Advanced Science

A chance observation leads to potential insights into the basis for cell damage associated with disorders like Alzheimer’s disease

Research on the function of a type of RNA called ‘Gomafu’ is the primary field of study at RIKEN’s Nakagawa Initiative Research Unit.

An organic compound provides the rare opportunity to study electrons that behave as if they have no mass

A newly created yeast gene archive will enable efficient analysis of the function of bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical use

A two-day joint workshop organized by RIKEN and the University of Edinburgh was held at the British Embassy in Tokyo on 14–15 May, featuring presentations by leading researchers in the fields of Systems Biology, Computational Biology and Metagenomics.

This article gives an overview about research combining organic substances and base metals such as zinc to create molecules with properties equivalent to those of precious metals, or molecules that can cause completely new chemical reactions.

New phosphorescent complexes improve manufacturing of high-efficiency light sources

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has recently organized a group of biotechnologists and chemical engineers to conduct scientific investigations in a bid to produce ethanol from so-called 3rd generation biofuel feedstocks.

Enhancements to an experimental technique reveal novel magnetic materials

There are liquids that can climb up the walls of their container like a life form and down the other side. Superfluid helium is the only liquid that exhibits this mysterious phenomenon.

In their latest work, Tahara and a team of international and Japanese scientists have directly observed how an organic molecule named stilbene rearranges its structure.

The new Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has identified a new pulsar by detecting its gamma-ray emission

Kei Manabe, Initiative Research Scientist, has developed an innovative ‘pinpoint’ catalyst, which can drastically decrease the number of synthetic processes, thereby attempting to bring innovation to chemical synthesis.

RIKEN has had a long history of space research, and many groundbreaking discoveries are continuing to be announced.

A microscopy technique unveils previously hidden information on the nature of superconductivity

RIKEN scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, have unveiled the possible existence of a new magnetic phase in the spatial arrangements of electron spins

“People think cholesterol is bad for health. But without cholesterol, we could not survive. Cholesterol is important, but its function remains elusive.”

There are many types of medicine for which effects are improved and side-effects are decreased when attention is based to the rhythm of ingestion. For example, people with hyperlipidemia are prescribed with medicine that reduces the formation of cholesterol, and this medicine is best taken in the evening.

A detailed structural analysis reveals new insights into the operating mechanism of a protein pore

The research at the facility will be useful in developing electronic devices that utilize molecular fluctuation and instability. It is also expected to produce new functional materials and information-processing technologies.

Cellular proteins assist plant cells to ensure their offspring inherit the capacity to support themselves

The controlled rearrangement of surface-adsorbed molecules can be achieved by careful application of an electric field between a scanning tunneling microscope tip and a surface

Controlled collisions of molecules allow RIKEN scientists to visualize dual microscopic chemical reaction pathways

A genomic study reveals important details about how microbes dwelling in the termite gut help their insect hosts to wreak havoc

Experiments with a rotating magnetic field provide new understanding on its coupling to the electric polarization of a multiferroic material

A new quantum theory describes magnetism in multiferroic materials more realistically than earlier theories

The powerful x-rays from a RIKEN synchrotron can provide high-contrast images of biological specimens

A new theory predicts an unusual excitation spectrum for a chain of ultracold gas atoms

Cellular proteins assist plant cells to ensure their offspring inherit the capacity to support themselves