Science

A research team led by Osaka Metropolitan University has revealed a difference in neural activity in response to visual food stimuli, depending on whether those stimuli are presented consciously or unconsciously. Using a questionnaire to assess the study participants, the team found that this difference was associated with their scores on eating behaviors, including emotional eating and cognitive restraint of food intake. These results indicate that eating behavior cannot be understood without taking into account both unconscious and conscious neural processes.

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.

When stars die out, they emit gamma-ray bursts. Although scientist can calculate the explosion energy from dying stars, it is difficult to do when the conversion efficiency is low or unknown. Using light polarization, a research group has found a workaround for this, enabling astronomers to calculate the hidden energy of gamma-ray bursts.

Sound velocities of superhydrous phase B and the presence of water in the Earth’s mantle

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.

There is a small area on the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by terahertz waves, where conventional electronic devices struggle to operate. Still, engineering devices that can take advantage of terahertz waves are crucial for the development of future wireless technology such as 6G and 7G. Using a graphene transistor, a research team has successfully detected terahertz waves with a fast response and high sensitivity at room temperature.

In baseball, even the smallest detail can tip the scales in favor of the batter or the pitcher. A recent publication has highlighted how rosin powder helps maintain a more constant friction when pitching, something that could bring about a fairer playing field in Major League Baseball.

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.

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.

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.

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.

- DGIST Joint Team of Professors Kim Hoe-joon and Hong Seon-ki developed high-efficiency piezoelectric energy harvesting technology using materials harmless to humans - Attachable to body, generates energy and diagnoses exercise posture... Published in the November issue of ‘Nano Energy’

Researchers at The University of Tokyo develop a simple but effective method of bonding polymers with galvanized steel, a material ubiquitous in the automobile industry, to cheaply and easily create a lightweight and durable product.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has discovered that 2,5-distyrylpyrazine (DSP) crystals undergo a unique photoreaction. Normally, photoreactive color changes proceed uniformly throughout photomechanical molecular crystals, so that all parts of each crystal change color at the same time. However, when light shines evenly on a DSP crystal, the photoreaction propagates from edge to center, deviating from conventional photochemistry models. The group found that this phenomenon was caused by a surface effect and a cooperative effect, which make reactivity extremely high for molecules at the crystal’s edge and those adjacent to molecules that have already changed color.

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

Scientists from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia have reported a novel way to produce reinforced concrete materials using tin slag aggregates, which is a by-product of the smelting process. This way of producing concrete enables tin slag to become a useful material, as well as reducing the amount of natural resources used, which in turn contribute to reducing carbon footprint in the construction industry.

− The European Commission Approved QDENGA (TAK-003) for Use in Individuals Four Years of Age and Older [i] − QDENGA Becomes the Only Dengue Vaccine Approved in the EU for Use in Individuals Regardless of Previous Dengue Exposure [i]

Magnetic nozzle plasma thrusters are thought of as the future of space travel. But one problem has hampered their development – plasma detachment. A recent study has shown that spontaneously excited plasma waves help magnetic nozzles overcome the plasma detachment problem, a rare instance of plasma instabilities having a positive effect on engineering.

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.

Automated reaction path search method predicts accurate stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions using only target molecule structure.

Giants in History: Chinese palaeontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Pei Wenzhong (January 19, 1904 – September 18, 1982) is regarded as a founder of Chinese anthropology.

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.

Using a quantum computer, Osaka Metropolitan University researchers utilized quantum logic circuits to directly calculate, in a single calculation, the energy difference between two molecular geometries. The developed method was then applied to execute the molecular geometry optimization of typical molecular systems. On a classical computer, calculations based on the finite difference method require at least two evaluations of the energy for one-dimensional systems, but previous research has shown that a quantum computer can be used to calculate the energy derivatives based on this method in a single calculation. However, quantum circuits relevant to quantum algorithms capable of performing the energy derivative calculations had not been implemented. The research group has successfully created a quantum circuit to calculate the energy derivatives by modifying the quantum circuit used in the previously developed quantum phase difference estimation algorithm.

The Sox9 gene is upregulated in the absence of sex-determining Y chromosome and Sry gene in Amami spiny rat.

A Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) collaborative research team has synthesised a nanoparticle named TRZD that can perform the dual function of diagnosing and treating glioma in the brain. It emits persistent luminescence for the diagnostic imaging of glioma tissues in vivo and inhibits the growth of tumour cells by aiding the targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs. The nanoparticle offers hope for the early diagnosis and treatment of glioma, especially cerebellar glioma, which is even harder to detect and cure with existing methods.

We don’t know much about the Earth’s inner core because recreating its conditions in a laboratory setting remains fraught with difficulties. Based on tracking seismic waves, scientists theorize that the area in and around the core comprises mostly of iron. But the values extracted from these indicators differ from how pure iron typically behaves. Now, a collaborative research group has succeeded, for the first time, in measuring the speed of sound of pure iron under pressures similar to the Earth’s inner core boundary.

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.

A new model explains that water evaporating from the Arctic Ocean due to a warming climate is transported south and can lead to increased snowfall in northern Eurasia in late autumn and early winter. This information will allow for more accurate predictions of severe weather events.

Professor Chua Chee Kai and Associate Professor Yuen Chau, from the Engineering Product Development pillar at SUTD join the list of Highly Cited Researchers™ (HCR) 2022.

Theory-guided development of an easier, more versatile process for synthesizing unsymmetric ligands provides new avenues of exploration in transitional metal catalysis.