News from Japan
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-May-2025 02:08 ET (1-May-2025 06:08 GMT/UTC)
Record-breaking efficiency achieved in all-organic solar cells!
Kanazawa UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
First real-time visualization of nanofiber self-assembly, uncovering key steps in the formation of supramolecular gels
National Institutes of Natural SciencesPeer-Reviewed Publication
A Japanese research team has, for the first time, captured real-time images of how supramolecular gels form using high-speed atomic force microscopy, revealing a previously unseen mechanism of fiber growth at the nanoscale.
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Funder
- Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) or the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, the JSPS for a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, a CREST Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), JSPS KAKENHI in a Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas "Materials Science of Meso-Hierarchy"
Fossil of a new mammal species from the age of dinosaurs discovered in Mongolia’s Gobi desert
Okayama University of Science- Journal
- Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained
Tokyo Metropolitan UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry
University of TokyoPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Funder
- JST ACT-X, JSPS KAKENHI, JST AdCORP, Collaborative research fund between Mercari Inc. R4D and RIISE, The University of Tokyo
Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development
Institute of Science TokyoPeer-Reviewed Publication
Chimpanzee naive pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can now be grown in cellular cultures, reveals a recent study. They successfully created chimpanzee early embryo models, called ‘blastoids,’ and found that the inhibition of a specific regulatory gene is essential for chimpanzee PSC self-renewal. They also developed a feeder-free culture system, eliminating the need for mouse-derived feeder cells as support. These findings provide valuable insights into primate embryology and could advance stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
- Journal
- Cell Stem Cell
- Funder
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Affordable hydrogen fuel production using surface reconstruction strategy
Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
Animal energy usage made visible through video
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- Funder
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Rethinking stroke risk in patients with atherosclerotic carotid stenosis
University of ToyamaPeer-Reviewed Publication
Current risk assessment guidelines for ischemic stroke may underestimate patients with mild carotid stenosis. A Japanese multicenter study found that unstable plaque—particularly intraplaque hemorrhage—was a key stroke predictor. Surgical intervention, such as carotid endarterectomy, significantly reduced stroke risk compared to medical therapy alone. These findings could prompt a shift in how physicians assess and treat mild but symptomatic carotid artery disease.
- Journal
- Journal of Neurosurgery