Japan

A group of researchers have demonstrated that, from seven methods commonly used to test for viruses in untreated wastewater, an adsorption-extraction technique can most efficiently detect SARS-CoV-2. This gives us another tool to detect the presence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic

A group of researchers from three Japanese universities has discovered why the western subarctic Pacific Ocean, which accounts for only 6 percent of the world’s oceans, produces an estimated 26 percent of the world’s marine resources.

Scientists have unveiled a correlation between high blood lead levels in children and methylation of genes involved in haem synthesis and carcinogenesis, indicating a previously unknown mechanism for lead poisoning.

Research at Kanazawa University as reported in Scientific Reports demonstrates atomic force microscopy imaging that gets around the challenges of exciting very small cantilevers at their high megahertz resonance frequencies. The approach accomadates wide frequency bandwiths, and is applicable for photosensitive materials in a wide range of liquids.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in ACS Nano a high-speed atomic-force microscopy study of the formation of protein fibrils (amyloids) associated with pathologies in collaborated research with Showa University. Mixing different variants of a single protein and changing the acidity of its environment is shown to result in significant variations in amyloid structure and elongation rates.

Hokkaido University researchers have found a soft and wet material that can memorize, retrieve, and forget information, much like the human brain. They report their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A hemispherical vanadium oxide cluster has a cavity that can accommodate a bromine molecule. It was found that a bromine molecule trapped in the cavity was polarized and that an alkane molecule like pentane, butane and propane could be brominated with the bromine molecule in the cavity with a selectivity differing from ordinary bromination. The present findings are expected to be useful for polarization of small molecules and design of highly functional catalysts.

Scientists demonstrate that the information about host bacteria–bacteriophage (phage) associations derived from world’s first metagenome analysis is useful for the development of phage therapies against intestinal pathobionts.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Biomaterials a high-speed atomic-force microscopy study of protein filaments in the nuclear pore complex. The visualization in real-time of the filaments’ dynamics is an important step in our understanding of molecular transport mechanisms between a cell nucleus and its surrounding medium.

A method that involves infecting liver cells with mosquito-bred parasites could improve the study of malaria in India.

Hiroshima University scientists will work on a low-cost sex selection system for bovines using their new technology to help grow dairy herds and boost the incomes of India’s smallholder farmers.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Biophysical Journal that the process of cell removal from an epithelial layer follows from an inherent mechanical instability. Moreover, the forces generated by an extruding cell can drive the extrusion of other cells in a particular direction.

A transparent container made by Nagoya University researchers allows easy and quick grafting of very young plants, with benefits for agriculture and plant research.

Researchers from University of Tsukuba and the University of Tokyo identify neurons responsible for memory consolidation during REM sleep

A highly accurate machine learning tool could help doctors tailor individualized treatments for people with glioma brain tumours.

With increasing unemployment, economists are devising and proposing economic measures that could help ensure a sustainable increase in consumer spending and circumvent a long-term economic recession. However, whether the proposed economic measures are going to provide a long-term solution to these problems remains a concern.

The generation of alkyl radicals was achieved by direct visible-light excitation of the organoborate complex, which was designed and synthesized from “boracene,” which has a boron atom in the tetracene-like skeleton. The alkyl radicals thus obtained could be used as a carbon source for chemical reactions, enabling the synthesis of complicated/bulky organic compounds. The present study offers a new protocol for organic synthesis, which is expected to accelerate e.g. drug discovery.

Scientists could gain insight into atypical sex development in vertebrates, including humans, by studying how nutrition affects sex changes in fish larvae.

Scientists are unraveling the properties of electricity-conducting plastics so they can be used in future energy-harvesting devices.

Researchers from the School of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Japanese research teams have constructed a high-resolution chromosome-scale full genome sequence assembly of an American Shorthair domestic cat (AnAms1.0). By incorporating data from multiple advanced genomic technologies, this genome assembly has a much improved quality over the currently available reference. This research will drive forward precision veterinary medicine to provide the most suitable treatments based on individual differences predicted from genomic information.

Research at Kanazawa University, Theragen Etex Bio Institute and Seoul National University as reported in Nature Communications points towards pathways for the metastasis and malignant transitions that result from changes in the protein p53. The results suggest that the cooperative development of mutations in the proteins helps tumours spread and metastasis.

The group clarified for the first time whether formate dehydrogenase reduces carbon dioxide, biocarbonate ion, or carbonate ion to formic acid. Points to a catalyst in developing and designing an artificial photosynthesis system that efficiently converts carbon dioxide into organic molecules.

Hydrogen fuel cells made with coordination polymer glass membranes could produce as much energy as their liquid-based counterparts while adding strength and flexibility.

In a recent study published in Molecular Cell, researchers at Kanazawa University report the role of cellular structures called PML bodies in regulating gene function

It is no secret that genetic factors play a role in determining whether children have neurodevelopmental disorders. Maternal exposure to drugs and viral or bacterial illnesses can be detrimental too.

Researchers at Kanazawa University and Tsukuba University report in Nanoscale that the physical properties of extracellular bacterial membrane vesicles are significantly diverse. The properties for a single type of bacterium as well as for different types are found to be highly heterogeneous.

Two Kavli IPMU string theorists and a condensed-matter theorist have found a quantum mechanical anomaly in the duality between the electric field and the magnetic field, which could play a role in removing an inconsistency in string theory.

Neon inside a certain star core can eat so many electrons, it causes the star to collapse into a neutron star and produce a supernova.

The remaining “bound water” on cotton surfaces cross-link single fibers of cotton, causing hardening after natural drying, according to a new study conducted by Kao Corporation and Hokkaido University. This provides new insight into unique water behaviors on material surfaces and helps us develop better cleaning technologies.

Astronomers obtained the first resolved image of disturbed gaseous clouds in a galaxy 11 billion light-years away by using ALMA.