Science

火山や湖、温泉の物質からは数十億年前に存在した微生物の生態系が見えてくると語るのは、東京工業大学・地球生命研究所（ELSI）の中川麻悠子特任助教。異分野の研究者たちと共に微生物の作り出した成分を解析する傍ら、ラボマネージャーとして国内外の訪問者サポートや最先端の機材の管理などを行っている。

Earth scientist Hitoshi Gomi investigates how plants are made by studying materials from the deep Earth, while creating a hospitable workplace at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He shared his research and the role of a lab manager with Asia Research News.

地球の中心部の物質を研究しながら、共に研究をしている仲間が働きやすい環境を作るのが五味斎特任助教の日常だ。所属先の東京工業大学・地球生命研究所(ELSI)で地球科学者として行う研究活動と、ラボマネージャーの役目について、お話しを伺った。

A stable isotope of helium, 3He, was produced by the Big Bang and a remnant of the solar nebula. 3He is included in ocean island basalts, such as in Hawaiian volcanos, indicating it has been stored somewhere in the deep Earth and carried up to the surface in upwelling plumes. New computer simulations demonstrate that even in small amounts, helium can be dissolved in liquid iron at ultrahigh-pressure conditions, suggesting that there is a reservoir in the Earth’s core.

New algorithms are much better at estimating the security level of encrypted data.

Living beings need elements to develop properly. The study of ionomics measures and analyses the element accumulations in living organisms to determine which mineral nutrients are required and not required for growth. Associate Professor Toshihiro Watanabe from Hokkaido University’s Research Faculty of Agriculture applies this approach to learn about mineral accumulation in both plants and soil, in addition to inter-element interactions.

A facile synthesis of two types of pyrrole-fused azacoronene with planar and double-concave π-structures was achieved. The two electron-rich azacoronenes were found to interact with electron-deficient π-electron compounds depending on their three-dimensional structures. Azacoronene with a curved structure was found to be less aromatic than those with a planar one based on macrocyclic π-conjugation.

An international research team has unearthed more about the crustal growth history of the Central African shield—one of the oldest continental pieces on the planet that formed part of the supercontinent Columbia.

A research team, led by researchers from Tohoku University, has defined the events that punctuated the crustal history Northeast Japan. Their study has revealed the main ages of the events that shaped the geological roots of Japan.

Scientists have shown that the biological molecule PD-L1 is a potential target for the treatment of metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs.

A mitochondrial peptide called MOCCI has a surprising sidekick, and they work together to regulate inflammation and immunity, Singapore researchers reveal.

Researchers discovered, while exploring the photomechanical properties of diarylethene, that under irradiation with UV light the crystal of the compound peels off into micrometer sized crystals at a world’s fastest speed of 260 microseconds. As the material returns to its former molecular structure when exposed to visible light, the exfoliation method positions itself as a candidate for photoactuator manufacturing.

Prof. June.M. Kwak, and Prof. Chang-Hee Cho are selected for the research funds granted by Samsung Science & Technology Foundation

In the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a novel optical “micro-comb” chip developed by a physicist from the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has played a pivotal role in building the fastest optical neural network processor. An international research team has recently demonstrated the world’s fastest and most powerful optical neural network processor, which is capable of operating at faster than 10 trillion operations per second. When applied to handwritten digital recognition, a common benchmark in AI, it achieved an accuracy of nearly 90%. It represents an enormous leap forward for neural networks and neuromorphic processing.

ARN's April Newsletter features research on COVID-19 antibodies, cancer-fighting hydrogels, how the brain organizes information, the 'poor man's q-bit' and the photo of the month!

ARN's March Newsletter features women experts in honor of International Women's Day, plus the first images of muon beams, research about neural stem cells, flood prediction and how light and noise affect birds.

Scientists in Japan have developed and tested a novel probiotic formulation to control severe diarrhea in calves, ensuring their health and reducing mortality, and in turn reducing economic loss.

Tokyo summers are notorious for their sweltering heat and humidity. Scientists have found that the meandering Kuroshio Current may be the cause of increasing hot and humid summers in the Kanto region.

Human disturbance in urban environments makes some squirrels fail, but others perform better in novel problem-solving.

A paper by the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) Director Ooguri Hirosi and Project Researcher Matthew Dodelson on the string theoretical effects outside the black hole photon sphere has been selected for the “Editors’ Suggestion” of the journal Physical Review D. Their paper was published on March 24, 2021.

A study led by scientists at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has decoded the genomes of the deep-sea clam (Archivesica marissinica) and the chemoautotrophic bacteria (Candidatus Vesicomyosocius marissinica) that live in its gill epithelium cells. Through analysis of their genomic structures and profiling of their gene expression patterns, the research team revealed that symbiosis between the two partners enables the clams to thrive in extreme deep-sea environments.

An ‘eat-me’ signal displayed on cell surfaces requires activation of a lipid-scrambling protein by a nuclear protein fragment.

Professor David Matchar and his team from the Health Services and Systems Research (HSSR) Programme at Duke-NUS bagged two prestigious awards at the International Stroke Conference 2021, held virtually on 17-19 March, 2021.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Review of Scientific Instruments a newly developed atomic force microscopy approach for imaging biological samples and processes. The method offers higher frame rates and less disturbance of samples.

A design concept changes how materials separate gaseous mixtures.

Researchers improve their newly established quantum algorithm, bringing it to one-tenth the computational cost of Quantum Phase Estimation, and use it to directly calculate the vertical ionization energies of light atoms and molecules such as CO, O2, CN, F2, H2O, NH3 within 0.1 electron volts of precision.

The Science Unit of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong has reported a novel form of reproductive behaviour observed in a native frog species, Lau’s Leaf Litter Toad (Leptobrachella laui). Unconventionally, the female frog positions herself on top of the male, which is a reverse of the more usual mating arrangement.

We invite science journalists around the globe to participate of the Global Science Journalism Survey 2021.

Scientists have discovered a route of introduction for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) H5N8 into Japan and, in parallel, have investigated the potential of two human anti-influenza drugs for the control of HPAI in birds.

Researchers reveal the path of information received by the hippocampus. Using optogenetics during large-scale recordings of rat subiculum, they discovered that the subiculum distributes information from the hippocampus to 4 downstream regions of the brain. They observed that the theta and sharp-wave/ripples in the subiculum controlled information transmission with millisecond precision according to the target region. This provides the foundation for a comprehensive understanding of the hippocampal memory system.