Biology

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Red perilla cultivar Hoko-3
11 Jan 2023
A team of Japanese researchers created a high-quality genome assembly of red perilla, a step toward harnessing the plant’s potentially useful bioactive chemicals — and its medicinal properties.
Aspergillus aculeatus
10 Jan 2023
An Osaka Metropolitan University research team analyzed the regulatory mechanisms of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzyme production in Aspergillus aculeatus, a filamentous fungus that produces enzymes with an excellent ability to degrade plant biomass. The team found that UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (Uge5), an enzyme known for its involvement in galactose metabolism, also regulates the expression of degrading enzyme genes in A. aculeatus. This is the very first report of Uge5’s roles in selective gene expression in response to different types of inducing sugars in filamentous fungi.
When the H5N1 HPAI virus (orange) affected a flock of crows in a public garden, it caused a mass die-off of crows. An Ezo red fox and a Japanese raccoon dog were also infected by the H5N1 HPAI virus, the former likely by consuming corpses of the crows, and the latter due to close contact with crow corpses (Illustration: Takahiro Hiono).
05 Jan 2023
Researchers at Hokkaido University have revealed the effects of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus infection on an Ezo red fox and a Japanese raccoon dog, linking their infection to a recorded die-off of crows.
An illustration of the facial expression changes in mice following stimulation and inhibition of the median raphe nucleus (Yu Ohmura).
28 Dec 2022
New insights into the opposing actions of serotonin-producing nerve fibres in mice could lead to drugs for treating addictions and major depression.
28 Dec 2022
Taking Hong Kong’s famous Peak Tram up to Victoria Peak offers stunning views of its central business district, Victoria Harbor, and the surrounding islands. But a team of international scientists has recently discovered that the trams winding journey provides a previously unrecognized situation where our vertical perception gets distorted.
27 Dec 2022
tRNA-MaP can rapidly analyze the specificity of tRNA m1A22 methyltransferase (TrmK) for substrate tRNAs.
Mechanism by which CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 1 (CRTC1) suppresses overeating
23 Dec 2022
Scientists reveal genetic mechanism associated with high-calorie food-fueled obesity
22 Dec 2022
Osaka Metropolitan University scientists discovered the principle of light-induced acceleration of antigen–antibody reaction, allowing for simple, ultrafast, and highly sensitive detection of proteins. The researchers introduced target proteins and probe particles with modified antibodies selectively binding to the target proteins into a small channel and applied irradiation with infrared laser light. They achieved, for the first time, the rapid measurement of trace amounts of attogram-level target proteins after only 3 minutes of laser irradiation. These findings will potentially contribute to breakthroughs in the development of systems for ultra-early diagnosis of various diseases.
The sphaerimicin analogs (SPMs) inhibit the activity of MraY, and hence the replication of bacteria, with different degrees of effectiveness. The potency of the analog increases as the IC50 decreases (Takeshi Nakaya, et al. Nature Communications. December 20, 2022).
20 Dec 2022
Researchers have designed and synthesized analogs of a new antibiotic that is effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria, opening a new front in the fight against these infections.
19 Dec 2022
Researchers from Osaka University have developed a culture system using pluripotent cells from southern and northern white rhinos, which was refined to produce primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs). These cells are the equivalent of primordial germ cells, the origin of eggs and sperm. The study marks an important first step in the potential production of northern white rhino gametes, which could be used in breeding programs, and is the first to induce PGCLCs in a wild animal.
Micrometre-scale multicompartmental structures of aquabots
15 Dec 2022
A research team led by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has invented an all-water robotic system that resolves the constraints of bio-inspired robots through revolutionary scientific advances.
15 Dec 2022
Understanding how bats tolerate viral infections, Material separates water from...water, The virtual sense of touch polished to next level and COVID-19 negatively impacted early-careers and female researchers. Read all in the December's Editor's Choice.
14 Dec 2022
Using cryogenic electron microscopy, a research team from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (ReCAP) at Osaka Metropolitan University has revealed, for the first time, the structures and binding environments of pigments bound to a protein called a photosynthetic antenna of the marine green macroalga Codium fragile. The team’s results extend our knowledge about the molecular mechanism by which blue-green light—the only light available in deep seawater—is efficiently utilized for photosynthesis.
14 Dec 2022
Researchers led by Osaka University generated a time-stamping method to trace the development and survival of plasma cells in the bone marrow and spleen. Using a mouse model in which plasma cells were fluorescently labeled in an inducible manner, they found that plasma cells were continuously replenished by new cells, a small portion of which differentiated into long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs). These findings may aid in the development of new vaccines that efficiently induce LLPCs.
14 Dec 2022
- DGIST Professor Suh Byung-chang's research team identified the regulation mechanism of calcium channels, which are important for signal transmission between nerve cells - A new clue to the development of substances for treating mental and neurological diseases
14 Dec 2022
- Discovery of potential treatment target networks for gene dysregulation uniquely found in patients with autism spectrum disorder - Published in ‘Molecular Psychiatry,’ an international journal of molecular psychiatry
14 Dec 2022
- Identifying the entire genome of the primitive fish, little skate, and proposing the molecular mechanism for the evolution of movement - Joint Research of DGIST · Seoul National University · New York University Medical School... Published in SCI-level journals
12 Dec 2022
Revelations about the mechanisms of two key proteins which maintain the asymmetric distribution of cholesterol within the cell membrane could help understand and treat diseases linked to its imbalance
Scatter plots of CI-score of all genes (2652 genes) identified in this study
11 Dec 2022
Scientists investigate how genes in some insects can influence one another to change their expression depending on environmental conditions.
09 Dec 2022
Silencing the gene, called WWP2, in patients in the early stages of cardiomyopathy could delay progression to heart failure by controlling immune cell infiltration and activation, and halting the formation of excessive scar tissue, preclinical data suggest.
Flossie Wong-Staal
08 Dec 2022
Giants in History: Chinese-American virologist and molecular biologist Flossie Wong-Staal (27 August 1946 – 8 July 2020) was the first scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes.
07 Dec 2022
First-in-the-world high-resolution imaging allows scientists to study the dengue protein in greater detail to yield valuable insights.
06 Dec 2022
World's first research into relationship between rich-in-biodiversity garden greenery and health/well-being launched by University of Tokyo and Sekisui House Ltd.
01 Dec 2022
Research led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) involving the use of a pioneering female sterility technique has led to a breakthrough in the production of hybrid rice seeds. Compared to the commonly used “three-line” male sterility technique in hybrid rice seeds production, the novel approach enhances the efficiency of hybrid rice production by eliminating rice seeds that have been produced due to the self-pollination of the “restorer line”. The novel technique enables fully automatic harvesting of hybrid seeds by machines, which can substantially reduce harvesting costs.
30 Nov 2022
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers introduced seven proteins, thought to let bacteria swim by switching the direction that their helical bodies spiral, into a strain of synthetic bacterium with minimal genetic information. As a result, they confirmed that the synthetic bacterium named syn3, which is normally spherical, formed a helix that could swim by spiraling. Further investigation revealed that only two of these newly added proteins were required to make syn3 capable of minimal swimming. This swimming synthetic bacterium can be said to be the smallest mobile lifeform genetically, as it contains the fewest number of genes.
30 Nov 2022
Some mixed halogenated dioxins are more toxic than TCDD
Amami spiny rat (Photo: Asato Kuroiwa).
28 Nov 2022
The Sox9 gene is upregulated in the absence of sex-determining Y chromosome and Sry gene in Amami spiny rat.
25 Nov 2022
Researchers at Tohoku University have shown that astrocytes in the mouse brain exhibit an acid response with intensified epileptic seizures. The astrocytes’ acid response could lead to the amplification of excitatory neuronal signals and be the underlying drive for generating plasticity for epileptogenesis.
25 Nov 2022
A research group at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science has revealed a new system that allows them to control the behavior of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, using two different animal opsins, a type of light-sensitive protein. The first opsin was expressed in the worms’ sensory cells responsible for triggering avoidance behavior, making the worms move. This opsin was found to be approximately 7,000 times more sensitive to white light than the commonly used optogenetic protein channelrhodopsin-2. Likewise, a UV-sensitive opsin was expressed in the worms’ motor neurons, causing the worms to stop when exposed to UV light and start moving again when exposed to green light. Both opsins tested can be switched on and off repeatedly without breaking down, making them robust tools for future research, including the field of drug discovery.
24 Nov 2022
Understanding how bats tolerate viral infections without developing symptoms may lead to better ways of combatting human disease.

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