An international team of researchers including Kavli IPMU has for the first time observed a new class of exotic atomic systems—highly charged muonic ions.

A team of researchers from Toho University has uncovered a potential new use for a naturally occurring compound, schisandrin A, found in the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Schisandra chinensis. The study, recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, demonstrates that schisandrin A can effectively relax pig coronary arteries, potentially paving the way for new treatments to prevent heart attacks caused by vascular spasms.

A research team from The University of Osaka and Institute of Science Tokyo has developed a groundbreaking class of mRNA medicines that can sense changes in the body and autonomously adjust their therapeutic effect. This innovation paves the way for precision treatments that are not only more effective, but also safer—by producing just the right amount of medicine based on real-time biological signals.

Researchers from The University of Osaka found that Oxr1 and Ncoa7 regulate the vacuolar-type proton pump ATPase on the membrane of the Golgi apparatus and trans-Golgi network to maintain their luminal pH. Inhibition of Oxr1 and Ncoa7 function disrupts glycosylation, a key enzymatic process that takes place in these organelles, providing new insight into the mechanisms underlying congenital disorders of glycosylation.

A research team at The University of Osaka has unveiled the molecular mechanism behind genome ejection from adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, a crucial delivery vehicle in gene therapy. The study reveals that the N-terminal region of the VP1 protein, a component of the AAV capsid, undergoes structural changes upon heating, facilitating the release of the therapeutic genetic material. This discovery offers new guidelines for vector design and stability assessment, promising more efficient and safer gene therapies.

Excitons--bound pairs of electrons and holes created by light--are key to the optoelectronic behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, because excitons are confined to extremely small regions and exist for only fleeting moments, it has been extremely challenging to directly observe their behavior using conventional measurement techniques.

In this study, we overcame that challenge by using an ultrafast infrared near-field optical microscope that focuses femtosecond infrared laser pulses down to the nanoscale. This advanced approach allowed us to visualize where excitons are generated and decay inside CNTs in real space and real time.

Our observations revealed that nanoscale variations in the local environment--such as subtle lattice distortions within individual CNTs or interactions with neighboring CNTs--can significantly affect exciton generation and relaxation dynamics.

These insights into local exciton dynamics pave the way for precise control of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, offering new opportunities for the development of advanced optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies based on carbon nanotube platforms.

Kyoto, Japan -- Sea cucumbers spend their lives prowling the ocean floor, scavenging for food and generally minding their own business. We can see snails leading similar lives, slimy but not bothering anyone.

Yet some species of tiny sea snails are a bother: they are common parasites of sea cucumbers. Extensive taxonomic research has been conducted on these host-parasite interactions in Japan, where sea cucumbers are a seafood delicacy -- for humans.

Despite these previous studies, however, local species richness still contains some unknowns. Parasites of the sea cucumber species Holothuria atra have been thoroughly investigated, but those of Holothuria leucospilota have not. This is likely because this latter species discharges Cuvierian tubules as a defense mechanism when stressed, making them difficult to dissect.

A research group led by Professor SUZUKI Hiroaki from Faculty of Science and Engineering at Chuo University, graduate students YONEYAMA Ryotaro (at the time), MORIKAWA Naoya, and USHIYAMA Ryota (at the time), Research Fellow TSUGANE Mamiko, Technical Assistant SATO Reiko (at the time), and Special Appointed Assistant Professor MARUYAMA Tomoya from Research Center for Autonomous Systems Materialogy (ASMat), Institute of Integrated Research (IIR), Institute of Science Tokyo, along with Professor TAKINOUE Masahiro from Department of Computer Science, Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a technology for mass-producing uniform artificial cells (lipid bilayer vesicles) with artificial model nuclei using microfluidic devices with high reproducibility. They also demonstrated that protein synthesis from this model nuclei was possible.

Fluorinated compounds are used everywhere—from pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals to advanced materials in imaging techniques. One promising method for the synthesis of fluorinated compounds is using quaternary ammonium fluorides, but these fluorinating agents tend to absorb moisture (hygroscopic), which affects their reactivity. To overcome this challenge, researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have synthesized a new fluorinating agent (R4NF(HFIP)3) using KF salt through ion-exchange reaction—with promising applications in electrochemical fluorination. 

A five-dimensional (5D) Langevin approach developed by an international team of researchers, including members from Science Tokyo, accurately reproduces complex fission fragment distributions and kinetic energies in medium-mass mercury isotopes (¹⁸⁰Hg and ¹⁹⁰Hg). The model successfully captures the unusual “double-humped” fragment mass distribution observed in mercury-180 and offers new insights into how nuclear shell effects influence fission dynamics—even at higher excitation energies than previously thought—advancing our understanding of fission in the sub-lead region.