Nature Communications

New material releases stored heat under weak pressure

A novel mechanism of droplet phase separation

Making carbon-carbon bonds continues to be an important strategy to synthesize useful pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials. Chemists have expanded the scope of a Nobel Prize-winning carbon-carbon bond forming reaction by using esters and boronic acids as coupling partners in the presence of an economically friendly nickel catalyst.

Production of unique peptides for positive selection of killer T cells in the thymus

A nanostructure design enables pixels to produce two different colors depending on the polarization of the incident light

A Korean and Taiwanese research team has recently discovered strong evidence that zinc is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and improves social interaction in mouse models with ASD.

A research group led by Yusuke Yamauchi at National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in cooperation with other research organizations in Japan and overseas, successfully developed a nanoporous gold material with a regular, uniform pore arrangement using polymers as a template.

Japanese researchers are studying quail to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in their breeding behaviours.

Researchers at the RIKEN Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory and the University of Tokyo in Japan have determined that the eardrum evolved independently in mammals and diapsids―the taxonomic group that includes reptiles and birds.

Researchers in South Korea have developed a novel photolithographic technology enabling control over the functional shapes of micropatterns using oxygen diffusion.

Researchers in South Korea have, for the first time, developed a simple technique to produce a two-dimensional nitrogen-containing crystal that has the capacity to be a potential rival to graphene and silicon as semi-conductor materials.

The rapid and uniform construction of nanographene sheets has now become possible in a precisely controlled manner from a new catalytic system developed by a team of chemists at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University and the JST-ERATO Project led by Professor Kenichiro Itami.

A research team in South Korea has developed a technology that can manipulate a polarized light in broadband operation with the use of a metamaterial.

This breakthrough in quantum information processing was achieved using state-of-the-art diamond growth technology.

RIKEN, the University of Tokyo, and NIMS succeeded for the first time in generating and visualizing electron spin vortex state "skyrmion molecules" with topological charge 2 within a thin film of "La1+2xSr2-2xMn2O7," a layered manganese oxide which is a ferromagnetic material with uniaxial anisotropy.

Waseda University researchers have discovered a hormonal mechanism for controlling aggressiveness in male birds. The team hope this may lead to a method of reducing aggressive behavior in humans.

(Tsukuba, 23 January 2013) Robust, highly conductive 3D graphene structures for use in super-capacitors, through a method inspired by blown sugar, created.

An experimental demonstration of light scattering controlled by silicon nanoparticles augurs well for the development of integrated optical circuits

A team of researchers from Japan has finally solved the riddle of the origin of the turtle shell.

Korean researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a novel bio-inspired composite electrocatalyst which outperforms platinum, in terms of cost, production simplicity and has a longer cycle life reaching above 1000 cycles.

A research team headed by Dr. Takashi Nakanishi, a Principal Researcher of the NIMS Organic Materials Group, Polymer Materials Unit, developed a full-colour tunable luminescent liquid material with excellent light stability based on an anthracene molecule, which is a general organic fluorescent dye.

A new prototype random-access memory, which uses light for reading out information, is presented in this week’s online issue of Nature Communications. This memory has an exceptionally high write and read speed, a low energy consumption and good endurance making it a promising candidate in the quest for a “universal memory”.

(Tokyo, 27 May 2013): Scientists at Tokyo Tech have developed a new self-assembled nanostructure that can survive very hot or saline environments.

A research group at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) of NIMS discovered an intriguing phenomenon in which an inorganic layered crystal expanded and contracted by 100 times its original size in a few seconds in an aqueous solution, displaying a behavior similar to a living cell.

Kanazawa, Japan, 25 Feb - Researchers at Japan’s Kanazawa University have proven the existence of communicative signalling from female mice that induces male parental behaviour. The research was published in Nature and is described in the Feb issue of the Kanazawa University Research Bulletin

Korean researchers believe that the 'DJ-1 protein' can be used to promote the formation of new bone tissue in patients suffering from osteoporosis by improving communication between bone making cells (osteoblasts) and blood vessel (endothelial) cells. The research was published in Nature Communications.

A metamaterial invisibility cloak that can adapt to hide different sized objects is demonstrated by in Nature Communications this week. The findings represent a useful advance for more practical applications of metamaterial cloaking. The research is led by Yonsei University, Korea.

RIKEN, the University of Tokyo, and NIMS succeeded in forming a skyrmion crystal, in which electron spin is aligned in a vortex shape, in a microdevice using the helimagnet FeGe, and driving the skyrmion crystal with an ultra-low current density less than 1/100,000 that of the current necessary to drive magnetic domain walls in ferromagnets.

Research group headed by Professor Takashi Tsuji demonstrates regenerating “functional hair regeneration from adult stem cells” Substantial advance in the development of next-generation of “organ replacement regenerative therapies”