Press releases

Researchers at Hiroshima University are closer to identifying the molecular processes underlying how floods deprive plants of oxygen — and how to engineer hardier crops.

Giants in History: Hwang Hye-seong (5 July 1920 – 14 December 2006) was an expert on Korean royal court cuisine, the knowledge of which she dedicated her career to keeping alive.

To automatically generate data for training deep convolutional neural network models to segment building facades, researchers from Osaka University used a three-dimensional model and game engine to generate digital city twin synthetic training data. They found that a model trained on these data mixed with some real data was competitive with a model trained on real data alone, revealing the potential of digital twin data to improve accuracy and replace costly manually annotated real data.

Scientists have quantified the glacier mass loss on the Kamchatka Peninsula; the accelerated loss in the region since the turn of the millennium is likely to increase in the short term.

Crucial to our everyday use the Li-ion battery can be found everywhere. Research at Tohoku University has resulted in a hybrid electrolyte that is both more stable while also retaining excellent conductivity. This will pave the way to a safer polymeric solid electrolyte for Li-ion batteries with a myriad of applications.

Researchers from Osaka University have found that photoperiod variation in bean bugs is regulated by genes involved in maintaining circadian rhythm via the neurotransmitter glutamate. The discovery of this mechanistic link between the biological clock and seasonal variation may have important implications for seasonal adaptation in other animals, given the conservation of glutamate across many species.

Researchers have used giant lobes of gamma radiation to find that a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way filled with dark matter, but whose emissions are more likely the result of millisecond pulsars blasting out cosmic particles.

The Gunflint Formation, which straddles Lake Superior’s northwestern shore, contains a treasure trove of geological clues about the evolution of life. After a recent geological reassessment of this area, a research team has unearthed new types of microfossils dating 1.9 billion years. The landmark discovery will help scientists pinpoint the timing and factors that ushered in the evolution of prokaryotes to eukaryotes.

The research team directed by H. Shimomoto and E. Ihara in Ehime University successfully developed a new Pd-based initiating system affording carbon–carbon main-chain polymers bearing end-functional groups. This achievement will contribute to progress in the field of polymer chemistry and will allow us to develop new types of functional polymers.

Even a small temperature drop in the tropical climate of Singapore increases the risk of heart attack among people aged 65 and above, say researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore’s National Environment Agency and collaborators.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals across the globe experience prejudice, discrimination, hate crimes, and many other forms of victimisation. As a fundamental means for transforming and advancing the conditions of LGBT individuals, collective action has gained increasing attention in research, policy and practice over the past decade. It has been used to advocate for LGBT rights, such as anti-discrimination laws, marriage equality, adoption and parenting, and legal recognition of gender. While collective action is influential in driving public awareness and policy changes, little is known about the psychological effects on individuals undertaking collective action.

Researchers from Osaka University and collaborating partners detected unique fluorescence blinking patterns in experiments of electron transfer to single DNA molecules. They used these patterns to identify mRNA glioma point mutations in cell culture. The results of this work could help simplify surgical biopsies, enable real-time targeted therapy, and advance scientific understanding of cancer progression.

Lim Boo Liat (21 August 1926 – 11 July 2020), a leading authority in the conservation of Malaysia’s biological diversity, had his initial interest in the outdoors piqued by nature lessons in school.

Researchers from Osaka University and collaborating partners used common nanofabrication procedures to fabricate versatile metal semiconductor superlattices. These superlattices exhibit a long-sought physical phenomenon—the anisotropic anomalous Hall effect at room temperature. This research will help improve the density of data storage, as well as the functionality of other technologies that also depend on advances in the microelectronics industry.

An international collaboration is developing coating materials that could make windows better insulators.

Scientists understand genes related to intellectual disabilities, but are often unsure of how mutations in these genes cause developmental disorders. Now, a research group led by two Tohoku University researchers has uncovered the role of CHAMP1—a gene whose mutations are associated with intellectual disability—in neuronal development.

Tohoku University scientists in Japan have made a scaffold that supports the growth of new bone in large jaw defects in mice. Their findings, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, bring scientists one step closer to addressing the issues currently facing the treatment of large jaw bone defects, especially in the elderly.

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have observed "baby stars" in the Small Magellanic Cloud, having an environment similar to the early universe. Toward one of the baby stars, they found molecular outflow, which has similar properties to those seen in the Milky Way galaxy, giving a new perspective on the birth of stars.

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists developed a simple, rapid method for identifying food poisoning-inducing bacteria based on color differences in the scattered light of composite structures consisting of gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles and polymer particles. Using these composites as test labels bound to specific bacteria, the researchers detected food poisoning bacteria E. coli O26, E. coli O157, and S. aureus as white, red, and blue scattered light, respectively, under the microscope. This new method enables simultaneous identification of multiple bacterial species within one hour, significantly shortening the usual 48-hour time requirement for conventional bacterial tests.

Tohoku University scientists in Japan have developed a mathematical description of what happens within tiny magnets as they fluctuate between states when an electric current and magnetic field are applied. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, could act as the foundation for engineering more advanced computers that can quantify uncertainty while interpreting complex data.

Commissioned between 1815-1820, the Fraser Album is considered a defining work of the Company School of painting depicting the people of India.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are dogs crying happy tears when their owner comes home, a new early warning system for solar flares, and burial practices that can tell us about ancient migration patterns.

The meniscus—a cartilage cushion in the knee—can be damaged by sports injuries or aging, but rarely heals on its own. A torn meniscus is often treated with resection, which is doomed to degeneration of the articular cartilage. For knees that have had the meniscus resected, meniscus reconstruction using autologous tendons has been performed in some countries, including Japan, but the results have not been consistent. A research group at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University discovered an extra step that changes transplanted tendon tissue to make it similar to the original meniscus, providing better knee cartilage protection. They found that parathyroid hormone, a drug used to treat osteoporosis, acted on tendon-derived cells to promote chondrogenic differentiation, which recreated a meniscus-like tissue.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have clarified that an adenosine analog—the antibiotic toyocamycin—is taken up into cells by a concentrative nucleoside transporter (CNT) in Candida albicans, an opportunistic yeast fungus that causes candidiasis infections. This was also true of the human CNT3 protein. They found that C. albicans CNT and human CNT3 proteins take up similar molecules at different rates depending on their molecular size and structure. These results are expected to lead to the development of new antifungal drugs that are effective only against C. albicans and safe for humans.

Thousands of educators, ,policymakers & technology leaders assemble to discuss the future of education in Thailand

Researchers have made perovskite solar cells more efficient and stable, A new cause of Parkinson's related cell death, Hibernating superpower is in the blood, Common mechanism for cancer and atherosclerosis, COVID-19 antibody skin-based test. Read all in the August's Editor's Choice plus an Interview with Prof Sutee Yoksan on The story behind the new dengue vaccine & this month's Asia Research News 2022 magazine pick - The evolutionary history of puddle frogs.

Immunity in Chronic Hepatitis B and innovative treatment development

Giants in History: The first Thai woman to receive a degree in medicine, Margaret Lin Xavier (29 May 1898 – 6 December 1932), is best remembered for her compassion towards her less privileged patients.

Thousands of short RNA sequences that code for microproteins and peptides have been identified, opening new avenues for disease research and drug development.

A group of researchers in Thailand has replicated "Hydroxy-xanthones", the vital extracts rich in antioxidants found in mangosteen peels that kill germs and halt infections in the intestinal mucosa. It hopes to expand to include health products for humans and animals in the future.