Science

Cryo-electron microscopy and computer simulations uncover how a cellular protein helps transport omega-3 fatty acids to the brain and eye, with implications for drug development.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science report colloidal spheres that can be used to determine the rotational dynamics of dense suspensions

A team of scientists has shown that the healing of skin blisters is driven by hair follicle stem cells, which delay their own development in the process.

Hokkaido University researchers have developed a simple method that converts existing generic polymers into luminescent polymers using mechanical force.

Publication bias, or the tendency of researchers and journals to not publish uninteresting findings, plagues much of the natural sciences and especially biomedical research. Hiroshima University researchers have developed a meta-analytic technique exploiting publicly available transcriptome databases that avoids the problem—and in so doing, discovered four genes previously unknown to be associated with responding to low-oxygen stress.

Chemical rings of carbon and hydrogen atoms curve to form relatively stable structures capable of conducting electricity and more — but how do these curved systems change when new components are introduced? Researchers based in Japan found that, with just a few sub-atomic additions, the properties can pivot to vary system states and behaviors, as demonstrated through a new synthesized chemical compound.

Coral insights into 1,000 years of seasonal changes in the Arabian Sea warn of significant impacts caused by global warming.

Scientists have found a way to make hydrogen move faster through a solid material at cooler temperatures, paving the way for more sustainable and practical energy storage devices.

Scientists have uncovered a summertime climate pattern in and around the Arctic that could drive co-occurrences of European heatwaves and large-scale wildfires with air pollution over Siberia and subpolar North America.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo, Kobe Steel, Ltd, and Kobelco Research Institute, Inc, develop high-density, energy-efficient 3D embedded RAM for artificial intelligence applications.

Carbon degassed from planetary mantles by volcanic activity plays an important role in the planetary surface environment. However, how the carbon content in the Earth’s mantle was established is still poorly understood. Here we show that the mantle of planetary embryos may have been nearly saturated with carbon by new high-pressure experiments and pointed out that the carbon solubility of magma is very consistent with the estimated carbon contents in terrestrial and lunar mantles.

High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression.

Inquiry-based science learning supported by information and communications technology tools has been a desirable innovative approach to instructional practices with effective teacher orchestration in school education. Teacher orchestration refers to how a teacher manages real-time, multi-layered activities in a context with multi-constraints for effective instructional practices, particularly with technology support. The issue of “How to help teachers to orchestrate students’ science inquiry within and beyond the classroom” remains a blank spot in the literature. The focus of this mobile learning app namely, m-Orchestrate (“m” stands for mobile) provides a practical solution to this question.

In collaboration with Kanazawa University, researchers from Osaka City University used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize at the nanometer level the movement of individual particles within the parasitic bacterium Mycoplasma mobile. After confirming the outline on the surface of the cell structure in an immobilized state with previous data gathered from electron microscopy, the team succeeded in visualizing the real-time movements of the internal structure by scanning the outside of the cell with HS-AFM.

Scientists from Japan, Europe and the USA have described a pathway leading to the accelerated flowering of plants in low-nitrogen soils. These findings could eventually lead to increases in agricultural production.

Schematic illustrations of magnetization control by the injection of phonon angular momentum.

The Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS) of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong recently organised a STEM-design competition for secondary school students to develop gerontechnology products tailor-made for rural elders to improve their quality of life. Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School students’ “smart shopping cart”, equipped with an infrared-based, automatic motion-tracking system that helps seniors transport a large amount of goods with less effort, won the Overall Championship Award and the Age-friendly Innovation Award.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science repurpose food waste to build materials with a bending strength comparable to concrete and that still taste good

Chuo University and Hokkaido University researchers have found that infants take less than a second to completely process visual information and have the same temporal limitation in processing visual information as seen in adults.

Chirality, the lack of symmetry in matter, is an important issue in a myriad of scientific fields, ranging from high-energy physics to biology. Using magnets, a collaborative research group have furthered our understanding of how chiral information is transferred and memorized.

The Asia Research News magazine brings you fascinating research stories from diverse voices in environment, technology, materials, medicine, space and social sciences. The 2021 edition is out now.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have developed a rapid, efficient protocol for cross-coupling reactions, vastly expanding the pool of chemicals that can be used for the synthesis of useful organic compounds.

Upcoming Solar System exploration missions will search for extraterrestrial (ET) life, but ET life may not be like Earth life. A new mass spectrometry analysis technique may allow for process-based ways to find ET life that is compositionally alien.

Scientists reveal that the deterioration of modern concrete and asphalt structures is due to the presence of trace quantities of organic matter in these structures.

Everyone has to wear a mask to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, this is an additional communication barrier for people with a hearing impairment as they cannot read lips or facial expressions behind a mask. Invited by The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf, the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) recently designed a transparent ASTM Level 3 face mask based on the needs of hearing-impaired people, and its fully transparent and anti-reflective design makes lip-reading easier.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have shown how glasses that apparently look frozen can crystallize, which could contribute to the improvement of the stability of glassy materials

“By looking at substances in volcanos, lakes and hotsprings, you can start to see the ecosystems that existed billions of years ago,” says Mayuko Nakagawa, a microbiologist and specially-appointed assistant professor at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) based at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. She analyses components left by microorganisms with colleagues from various disciplines, while as a lab manager, she looks after cutting-edge equipment and visitors from different countries.

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。