Japan

Researchers at The University of Tokyo discover a new law about how the complex network of phase-separated structures grows with time, which may lead to more efficient batteries and industrial catalysts

In a study published in Gastroenterology – Researchers at Osaka City University and The Institute for Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, report the intestinal bacterial and viral metagenome information from the fecal samples of patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI). This comprehensive analysis reveals the bacteria and phages involved in pathogenesis in rCDI, and their remarkable pathways important for the recovery of intestinal flora function.

Scientists have found catalysts that improve an important industrial reaction and make it more eco-friendly.

Tissue stem cells can self-renew and differentiate, supplying cells necessary for tissues at various developmental stages. However, detailed analysis in vivo is difficult, so the molecular mechanisms underlying the stemness of gastric tissue stem cells have remained a mystery. Here, by using organoids that mimic tissue structure and function in vivo and GeCKO screening to inactivate arbitrary genes, Alk, Bclaf3 and Prkra have been identified as genes regulating stemness.

This article is an excerpt from the Hokkaido University research magazine “Tackling Global Issues vol.3 Fighting the menace of zoonosis" (link below).

Cells replicate their genetic material and divide into two identical clones to perpetuate life. Some cells pause in the process with a single, undivided nucleus. When the cell resumes division after such a pause, the nucleus can become caught in the fissure, splitting violently, and killing both cells. But that is not always the case. Researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan are starting to understand how active nuclear displacement rescues cell death.

Hokkaido University scientists show that under laboratory conditions, ultraviolet light reacts with nitrophenol to produce smog-generating nitrous acid.

A surprisingly simple method improves ‘drop casting’ fabrication of tiled nanosheets that could be used in next-generation electronic devices. All you need is a pipette and a hotplate.

The quality of muon beams can now be assessed thanks to a new technique that has produced the first known images of these high-energy particles.

Nagoya University scientists find a rare mineral in nuclear power plant walls, significantly improving their strength following years of full operation.

It’s not only climate change impacting bird reproduction.

A tick saliva study reveals immune responses that could lead to better protection for cattle.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo have designed a new type of system using listening devices to detect and track deer positions in the wild

Materials inspired by the colour changes in a peacock’s feather could lead to anti-counterfeit and sensing applications.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Clinical Cancer Research that in the most common type of lung cancer, certain secondary mutations occurring with another gene alteration known as ALK make the efficacy of alectinib, an otherwise commonly used drug for treating lung cancer, become unfavorable. Combining alectinib with another kind of drug can overcome this adverse effect, however.

Scientists at Hokkaido University and Chiba University have developed simultaneous triploid and hexaploid varieties of Haemanthus albiflos by the application of endosperm culture, thus extending the use of this technique.

A new technique allowed researchers to observe in greater detail how heat alters keratin proteins, helping in their search for ingredients that can prevent heat-damaged hair.

Hokkaido University scientists have found a way to prevent gold nanoparticles from clumping, which could help towards their use as an anti-cancer therapy.

Researchers at Osaka City University use quantum superposition states and Bayesian inference to create a quantum algorithm, easily executable on quantum computers, that accurately and directly calculates energy differences between the electronic ground and excited spin states of molecular systems in polynomial time.

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have discovered a group of neurons in the mouse brainstem that control muscle tone. Inhibiting these neuronal cells caused mice to move during REM sleep, reminiscent of REM sleep behavior disorders. These neurons were also responsible for episodes of cataplexy in a mouse model of narcolepsy; inhibiting them reduced the number of cataplexic bouts. These circuits could thus be a new target for treating these sleep disorders.

Accurate measurements of crystalline deformation should help engineer stronger components for more energy-efficient turbines.

An atomic switch is bringing us closer to highly effective solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Communications Chemistry that a molecule known as pillar[6]arene can form a host–guest compound with a cancer-associated metabolite. The phenomenon can be used to efficiently detect the metabolite in crude biological samples, which is important for preventing and treating metabolic syndrome and associated pathologies.

Researchers led by the University of Tsukuba find that drinking two cups of oolong tea a day can stimulate fat breakdown while you sleep.

Factor-pooling by ribosomes caught on video using state-of-art high-speed atomic force microscopy technology.

Kanazawa University’s pioneering high-speed atomic force microscope technology has now shed light on the structure and dynamics of some of life’s most ubiquitous and inscrutable molecules – intrinsically disordered proteins. The study is reported in Nature Nanotechnology.

Investigations of a cellular protein have uncovered a possible link with schizophrenia.

iCeMS scientists have revealed how a transporter protein twists and squeezes compounds out of cells, including chemotherapy drugs from some cancer cells.

Researchers at WPI-IIIS find that normal sleep in mice depends on bacteria that help make neurotransmitters such as serotonin in the gut. The article, “Gut microbiota depletion by chronic antibiotic treatment alters the sleep/wake architecture and sleep EEG power spectra in mice,” was published in Scientific Reports.

Osaka City University scientists have developed mathematical formulas to describe the current and fluctuations of strongly correlated electrons in quantum dots. Their theoretical predictions could soon be tested experimentally.