Topics
Running away from carbon dioxide: the terminal connection
Even fish want to avoid carbon dioxide. Now we know that they can because of chemosensation and the Terminal Nerve.
Rainbow engineering to make the brain glow
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.
Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions
Data from the Himawari-8 geosynchronous satellite was used in weather simulations to improve forecasts of sudden precipitation and tropical storm development.
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.
The brain’s GPS has a buddy system
In addition to encoding self location, brain cells in the rat hippocampus act like a GPS that encodes the location of other rats.
Leaky plants bad for drought resistance
The KAI2 receptor for compounds found in smoke helps plants retain water and survive during drought.
Helping the body clock keep its cool
Two parallel temperature-responsive mechanisms ensure that circadian rhythms are not skewed by changes in temperature
The stars align
The stars align. That’s what you say, when things work out perfectly. In the case of an eclipse, of course, it’s not stars that align but rather the moon and sun.
What’s that smell? The advantage of sniffing
Rhythmic sniffing boosts phase-coded neuronal signals in the mouse olfactory bulb that allow odors to be identified.
Quantum dots light up cancer with a little help
Researchers have found a small connecting protein that can help make quantum dot-based probes for biomedical imaging.
Most precise measurement ever of proton magnetic moment
Using a sophisticated setup, scientists have made the most precise measurement to date of the proton magnetic moment.
Proton and antiproton still seem identical
Using a novel two-particle measurement method, scientists have measured the magnetic moment of the antiproton at a precision 350 times higher than any previous measurement.
Microcolumns: elementary neuronal units that carpet the (mouse) brain
A hexagonal lattice organizes major cell types in the cerebral cortex, with similar cells synchronizing their activity in microcolumns.
Jupiter’s volcano-powered auroral lights
A collaborative effort used data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft to explain the transient auroras found on Jupiter.
Hepatoma (liver cancer) blocked by a sugar look-a-like
A sugar (fucose) analog can prevent liver cancer (hepatoma) from invading healthy liver cells.
Random movements help color-detecting cells form the proper pattern
Scientists have used a mathematical model to explain why zebrafish cone cells in the eye are arranged in a specific pattern in all individuals.
Visualizing chick-brain morphogenesis
A new statistical-based method provides insight into the morphogenesis of developing organs.
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
Are you “at risk” of being a habitual coffee drinker?
Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are related to dietary habits, including coffee, tea, tofu, and yogurt consumption.
Astrocytes powered by norepinephrine during fear-memory formation
Norepinephrine released in the locus coeruleus during fear learning is accompanied by increased calcium and cAMP levels in nearby astrocytes.
Brain wave synchrony can predict memory age
The degree of neuronal synchrony between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus during recall is an indication of memory age (in mice).
AI identifies features associated with cancer recurrence
Artificial intelligence has successfully identified features relevant to cancer prognosis that were not previously noted by pathologists
Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells
Blood analysis in supercentenarians showed that they have many more cytotoxic CD4 T-cells than people with average life spans.
Schizophrenia biomarker (hydrogen sulfide) in human hair
Not only is hydrogen sulfide a good biomarker for schizophrenia, it’s also the culprit and a new starting point for drug discovery.
Brain tissue kept alive for weeks with new microfluidic device
A new microfluidic device can keep tissue cultures functional for weeks on an artificial membrane
Massive filaments, galaxies, and supermassive black holes
Big telescopes yield big data! Detailed observations gas filaments connecting galaxies in a distant proto-cluster in the early Universe.
Understanding non-coding DNA: gene “enhancers”
NETCAGE is a newly developed technique for determining the structure of portions of the non-coding genome called ‘enhancers.’
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Artificial gravity protects the immune system of mice in space
Mice who experienced artificial gravity on the ISS suffered less damage to their immune system (thymus) than weightless mice did.
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Ultraprecise clocks and the Tokyo Skytree verify Einstein’s theory of relativity
Time measured at the top and bottom of the Tokyo Skytree with ultraprecise clocks has verified the time dilation effect predicted by Einstein.
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Low-protein diet changes sperm and health of future offspring
Low-protein diets in male mice alter sperm and result in offspring that have metabolic problems like diabetes in adulthood.
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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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Efficient and durable ultra-thin solar cells
Ultra-thin, flexible, organic solar cells that degrade less than 5 percent after 3,000 hours and an energy conversion ratio of 13%.
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Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins
Vermilion samples taken from ancient artifacts with sulfur-free tape can tell us about trade patterns 3000 years ago.