Topics
Skin-like wearable electronics
Sensors made from stretchable nanomesh allow skin to breathe naturally while continuously monitoring patient health.
Solar cells you can put in the wash
Scientists have developed ultra-thin photovoltaic solar cells that can be incorporated into fabric and even washed.
Learning and unlearning to fear: The two faces of noradrenaline
Fear association and unlearning fear association require different populations of noradrenaline neurons in the locus coeruleus.
ּּּBigger oocytes = more mistakes
The large size of mouse oocytes is shown to create errors when chromosomes divide between daughter cells.
Superfly flight simulator helps unravel navigation in the brain
Optical imaging neural activity in flies as they use a flight simulator can help us understand how the brain codes navigation.
Skipping fatty acids could be recipe for schizophrenia
Prenatal lack of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids linked to epigenetic changes that lead to schizophrenic symptoms in mice.
A gut-wrenching defense against parasitic worms
Mast cells in the gut help fight off parasitic worms in the early stages of infection.
Memory retrieval needs a neuronal connecting flight
Scientists use optogenetics to discover a part of the brain necessary for retrieving memories of personal experiences.
From egg to embryo
A newly discovered gene turns off an egg’s egginess, allowing it to become an embryo.
This nickel catalyst bats from both sides of the plate
Scientists discover that a nickel catalyst acts as both a acid and a base during molecule assembly.
New info about how chromosomes form
Fewer components are needed for chromosome assembly during cell division than previously supposed.
Tracking how stars grow up in a virtual playground
Amanda Alvarez writes about Steven Rieder and his research in modeling clusters of growing new stars.
Protons are lighter than previously thought
A new and most precise measurement of protons shows that they are lighter than previously thought.
Untangling depression in Huntington’s disease
New research implicates clumps of insoluble, misfolded proteins in the development of mental illness in people with Huntington’s disease
Imaging whole-body cancer metastasis at the single-cell level
A new optical clearing method allows imaging of cancer metastasis at incredibly high resolution.
Meet the editors: the growing pains of scientific publishing
Amanda Alvarez writes about the recent seminars at RIKEN by Philip Campbell and Emilie Marcus, the editors-in-chief of Nature and Cell.
Carbon nanotubes, what are they good for?
Kylius Wilkins talks to Urs Frey and his recent success manufacturing carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
Finding real rewards in a virtual world
A new study shows that mice who learn to find goals in virtual reality use their hippocampus the same was as in the real world.
RIKEN is looking for you
RIKEN is looking for you. Check out our new introductory videos! learn about exotic nuclei and much much more.
Promising mouse model for Ngly1 deficiency
A recent study of Ngly1 deficient mice used a secondary knockout to create double knockouts with symptoms similar to human NGLY1 deficiency.
Nihonium walk of fame
A nihonium walk of fame is being built to commemorate the discovery of the 113th element
New rice fights off drought
Researchers have created drought resistant transgenic rice using a gene from a small Eurasian flowering plant
Centennial RIKEN Research
???This Spring we’ve put together a special centennial issue of RIKEN Research ???
Don’t know anything about RIKEN?
Don’t know anything about RIKEN? We’ve made a new RIKEN booklet that should help!
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.
Robotic researcher to the rescue
Masaki Watabe talks about automated robotic researchers, future robot rule, and scientific philosophy.
RIKEN Research Winter Issue
It’s almost the end of the year and a here’s an early holiday present! The winter issue of RIKEN Research is here, covering plant parasites, depression, atomic clocks, and more! Enjoy!
The geometry of consciousness is a multi-dimensional math trip
Amanda Alvarez writes about how neuroscientists are studying consciousness with mathematics
RIKEN Research Fall Issue
Fall is here, and with it comes the latest issue of RIKEN Research. This issue covers tactile learning during sleep, supercomputers and simulations, solar cells, fly olfaction, tumor vaccines, and more
Locating social memories in the brain
Scientists have identified where social memories are stored in the brains of mice. Mice are forgotten because memories cannot be retrieved.
Big news in iPS cell transplants
iPS cell-derived retinal cells have been successfully transplanted from one monkey to another without need of immunosuppressant drugs.
In Japan, women in science seek allies, resources in push for gender equality
neuroamanda talks about gender equality for female scientists is Japan.
Measuring altitude — with clocks?
Measuring altitude using atomic clocks seems like a crazy idea, but it’s already being done at RIKEN in Japan
The sound of molecules: NMR-inspired music
Science & art: how NMR works and how NMR spectra have been used to compose music based on molecular structures.
Eve Marder: freeing knowledge, crashing neurons
None of us would get on a plane that had its parts changed in mid-air, says Eve Marder, who has spent her career probing a very specific cluster of crustacean nerve cells. Yet we are all walking around undergoing a constant turnover of cellular parts, and so are the lobsters and crabs Marder studies.
RIKEN Research Summer issue
A quick post to let you know that the Summer issue of RIKEN Research Magazine came out towards the end of June. This issue covers brain evolution, regenerating skin, super-clear synapses, and much much more! Enjoy!
ESOF and the gimungous telescope
Highlights from the recent EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) conference held in Manchester (actually, pre-ESOF). Science was everywhere, even out by the sheep
Call for science-inspired art
A rant about right-brain/left-brain pseudoscience and a call for science-inspired art. Scientists can be artists (and artists can be scientists)!
Why “nihonium”?
Kosuke Morita and Kouji Morimoto talked to reporters on Thursday morning about how they came up with name “nihonium” for element 113.
New mechanism allows lower energy requirement for OLED displays
Scientists have found a way to significantly reduce the amount of energy required by organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays.
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.
AdR blockers protect the brain from stroke damage
Treatment with adrenergic receptor antagonists (AdR blockers) was able to reduce stroke-related brain damage in mice and improve motor recovery.
Trigger region found for epileptic absence seizures
A mouse model shows that absence seizures are triggered by faulty connections between the cortex and fast-spiking neurons in the striatum.
Opto-OISI: imaging connections in the living brain
A new imaging technique called opto-OISI allows scientists to non-invasively visualize where specific neurons project in the living brain.
Flies smell through a gore-tex system
The newly named gore-tex gene is responsible for the development of nanopores that allow chemicals in the air to be detected (in flies).
Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling
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.
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).
Pulses of light can enhance superconductivity
Pulses of light could be used to turn materials into superconductors through an unconventional type of superconductivity.
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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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Cyborg microchip valve driven by earthworm muscle
This earthworm muscle-controlled biological microelectromechanical system (bio‐MEMS) could lead the way to next-generation medical implants.
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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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New metalloenzyme system selectively targets cancer cells
Specific targeting of cancer cells and onsite drug synthesis has been achieved using a new artificial metalloenzyme delivery system.
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Boosting betaine may be a treatment for schizophrenia
Supplementing model mice with glycine betaine (trimethylglycine), a compound originally derived from beets, can alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia.
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Gray matter volume links symptoms in autism
Low gray matter volume in the posterior superior parietal lobule (pSPL) was found to correlate with specific cognitive and perceptual symptoms of autism.