Researchers from Osaka University analyzed the clinical dental records of a large group of patients with hypophosphatasia (a skeletal disease) to identify its common oral symptoms. Their findings, including early tooth loss, poor oral habits, and disordered swallowing, may help early diagnosis of hypophosphatasia, thereby improving patient treatment and quality of life.

Spatial economics is a relatively new area of economics, aiming to comprehensively analyze the spatial structures of economic activities that result from interactions between people and companies. Professor HAMAGUCHI Nobuaki, who works on global economy and economic integration at Kobe University’s Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, specializes in spatial economics, and for over a span of 10 years has been visiting areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake for his research. We asked him for his thoughts on recovery efforts from the perspective of spatial economics.

When trying to improve, refine, and seek more efficiency in disaster management measures, predicting the extent of disaster damage more accurately and communicating the assessments in a coherent manner become crucial elements for the task. This is why there are high hopes for the role of computational science, in particular simulations, and information technology in this endeavor. Professor OISHI Satoru, who specializes in social infrastructure and hydroengineering research at the Research Center for Urban Safety and Security, aims to help society change and enhance disaster resilience by building digital twins. We asked him what we can anticipate from the use of digital twin technology, and how it can contribute to disaster measures.

A Japanese study conducted by a team from Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine found that the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, equipped with sensors that alert diabetics when their blood sugar levels drop, can potentially make diabetic drivers safer on the road. Those who used the devices had lower incidences of low blood sugar and reported increased confidence in driving. 

Tokyo, Japan – The XRISM collaboration have discovered flows of hot gas in the core of the Centaurus Cluster. By comparing state-of-the-art X-ray measurements from the XRISM satellite with numerical simulations, they showed this is evidence for collisions between galaxy clusters, causing gas inside to “slosh”. This solves the longstanding mystery of how cluster cores stay hot, and sheds light on how our universe continues to evolve.

In an impressive breakthrough in surface science, a novel method has been developed to simulate and visualize the local dipole moments on the semiconductor surface using scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy (SNDM) paired with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This study, led by researchers Akira Sumiyoshi, Kohei Yamasue, Yasuo Cho, and Jun Nakamura, not only enhances the understanding of surface dielectric properties but also holds promising implications for future semiconductor device engineering and material science applications.

Soaking up pollutants like a sponge, porous organic polymers (POPs) may be the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to researchers at Tohoku University.

An Osaka Metropolitan University researcher succeeded developing highly accurate biometric authentication based on images of the palms of hands taken with a hyperspectral camera.

Assistant professor SAGA Tatsuya of the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, who is captivated by hornets and is advancing the understanding of their ecology, has an unusual career path, having taught at public high schools for 10 years. After completing a master’s program, he became a high school teacher, took a leave of absence to pursue a doctoral program, and returned to high school teaching after completing his doctorate. During this time, he continued his research independently, and in his mid-30s, he made a fresh start by joining Kobe University to devote himself to research. It has been over two years since he relocated his research base to Kobe. We asked him about the research on hornet ecology he has conducted, the outcomes of this research, and the insights derived on fostering a better relationship between humans and nature.