Melatonin in mice, circadian rhythms, and daily torpor


A new breed of lab mouse allows the study of naturally occurring melatonin. These mice will adjust better to jetlag than regular lab mice and experience daily torpor.

Summer fun: how plants beat the heat


Scientists have discovered a gene that allows plants to cope with extreme heat by changing the composition of chloroplast membranes.

Dopamine reduces beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease


Increasing dopamine in the brains of AD model mice led to increased neprilysin, which broke down amyloid-beta plaques and improved memory.

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).

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.

Social novelty in the brain: haven’t I seen you someplace before?


Social novelty and contextual novelty are segregated in the SuM region of the hypothalamus and in projections to the hippocampus, allowing memories of meeting new people to be formed separately from memories of new places.

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Transgenic plants ??on acid survive without water


Scientists designed transgenic plants that survive drought-like conditions by bumping up acetic acid production only when water is scarce.

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.

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.

Winter Hackathon and SupercomputingAsia


Find out what RIKEN R-CCS has been up to!

Memory retrieval needs a neuronal connecting flight


Scientists use optogenetics to discover a part of the brain necessary for retrieving memories of personal experiences.

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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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.

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.