Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created nanostructured alumina surfaces which are strongly antibacterial but can be used to culture cells. They found that anodic porous alumina (APA) surfaces prepared using electrochemistry in concentrated sulfuric acid had unprecedented resistance to bacterial growth, but did not hamper cell cultures. The team’s technology promises to have a big impact on regenerative medicine, where high quality cell cultures without bacterial contamination may be produced without antibiotics.

Researchers Ibuki Taniuchi, Ryota Akiyama, Rei Hobara, and Shuji Hasegawa of the University of Tokyo have demonstrated that the direction of the spin-polarized current can be restricted to only one direction in a single-atom layer of a thallium-lead alloys when irradiated at room temperature. The discovery defies conventions: single-atom layers have been thought to be almost completely transparent, in other words, negligibly absorbing or interacting with light. The one-directional flow of the current observed in this study makes possible functionality beyond ordinary diodes, paving the way for more environmentally friendly data storage, ultra-fine two-dimensional spintronic devices, in the future. The findings were published in the journal ACS Nano.

Researchers have developed a new process that uses microwave flow reaction and recyclable solid catalysts to efficiently hydrolyze polysaccharides into simple sugars. The developed device utilizes a continuous-flow hydrolysis process, where cellobiose is passed through a sulfonated carbon catalyst that is heated using microwaves, resulting in the efficient conversion of cellobiose to glucose.

A team led by researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a dataset of the whole atmosphere, enabling new research to be conducted on previously difficult-to-study regions. Using a new data-assimilation system called JAGUAR-DAS, which combines numerical modeling with observational data, the team created a nearly 20-yearlong set of data spanning multiple levels of the atmosphere from ground level up to the lower edges of space. Being able to study the interactions of these layers vertically and around the globe could improve climate modeling and seasonal weather forecasting. There is also potential for interdisciplinary research between atmospheric scientists and space scientists, to investigate the interplay between space and our atmosphere and how it affects us on Earth.  

Valence electrons exhibit electrical conductivity and magnetism. Initially, we studied magnetic spin ordering in triangular lattice semiconductors using light. However, about half of these electrons did not directly contribute to magnetism. Instead, two such electrons formed weakly bound pairs, similar to superconductors. Considering all valence electrons, the system resembles a quantum spin liquid. Our findings show that these previously overlooked "inactive" electrons play a vital role in quantum properties.

Researchers have finished equipping the Subaru Telescope with a new special “compound eye,” culminating several years of effort. This new eye is an instrument featuring approximately 2,400 prisms scattered across the extremely wide field of view available at the Subaru Telescope’s primary focus, allowing for simultaneous spectroscopic observation of thousands of celestial objects. This unrivaled capability will help researchers precisely understand the formation and evolution of galaxies and the Universe. Among 8-meter-class telescopes, the Subaru Telescope is the most competitive with the largest survey capability in the world. This instrument, the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS), will be ready to begin scientific operations in February 2025.

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A research team consisting of the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception & Cognition Lab of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, showed that certain combinations of facial expressions and facial colors increased the event-related potential P3. The human brain emits weak electrical signals (electroencephalogram, EEG), and the event-related potential P3 is a positive amplitude potential that reflects selective attention and is observed in the EEG around the parietal and center at 300–500 ms after stimulus perception. This study showed that the P3 amplitudes for red angry faces are higher than those for red neutral faces, and that the relationship between facial expression and facial color, that is, an angry face and red, changed brain activity reflecting selective attention. The results of this study were published online in the journal eNeuro on January 10, 2025.https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0419-24.2024

Intercultural communication is vital in today’s growing and connected world. However, differences in cultural and linguistic practices often result in miscommunication. Emphasizing the relevance of culture in informal communication, Professor Stadler from Doshisha University explores how cultural differences can affect interaction patterns. The study discusses diverse interactions from East Asian and Southeast Asian settings to reveal how culture often becomes the focal point in conversation, which in turn, plays an important role in international communication.

An Osaka Metropolitan University research team found a key indicator for the chemical activity of acoustic microbubbles and a correlation between the temperature of a liquid and that of the microbubbles generated.

Tongue cancer (TC) cells can enter a chemo-resistant state by activating pathways related to autophagy and cholesterol synthesis, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. Using a large-scale library of TC organoids they developed, the researchers performed comprehensive comparative analyses of chemo-sensitive and chemo-resistant cells. Their efforts shed light on promising avenues toward new treatments for tongue cancer.