Biology

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.

A team of scientists in Japan has developed a novel method to induce stem cell generation from the blood samples of dogs. Through this technique, the scientists hope to advance regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine. This would mean that, in the near future, veterinarians might be able to reverse conditions in dogs that were previously thought incurable.

New ‘armoured’ T cells attack cancer without being suppressed by drugs given to transplant patients to avoid organ rejection.

A research group compared how crickets adapt to limb removal, revealing more about adoptive locomotion and the mechanisms underpinning it.

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.

Preventing Wnt from hitching a ride may offer new avenue for novel treatments for cancer and fibrosis.

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.

Reproduction of native and invasive bitterling fishes and their hybridisation was studied in Japan. We collected mussels in which these bitterlings lay their eggs, kept them in aquaria, collected eggs/larvae ejected from mussels, and genotyped them. We found that hybrids occurred when local mussel density was low. The rapid decline of the host mussels and artificial introduction of an invasive congener interacted to cause the rapid decline of a native fish.

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.

Tohoku University scientists have, for the first time, provided experimental evidence that cell stickiness helps them stay sorted within correct compartments during development. How tightly cells clump together, known as cell adhesion, appears to be enabled by a protein better known for its role in the immune system. The findings were detailed in the journal Nature Communications.

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.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed the first all-in-one miniature pH probe for real-time investigations of intrinsic extracellular pH dynamics in the deep brain structures.

Hokkaido University is pleased to announce the publication of "Tackling Global Issues Vol. 3 FIGHTING THE MENACE OF ZOONOSES," a magazine the University’s research on zoonotic and other infectious diseases.

A transporter protein that regulates cell membrane cholesterol likely played an important role in vertebrate evolution, according to a review published by iCeMS researchers in the journal FEBS Letters.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows to obtain images and movies showing proteins at work, however with limited resolution. The developed BioAFMviewer software opens the opportunity to use the enormous amount of available high-resolution protein data to better understand experiments. Within an interactive interface with rich functionality, the BioAFMviewer computationally emulates tip-scanning of any biomolecular structure to generate simulated AFM graphics and movies. They greatly help in the interpretation of e.g., high-speed AFM observations.

Scientists release genetic results confirming a female turtle captured in October 2020 in Viet Nam is definitively the near extinct Swinhoe’s softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) – also known as the Yangtze giant softshell turtle and Hoan Kiem turtle.

Researchers baffled by an infant’s rare encephalitis case unusual in children found unheard-of mutations and a new way to examine the “immunity gene.”

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) researchers gain deeper insight into a cell membrane channel, with potential implications for drug development.

Researchers of Ehime University and the University of Helsinki measured hepatic organohalogen (OHC) concentrations and gene expression profiles in Atlantic salmon collected from three areas in the Baltic Sea. The results showed that OHCs and gene expression profiles were individually grouped in three areas and the covariation of the two datasets provided by a multivariate method was significantly similar. This suggests that the gene expression profiles in salmon are affected by OHC contamination.

Recognizing species is important for understanding regional biodiversity and for environmental conservation. However, taxonomic identity is sometimes obscure even with the organisms that are closest to human life.

Turning off gene-editing until it reaches cell cycle phases where more accurate repairs are likely to happen offers a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9’s problem with unwanted genetic changes.

A team of scientists from Hokkaido University has suggested that marimo maintain their characteristic spherical shape due to the rarity of the formation of reproductive cells.

Scientist's understanding of this microscopic invertebrate has grown after the second discovery of Loricifera near Japan.

Taskforce will look into COVID-19 origins, leveraging expertise in One Health, outbreak investigation, virology, lab biosecurity and disease ecology.

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has presented the whole-genome sequence and analyses of the endangered whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the largest extant fish on Earth.