Advanced Science

Industrial chemistry is set to improve from novel rare-earth metal catalysts that reduce waste and improve aromatic bond-forming reactions

Demonstration of a rare combination of electric and magnetic properties in a now readily producible material could improve electronic memory devices

High-level spectroscopy and computer simulations of specially diluted liquids reveal the long-debated structure of air–water interfaces

A chemical probe that can differentiate between chemical tags adorning DNA could provide insights into how nature switches genes on and off

Discovery of a molecular basis for type 2 diabetes reveals how fatty diets can interfere with control of blood sugar levels

Modifications to chromosomal proteins help ensure that brain-specific sugars are produced only in the appropriate tissues.

A newly developed group of fluorescent probes highlights cancer cells resistant to anticancer drugs

Life Sciences, environment and engineering News from the Tokyo Science and Innovation Section 5 December 2011

Real-time x-ray measurements of remarkable rare-earth/transition metal clusters expose the secrets of storing and releasing hydrogen gas

A single sugar molecule plays an outsized role in helping a glucose-transporting protein respond promptly to insulin signals

Copper–carbene catalysts reveal the critical interactions needed to turn waste carbon dioxide into chemical feedstocks

The development of electrolytic in-process dressing grinding more than 20 years ago set in motion a revolution in nanoprecision machining that continues today

Electrically controlling the magnetic polarization of nuclei offers a new way to store quantum information

Flies can pass the effects of stress to their young in the form of chromosomal modifications that alter expression of selected genes

Artificial atoms give insight into how real atoms interact with light in real time

Preparing chromosomes for cell division is a balancing act involving a tug-of-war between opposing molecular actions

Elucidation of the structure of receptors that detect invading pathogens in moths could aid the diagnosis of infectious fungal diseases

On September 9–10, the third Noyori Summer School was held at Kobe Port Island, home to the RIKEN Kobe Institute and the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS). The summer school, launched in 2009, provides opportunities for young researchers from around the world to meet RIKEN leaders and interact with one another.

A bismuth-based semiconducting material could enable control of electron spin, a crucial requirement for advancing novel devices

Improvements to specialized valves that separate spin and electron currents may lead to higher-density magnetic media

Current flowing along the edges of a promising quantum device is insensitive to its magnetic impurities

RIKEN invites applications for the position of Chief Scientist to lead a new laboratory working on The Advanced Science Institute (ASI). Applications from overseas applicants are welcome

The entrapment of antimatter for 16 minutes allows for tests of the foundations of physics

A method that rapidly unveils the mode of action of anticancer compounds could soon streamline therapeutic drug discovery

Researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) has shed light on a class of heterometallic molecular structures whose features point the way to breakthroughs in the development of lightweight fuel cell technology. The structures contain a combination of rare-earth and d-transition metals ideally suited to the compact storage of hydrogen.

The ability to use magnetic fields to control a newly identified state of matter could enable more efficient memory devices

Identification of enzymes critical to natural bacterial drug production points to shortcuts for building better therapeutic agents

The ability to control how magnetic vortices gyrate together has potential application in magnetic devices

The observation and manipulation of single molecules by scanning tunneling microscopy is opening new frontiers in nanoscience

Noise reduction in advanced computing circuits comes a step closer thanks to measurements of the noise spectrum affecting superconducting circuits