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News from Japan

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Dec-2025 02:11 ET (16-Dec-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)

Illuminated changes: Enhancing D-lactic acid output with UV irradiation

Osaka Metropolitan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have successfully increased the production of D-lactic acid from methanol by exposing Komagataella phaffii yeast to ultraviolet irradiation.

Journal: Metabolic Engineering Communications
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Why do inhalational anesthetics work? Uncovering a part of its mechanism of action

Japan Science and Technology Agency
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team at The University of Tokyo has discovered that inhalational anesthetics activate a protein called type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1), which contributes to the induction of general anesthesia.

This finding shed light on a long-standing mystery: the mechanism of action of inhalational anesthetics, which has remained only partially understood for nearly 180 years. A precise understanding of how anesthetics work could pave the way for the development of more effective anesthetic agents and improved methods of administration.

Journal: PLOS Biology
Funder: Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Takeda Science Foundation, ANRI, HFSP Research Grant Program

ELSI’s challenges in the era of advanced AI

Chuo University
Meeting Announcement

Chuo University ELSI Center and The University of Osaka established the Research Center on Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (The University of Osaka ELSI Center) jointly hosted the "University ELSI Summit", a two-day event held on March 15^th and 16^th, 2025 (Saturday-Sunday) at Chuo University's Korakuen Campus (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan).

ELSI (Ethical, Legal and Social Issues) and RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) are seeing rapid development globally. These approaches are being examined across various fields both domestically and internationally. The ELSI University Summit focused on ELSI and RRI initiatives in academia and industry. These initiatives concentrate on research areas related to advanced AI and social challenges. The summit included reports from multiple stakeholders responsible for development, utilization, and regulation — including the business community, government agencies, educational institutions, science and engineering researchers, and humanities researchers. In addition, through Q&A sessions and panel discussions, the summit engaged in intensive discussions about their respective roles and the importance of collaboration. The event attracted a total of 607 on-site participants and online ones.

MHP-Net: A revolutionary AI model for accurate liver tumor segmentation for diagnosis and therapy

Institute of Science Tokyo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Signaling a major advance in small-data AI for medical imaging, a research team from Institute of Science Tokyo has developed a novel artificial intelligence model called “MHP-Net,” which delivers cutting-edge performance in liver tumor segmentation with a limited dataset. Unlike conventional models that require thousands of patient cases, this model uses sampling of 3D patches obtained from 7 to 28 tumors. Also, it outperforms the top entry of the MICCAI 2017 (worldwide liver tumor segmentation competition).

Journal: IEEE Access
Funder: JST-Mirai Program

One-step route to complex molecules using ortho-quinodimethanes

Waseda University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Diels–Alder reaction is a widely used tool for building complex ring structures but often requires difficult-to-make starting materials. Researchers from Waseda University, along with other collaborators, developed a palladium-catalyzed method to generate reactive ortho-quinodimethanes using simple, commercially available compounds. This one-step, multicomponent reaction efficiently produces diverse polycyclic molecules. Their discovery of a unique benzyl–palladium intermediate offers a practical, faster approach to synthesizing biologically important and structurally complex compounds, including natural products.

Journal: Chem

New genetic clues explain speed of insulin depletion in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes

Kindai University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a nationwide multicenter prospective longitudinal study conducted as part of the Japanese Type 1 Diabetes Database Study (TIDE-J)—a national project led by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine and the Japan Diabetes Society—researchers from Kindai University tracked 314 Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes for up to 14 years. They identified human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes and clinical markers predicting β-cell depletion, enabling individualized treatment strategies for rapid disease progression.

Journal: Diabetes Care

High-speed AFM and 3D modelling help towards understanding the dynamics of a protein implicated in several cancers

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University observe and model how the enzyme ADAR1 interacts with double-stranded RNA, which may be useful for future cancer treatment strategies.

Journal: Nature Communications