infection and patients with severe COVID-19 demonstrated reduced D-amino acid levels in the blood. Supplementation with D-alanine mitigated body weight reduction in IAV model mice and improved survival in COVID-19 model mice. D-amino acids may represent potential biomarkers and therapeutic agents for the treatment of severe viral infection.

New study finds that "HUG Your Baby" — a program developed to help parents understand their baby’s behavior — could help reduce postpartum depression in mothers.