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!

Predictive grid cells help self navigation in the brain


Scientists have discovered grid cells in the brain that map an animal’s (or human’s) future position in space.

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.

Japanese people are a mixture of three separate ancestral groups


A new study shows that the current Japanese population is derived from 3 ancestral groups, one of which brought Denisovan DNA to the party.

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.

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.

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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!

Latest Posts

Aug

17

Eve Marder: freeing knowledge, crashing neurons

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.

Aug

5

RIKEN Research Summer issue

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!

Jun

3

RIKEN Research Spring issue is here

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!

Dec

11

Science communication symposium

Science communication symposium


Friday I participated in a small symposium that focused on science communication (for institutions in Japan). We discussed using social media as a means to self-publish wow! and amazing! research findings. Here are some of my thoughts about how useful this plays out in Japan.

Opossums are the first genome edited marsupials


A new piezoelectronic microinjection method has allowed the first successful genome editing in marsupials: albino opossums.

Microbial infections are a parasitic plant’s dream


Parasitic plants use quinones produced by their host to attack. Now we know that crops produce quinones as an immune response against microbial infection. How can we protect crops from both kinds of attack?

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%.

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.

Cancer cells killed with artificial glycosylated metalloenzyme


Scientists have developed two cancer therapies that use an artificial glycosylated metalloenzyme to specifically target cancer cells in mice.

Gut bacteria double team worsens symptoms of multiple sclerosis


Joint activity of two gut bacteria leads to excessive MOG-specific T-cell activity and demyelination of neurons in the spinal cord of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials


A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

Introducing Nikola, the emotional android boy


A new android named Nikola will help researchers study facial expressions, emotions, and social interactions.

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.

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.