The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Organ regeneration in the lab

Interview with Takashi Tsuji, team leader of the Laboratory for Organ Regeneration at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology

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A new imaging biomarker for the aging brain

Enlarged ventricles is a sign of an aging brain. New research shows that this phenomenon can be predicted by lagging brain circulation that is detected by MRI.

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New artificial skin helps avoid animal testing

A new artificial skin that reproduces proper tension can be used to research skin function and disease while reducing the need to experiment on animals.

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Super-thin wearable electronics just got more flexible

A method for making super-flexible and ultra-thin wearable electronics uses water-vapor plasma to create gold-gold bonds.

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The joys of computational mass spectrometry

Scientists have developed a new automated computational mass spectrometry system that can search an organism’s entire metabolome for as-yet-unknown metabolites (potential drugs).

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Cyborg cockroaches to the rescue!

The key to this remote-controllable cyborg cockroach is a solar-cell rechargeable battery and an ultrathin flexible backpack.

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Self-assembly of spider silk

This gut microbe might protect against diabetes and reduce insulin resistance

NEW: One-way hydrogel guides motion of tiny worms!

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Cyborg cockroaches to the rescue!

The key to this remote-controllable cyborg cockroach is a solar-cell rechargeable battery and an ultrathin flexible backpack.

Read on

Two genes that regulate how much we dream

An international research team led by RIKEN BDR has identified a pair of genes that regulate how much REM (dream) and non-REM sleep an animal experiences.

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CAPON links Alzheimer’s plaques to neurodegeneration

CAPON was found to link Aβ plaques and hippocampal neurodegeneration in mice, explaining how these two hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease are related.

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Gut bacteria reduces insulin resistance, protects against diabetes

Scientists discover gut bacteria that reduce insulin resistance in your body and sugar in your poo.

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New artificial skin helps avoid animal testing

A new artificial skin that reproduces proper tension can be used to research skin function and disease while reducing the need to experiment on animals.

Read on

Mini-EUSO launched to the International Space Station ?

The Mini-EUSO observatory was successfully launched to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS14! NASA video inside!

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Apr

Flies smell through a gore-tex system

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

The newly named gore-tex gene is responsible for the development of nanopores that allow chemicals in the air to be detected (in flies).

Apr

Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling

by admin | Hot Off the Press

When a normal cellular cleanup process is disrupted, social behavior in mice is disrupted and they start behaving in ways that resemble human symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

Mar

The joys of computational mass spectrometry

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a new automated computational mass spectrometry system that can search an organism’s entire metabolome for as-yet-unknown metabolites (potential drugs).

Mar

Pulses of light can enhance superconductivity

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Pulses of light could be used to turn materials into superconductors through an unconventional type of superconductivity.

Feb

Scientists create new type of self-healing material

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

This newly created ethylene-based material has shape memory that allows self-healing!

Feb

Brain clock ticks differently in autism

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new brain imaging study shows that autistic severity is linked to how long certain regions of the brain store information.

Dec

Supermassive black holes still dark and mysterious

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

For the first time, scientists have measured the strength of magnetic fields near supermassive black holes and something doesn’t add up.

Dec

Evolution of the inner ear: insights from jawless fish

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A new story for inner ear evolution based on the developmental patterning found in hagfish, one of two extant jawless vertebrates and a link to the last common ancestor of modern jawed vertebrates.

Dec

Tumor detection during breast cancer surgery

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a new way to accurately detect the margins between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue during breast cancer surgery.

Opossums are the first genome edited marsupials

A new piezoelectronic microinjection method has allowed the first successful genome editing in marsupials: albino opossums.

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New treatment assembles cancer drug inside the body

Cancer drugs assembled inside the body on cancer cells should reduce harmful side effects to other tissue.

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New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

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H2AK119ub1: How you inherit acquired traits from your mom

H2AK119ub1. Say that three times really fast! But seriously, it allows maternally acquired traits to be inherited.

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Mar

Telework: a societal game-changer

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #3: Team Leader Osamu Sakura (@RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project) talks about how the pandemic has affected society through the need for telework.

Mar

Decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #2: RIKEN CBS Unit Leader Rei Akaishi talks about government decision-making during the pandemic.

Mar

Confronting a string of epidemics including COVID-19

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #1: RIKEN Executive Director Shigeo Koyasu talks about epidemics and what a good response looks like.

Feb

Next stop: clinical hair regeneration

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

A new recipe for continuous cyclical hair regeneration in mice. This means that the hair will continue to fall out and regrow like normal hair.

Jan

Godzilla-sized zooplankton for better aquafarming

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have created extra large zooplankton to help feed the fish in aquafarms. The new plankton were created using an ion beam to generate mutations.

Dec

Electric rays to help us map the ocean floor

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Electric rays and sting rays could map the ocean floor through their natural behavior, helping us find resources and collect data on other ocean life.

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