Biology

A comprehensive analysis of supersulfide production in fermented soybeans

When cultivated tobacco is crossed with a wild relative it erases lethal genes, allowing normally fatal hybrids to survive.

A potential breakthrough for jet lag and shift work-related sleep disorders. A Japanese research team has discovered a new compound that can advance the body’s internal clock—offering hope for faster recovery from jet lag and better adaptation to night-shift work. The compound, called Mic-628, specifically activates the transcription of a clock gene named Period1 (Per1). When given orally to mice, it advanced their body clocks and activity rhythms, regardless of dosing time. The findings suggest a new approach to controlling circadian rhythms through drug action rather than light exposure.

A Hiroshima University-led project has secured a $1.8 million grant to develop a way to store bull semen using simple refrigeration instead of costly cryopreservation, a shift that could remove a major barrier to modern dairy cattle breeding that has long shut out farmers in low-resource regions. If successful, the technology is expected to boost milk yields, stabilize incomes for small-scale dairy farmers, and improve nutrition.

More than 190 students from 13 local secondary schools will take part in a year-long programme to gain hands-on experience in preparing an extremely rare whale specimen for public exhibitions scheduled for 2027. The Environment and Conservation Fund “Sea” Through Cetacean: STEAM Student Ambassador Programme & Cetacean Conservation Exhibition, organised by the Division of Science of Lingnan University in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Cetacea Research Institute, and Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, was officially launched on 1 February 2026. This initiative builds on the rare stranding of a Longman’s beaked whale in Hong Kong in 2024, providing students with a unique opportunity to assist in the preparation of skeletal specimens of one of the world’s most mysterious marine mammal species. The project also promotes cetacean conservation and will educate the public in key marine environmental issues, including plastic pollution in the oceans.

A collaborative team from National Taiwan University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University identified an alternative strategy to regulate an immune enzyme linked to cancer and inflammation.

Sticky life beginnings. Precarious pitcher plant, Breaking the cobalt "cage", Toxic algae killer & “Pure-bred” stem cell medium. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus Asia Research News 2026 is out now and SciCom Coffee talk by Rachael Smith at Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Cancer Research Institute at Kanazawa University led have uncovered how targeted lung cancer drugs alter the shape and behavior of a key cancer-driving protein—revealing a hidden mechanism that helps explain why some treatments stop working over time.

- Professor Jaewon Ko’s research team at DGIST, in collaboration with international researchers, identified that the loss of function of the MDGA2 gene induces severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathy - This discovery is expected to pave the way for early diagnosis and the development of new therapies

Skeletal muscle stem cells in hibernating Syrian hamsters preserve their ability to function by suppressing their activation during the hibernation period, a research team led by Hiroshima University has shown. This insight may lead to a broader understanding of the maintenance of muscle tissue under prolonged low temperature conditions and may eventually lead to therapeutic applications.

A research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) recently collaborated with an international research team to publish a study revealing a correlation between global contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in globally consumed edible marine fish and associated human health risks. The study found that consumers may be exposed to elevated levels of PFAS by consuming imported fish such as salmon, tuna, swordfish and cod — even in regions with low environmental pollution — thereby increasing food‑safety risks.

Yasuhiro Iba and his colleagues use complex imaging systems to reveal the secrets of Earth’s ancient creatures.

A fast and efficient tool could change the way researchers collect tiny therapeutic packages from cell cultures, offering a low-cost approach that avoids lengthy processing and complex procedures.

Innovative approaches in cancer screening, drug development, and radioactive hazard protection are accelerating healthcare solutions.

From icy seas to humid forests, research collaborations between the United Kingdom and Malaysia are helping to advance our understanding of diseases, develop vaccines and antibiotics, preserve precious habitats and address the challenge of plastic waste.

A collaborative team of four professors and several graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemical Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, together with the Department of Applied Chemistry at National Chi Nan University, has achieved a long-sought breakthrough. By combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a Hadamard product–based image reconstruction algorithm, the researchers successfully visualized, for the first time, the nanoscopic dynamics of membrane rafts in live cells—making visible what had long remained invisible on the cell membrane.

Bacteria are good at evolving to evade efforts to destroy it. But building defenses like antibiotic resistance drains limited energy resources, forcing tough survival trade-offs. A recent study has revealed how bacteria in water allocates its limited energy supply. Understanding these hidden energy choices could be key to slowing the spread of antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments.

Symptoms of depression are common among people with asthma, but growing evidence suggests they may arise from biological mechanisms different from those underlying major depressive disorder.

A research team at The University of Osaka revealed that the loss of heterochromatin can cause a chain reaction leading to genetic changes and the subsequent development of diseases including cancer. Using fission yeast, the study specifically found that loss of Clr4, which encodes a methyltransferase, can induce an increase in R-loop levels at pericentromeric repeats, and the later conversion of R-loops into ADR-loops can prompt gross chromosomal rearrangements.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, in collaboration with Osaka University and the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism behind the activation of the Met receptor—a key player in tissue regeneration and cancer progression. Their findings reveal that HGF binding to the membrane-distal domain of Met promotes dimerization at the membrane-proximal domain, which subsequently triggers receptor activation.

Scientists at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have captured real-time images showing how a key brain enzyme organizes itself to help memory formation. Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that the enzyme CaMKII forms mixed α/β subunit structures whose interactions stabilize learning-related signals in neurons.

A research team led by Hiroshima University and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have proposed a neuroendocrine mechanism in bony fish that signals ovulation from the ovaries to the brain, using the medaka fish as a model; the first step to elucidate the neural circuits for facilitation of sexual receptivity in female teleosts.

Researchers at The University of Osaka used a range of cellular techniques to show that the histone protein CENP-A can be deposited into centromeres by two independent pathways. By identifying that CENP-C can substitute for Mis18C in binding to the chaperone HJURP to prompt CENP-A deposition, they showed that there is redundancy in the process of specifying the location of the centromere on chromosomes, which is essential for mitosis and meiosis.

New research uncovers the mechanics behind the skillful movement of the shelled amoeba Arcella.

- DGIST Professor Jaewon Ko’s research team uncovers the molecular principles behind how specialized proteins precisely regulate synapses in various situations. - New clues to understanding brain disorders like autism and schizophrenia, and for developing precise treatment strategies

A research team led by Tohoku University revealed the details of a calcium-driven mechanism that could provide insight into how to prevent Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

National Taiwan University research team uses single-cell analysis to reveal how exhausted T cells drive immunotherapy resistance and identify a potential new therapeutic strategy.

Netrin-1 blocks HBV entry by inhibiting viral attachment and internalization, offering a new therapeutic avenue for chronic hepatitis B.

A research team at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Faculty of Medicine at Kanazawa University has developed a new class of engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) capable of inducing antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs), the immune cells that play a central role in suppressing excessive immune responses. The findings, now published in Drug Delivery, may pave the way for next-generation therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases, where unwanted immune activation must be precisely controlled.

A new species of pitcher plant found only on Palawan Island is already at risk of extinction due to frequent severe weather conditions and human encroachment.