The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Ethanol pretreated soil protects plants from drought

Pretreating soil with ethanol protected plants, including wheat and rice, from the adverse effects of water deprivation.

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Protons are lighter than previously thought

A new and most precise measurement of protons shows that they are lighter than previously thought.

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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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Centennial RIKEN Research

???This Spring we’ve put together a special centennial issue of RIKEN Research ???

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Memories are made of this ? ? – (Part 1)

Brain science ’round midnight episode 8: Thomas McHugh from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science discusses memories and the brain

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Gut bacteria in babies predict childhood food allergies

Scientists found that one-month-old infants with certain gut bacteria were less likely to develop food sensitivities and food allergies later in childhood.

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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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Physiological origami and proper body development in flies

Genetics and mechanical origami in the fly embryo helps proper body development by fighting off “noisy” fluctuations is the environment.

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Decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic

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

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Laser melting ice-core sampler for studying climate change

This laser melting ice core sampler can determine temperature changes thousands of years ago on very fine timescale.

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Implantable blastocyst‐like cysts grown from stem cells

Embryo Organoids?! Blastocyst‐like cysts grown from pluripotent mouse stem cells were similar to natural blastocysts (early embryos).

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A researcher’s journey: from surfing to studying pain

Joshua Johansen from RIKEN CBS tells us about his journey from surfer to pain researcher and beyond. Stay tuned for part II …

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Freedom from fear ?‍♀️

Researchers discover a dopaminergic circuit in the brain that allows fear associations to disappear when there isn’t anything to be afraid of anymore.

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Apr

Opto-OISI: imaging connections in the living brain

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new imaging technique called opto-OISI allows scientists to non-invasively visualize where specific neurons project in the living brain.

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.

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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Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

Whether it’s bird anatomy or science cartoons, Masaki Ouchida can do it all. She spoke with us about her career in science illustration, from the US to Japan.

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Green hydrogen production for fuel cells and fertilizers

A new method of water electrolysis avoids rare metals, making hydrogen production green and sustainable.

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Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?

Scientists discover that without innate immune cells in the intestines, eating a high fat diet does not lead to obesity in mice.

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Apr

COVID-19: Changing the way we do research

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — Part #4: Team Leader Aki Minoda from RIKEN IMS talks about how the pandemic has affected the way we work.

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.

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