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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.
Nerd Nite comes to Tokyo
Jens checks out Nerd Nite in Tokyo — swords and physics and brains oh my!
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!
Organ regeneration in the lab
Interview with Takashi Tsuji, team leader of the Laboratory for Organ Regeneration at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology
Of mice and NREM: In this brain circuit, memories depend on sleep
The parts of the brain responsible for creating a memory must be re-activated during a specific part of the sleep cycle for mice to remember.
Dear RIKEN: Can you bring frozen animals back to life?
Today we post our first Dear RIKEN question and answer.
From evolutionary morphology to Godzilla
I recently spoke with RIKEN scientist Shigeru Kuratani about evolutionary morphology, sci-fi monsters, the genius of Alien, and more.
Award-winning 3D images of living cells
An interview with Yuko Kiyosue, discussing the 3D images of living cells that gained her and her colleagues a recent award.
Electrolithoautotrophs
Learn what electrolithoautotrophs are and how the scientists proved that A. ferrooxidans can use electric potential to fuel growth.
Element 113: “discovery” or not?
Recently four new synthetic elements were added to the periodic table. We asked Dr. Morita whether he thinks his team “discovered” or “created” element 113.
Black smokers and electroecosystems
Black smokers are deep-sea hydrothermal vents found in the ocean. Now scientists believe that they may host electroecosystems in which the primary producers use electric currents as their energy source.
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.
RIKEN at a glance
We’ve just gotten our order of RIKEN at a Glance booklets back from the printers, and they look fantastic. Follow the link to download your electronic copy now!
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.
Ö¼Ö¼Ö¼Bigger 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.
Feb
9
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!
Feb
7
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.
Jan
19
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.
Jan
18
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.
Jan
17
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.
Jan
15
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.
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