Japan

A research group has revealed that amyloid-β (Aβ) detected in blood is secreted from peripheral tissues (pancreas, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, etc.) that are sensitive to glucose and insulin. Also, that Aβ secreted from peripheral tissues acts as a regulator on pancreatic β-cells to suppress insulin secretion. The results of this study indicate that blood Aβ levels fluctuate significantly with diet, and special care should be taken when using blood samples as a diagnostic marker for Alzheimer's disease, such as taking blood samples during fasting.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a responsive molecular system that, through chemical reactions, inverses its chirality before becoming racemic.

As a result of global warming in the 21st century, the Greenland ice sheet may contribute several metres to sea-level rise in the centuries to come; however, effective climate change mitigation measures will greatly reduce its decay.

Mathematician Yukari Ito was excited at first to work from home. There was no need to commute to her office at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, where she is professor, and she could attend seminars by mathematicians around the world from her living room. But there are also challenges, so she hopes some things will go back to the way they used to be.

Researchers aim to streamline the time- and resource-intensive process of screening ligands during catalyst design by using virtual ligands.

A recent summertime climate pattern could be driving co-occurring European heatwaves and large-scale wildfires over Siberia, Canada and Alaska.

A soft hydrogel could help scientists find treatments for drug-resistant cancer stem cells.

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

Scientists from Hokkaido University and colleagues have identified a pathway that accelerates plant flowering in low-nitrogen soils — a finding that could help enhance agricultural production.

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.

The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) in Tokyo launches a new integrated graduate course exploring the origin and evolution of life and planets.

A nanoparticle’s size is fine-tuned to offer high-resolution images before and during surgical procedures.

Device designers at the University of Tokyo are developing cheap and accessible ways to monitor and explore the sea.

A magnetic hybrid system generates electricity day and night with radiative cooling and solar heating.

A novel biomaterial promotes bone tissue regrowth, showing promise for surgical procedures.

A quick, cost-effective approach improves the accuracy with which machine learning models can predict the properties of new materials.

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.

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.

Giants in History: Ogino Ginko (3 March 1851 – 23 June 1913) was the first registered female doctor to practise modern medicine in Japan. After contracting gonorrhoea from her first husband and being embarrassed from having to seek medical attention from male doctors, Ginko resolved to become a doctor to help women in similar situations.

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.

In a recent study published in the journal ACS Catalysis researchers from Kanazawa University describe novel scanning electrochemical cell microscopy measurements to determine sites of photoelectrochemical activity in titanium dioxide nanotubes.

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.

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.

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.