The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

RIKEN Research Spring issue is here

Just a quick post to let you know that the Spring issue of RIKEN Research Magazine came out towards the end of March. This issue covers issues including the discovery of element 113, earth-friendly pesticides, and the secrets of a rice-killing fungal toxin. Enjoy!

Deadly fungi beaten with fatty acid synthase inhibitor

A new approach to attacking fungi involves inhibiting a gene needed for making fatty acids.

Blocking obesity with a protein-sugar combination

Discovery of an enzyme that prevents obesity in mice through glycosylation of a protein involved fat-cell differentiation.

Supermassive black holes still dark and mysterious

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

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

A new way to optogenetically activate neurons deep in the brain using infrared light and upconversion nanoparticles. It’s non-invasive!

Clean and green: a moss that removes lead (Pb) from water

Scientists show that the moss Funaria hygrometrica can remove harmful lead from water when in the protonema stage of development.

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Protein antigens in meat, milk, and other foods suppress gut tumors

Food antigens were found to prevent small intestinal tumors in gut-tumor prone mice by making ensuring we have enough T cells for defense.

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.

How does gravity affect antimatter?

Scientists find that antimatter reacts to gravity the same way that regular matter does.

Gene regulator that allows plant rehydration after drought

New genetic insights into the plant rehydration process: this is why your plants don’t die after you forgot to water them.

Diagnosing fetal heart disease benefits from explanatory AI

Diagnosis accuracy improved when doctors used explanatory AI to help diagnose congenital heart disease from fetal ultrasound videos.

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.

Mar

9

Heat shock system helps dried up bug come back to life

Heat shock system helps dried up bug come back to life

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

An international collaboration has determined that cooption of the Heat Shock Factor (HSF) gene system is what allows larvae of the sleeping chironomid to be able to survive severe desiccation.

Feb

23

In living color: imaging the brain with synthetic bioluminescence

In living color: imaging the brain with synthetic bioluminescence

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

A new way to image the brain from outside the head using bioluminescence.

Feb

9

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

A new way to optogenetically activate neurons deep in the brain using infrared light and upconversion nanoparticles. It’s non-invasive!

Feb

7

Running away from carbon dioxide: the terminal connection

Running away from carbon dioxide: the terminal connection

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Even fish want to avoid carbon dioxide. Now we know that they can because of chemosensation and the Terminal Nerve.

Jan

19

Rainbow engineering to make the brain glow

Rainbow engineering to make the brain glow

by amanda alvarez | Drop of science

Bar talk about tinkering with bioluminescent molecules from jellyfish, corals, and algae, figuring out how they work, and making them more useful for brain science.

Jan

18

Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions

Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Data from the Himawari-8 geosynchronous satellite was used in weather simulations to improve forecasts of sudden precipitation and tropical storm development.

Jan

17

Clean and green: a moss that removes lead (Pb) from water

Clean and green: a moss that removes lead (Pb) from water

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists show that the moss Funaria hygrometrica can remove harmful lead from water when in the protonema stage of development.

Jan

15

The brain’s GPS has a buddy system

The brain’s GPS has a buddy system

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

In addition to encoding self location, brain cells in the rat hippocampus act like a GPS that encodes the location of other rats.

Dec

25

Leaky plants bad for drought resistance

Leaky plants bad for drought resistance

by adam phillips | Research in Depth

The KAI2 receptor for compounds found in smoke helps plants retain water and survive during drought.

Diazoxide pills for Alzheimer’s disease?

Drug therapy with with diazoxide relieved symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice and improved memory.

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.

Social contact-seeking behavior and loneliness in the brain

Levels of the peptide amylin in the brain are related to loneliness; activating amylin neurons in the MPOA drives isolated mice to seek social contact.

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.

Mar

9

Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins

Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Vermilion samples taken from ancient artifacts with sulfur-free tape can tell us about trade patterns 3000 years ago.

Jan

29

Are you “at risk” of being a habitual coffee drinker?

Are you “at risk” of being a habitual coffee drinker?

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are related to dietary habits, including coffee, tea, tofu, and yogurt consumption.

Jan

24

Astrocytes powered by norepinephrine during fear-memory formation

Astrocytes powered by norepinephrine during fear-memory formation

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

Norepinephrine released in the locus coeruleus during fear learning is accompanied by increased calcium and cAMP levels in nearby astrocytes.

Dec

19

Brain wave synchrony can predict memory age

Brain wave synchrony can predict memory age

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

The degree of neuronal synchrony between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus during recall is an indication of memory age (in mice).

Dec

18

AI identifies features associated with cancer recurrence

AI identifies features associated with cancer recurrence

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Artificial intelligence has successfully identified features relevant to cancer prognosis that were not previously noted by pathologists

Nov

15

Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells

Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Blood analysis in supercentenarians showed that they have many more cytotoxic CD4 T-cells than people with average life spans.