Japan

Scientists discovered that intramuscular fat levels are indicative of heart health. Measurements of intramuscular fat in 93 heart failure patients’ thighs showed patients with high intramuscular fat levels were at greater risk of rehospitalisation, despite no significant differences in conventional heart health criteria. These findings enable new approaches for treating heart failure, a growing concern in Japan’s ageing society.

A porous material, which opens to receive highly flammable acetylene and closes to release it, sidesteps the flaws of the existing storage method.

Genome profiling of Staphylococcus argenteus strains unveiled cross-contamination among Japanese retail foods and slaughterhouses.

In a global first, scientists have demonstrated that molecular robots are able to accomplish cargo delivery by employing a strategy of swarming, achieving a transport efficiency five times greater than that of single robots.

Tile patterns in which the same shape is laid out without gaps are found in the compound eyes of insects. Hexagonal tile patterns are common while shrimp eyes have a square pattern. We investigated tile pattern formation using Drosophila and revealed that the compound eye tile pattern is controlled by a geometrical division mechanism, Voronoi tessellation, in addition to physical constraints determined by the combination of the regular distribution and growth of the individual eyes.

In disaster mitigation planning for future large earthquakes, seismic ground motion predictions are a crucial part of early warning systems. The way the ground moves depends on how the soil layers amplify the seismic waves (described in a mathematical site “amplification factor”). However, geophysical explorations to understand soil conditions are costly, limiting characterization of site amplification factors to date. Using data on microtremors in Japan, a neural network model can estimate site-specific responses to earthquakes based on subsurface soil conditions.

Osaka City University* study suggests memories are formed through an integration across brain regions via burst activity in amygdala-prefrontal neuronal ensembles during memory acquisition, and then hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony during post-experience sleep. (Osaka City University has now changed its name as Osaka Metropolitan University)

• Effects of gestational bisphenol A exposure were compared between rat dams and their offspring. • Bisphenol A affected the dams' circadian rhythm, immune response, and insulin resistance. • Nevertheless, at the multi-omics levels (transcriptome and lipidome), the impact on the dams was less than on their offspring. • Multi-variates analysis successfully differentiated the multi-omics effects between dams and their offspring.

Helping solve social and global environment issues with agriculture, forestry, and oceanography research combined with the latest technologies

Researchers at Kanazawa University elucidate in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences how small biocontainers enclosed by membranes are involved in a disease called ATTRv amyloidosis.

Milling rice to separate the grain from the husks, produces about 100 million tons of rice husk waste globally each year. Scientists searching for a scalable method to fabricate quantum dots have developed a way to recycle rice husks to create the first silicon quantum dot LED light. Their new method transforms agricultural waste into state-of-the-art light-emitting diodes in a low-cost, environmentally friendly way.

A team of international researchers, led by Associate Professor Masaki Eda of the Hokkaido University Museum, have discovered that the oldest type of poultry ever domesticated may have been geese. The study involved interdisciplinary research of bones excavated from Tianluoshan site in the lower Yangtze River valley, Zhejiang Province, China.

The molecule trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) can be used to reversibly modulate the rigidity of microtubules, a key component of molecular machines and molecular robots.

Climate changes in the tropical Pacific have temporarily put the brakes on rapid warming and ice melting in Greenland.

Researchers have captured images of cells in mice using astronomy technology

地球生命研究所（ELSI）は、生命と惑星の起源と進化を探求する新しい総合大学院コースを開設した。

東京工業大学地球生命研究所（ELSI）は、エビデンスに基づくアウトリーチを展開することで、科学コミュニケーション専門トレーニングの大切さを積極的に発信している。日本の高等教育機関と研究機関での研究アウトリーチ活性化の先駆けとなることを目指す。

Distinguished Professor Hiroki Shirato of Hokkaido University is one of the nine recipients of the Japan Academy Prize in 2022, for his groundbreaking work on “Biomedical and Engineering Research about Real-time Tumor Tracking Radiotherapy/Particle Beam Therapy against Cancer.”

伝統的な日本の大学のカルチャーの殻を破り、フラットで国際的な研究所として注目を集める東京工業大学地球生命研究所（ELSI）。今年で10年目を迎えたELSIの魅力や運営のコツについて廣瀬敬前所長が語った。

東京工業大学地球生命研究所（ELSI）は今年、転機を迎える。10年前の設立当初からのテーマであった「地球と生命の起源」から踏み出し、地球外生命の可能性まで研究対象を広げていく。次期所長の関根康人教授にこれからのELSIが目指すところを聞いた。

Gene editing technology has been used to pinpoint new molecular targets for treating an aggressive form of leukemia in adults.

A team led by a Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo researcher has created a model to probe the role of emergent elastic fields in chiral molecular crystals

Researchers have discovered argon trapped in air-hydrate crystals in ice cores, which can be used to reconstruct past temperature changes and climate shifts.

Mycobacteria are a group of pathogenic bacteria that cause diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis in humans. Now, a new study by scientists at Hiroshima University finds that mycobacteria are associated with red blood cells at lung infection sites, an interaction that has escaped scientific notice for 140 years since the discovery of the organism causing tuberculosis.

In a retrospective study drawing data from 973 participants between 2018 and 2020, researchers find that cases of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) increased from 22 pre-pandemic to 44 mid. Additionally, univariate and multivariate analysis of lifestyle habits reveal late-night meals pre-pandemic and increased alcohol intake mid-pandemic as independent lifestyle predictors of developing the disease.

Giants in History: 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.

Researchers have discovered in mice an additional use of globins as an intravenous drug that can delay liver fibrosis progression. Last year, the application of recombinant human cytoglobin (CYGB) as a protein therapeutic agent against liver damage and cirrhosis was published in Hepatology (Hepatology 2021,73:2527-2545) by Professor Norifumi Kawada’s research group. Here, they studied the antifibrotic properties of the globin family members hemoglobin (HB), myoglobin (MB), and neuroglobin (NGB) in comparison with CYGB. All globins demonstrated greater antioxidant capacity than glutathione in cell-free systems. Interestingly, all globins, except HB, could enter the cells and inhibit the collagen synthesis leading to a suppression of fibrosis development both in vitro and in vivo. The study was published in the journal Redox Biology.

The small-scale, community-led Shiosai art fair embodies a revitalizing tourism approach that has breathed new life into the aging island village of Mitarai.

Unlike most traditional Japanese universities, the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology has created a ‘flat’ and diverse research environment. On its ten-year anniversary, Outgoing Director Kei Hirose shares what is special about the institute and the secret behind its successful management.

The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) based at Tokyo Institute of Technology will reach a turning point this year. For the first time in its 10-year history, it will extend the scope of its initial research theme, "The Origins and Evolution of the Earth and Life", to include searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life. ELSI’s new director, Yasuhito Sekine, told Asia Research News what they hope to achieve in the next phase and how.