研究者・留学生向け英文メールニュース「Science Tokyo Bulletin #1—Mar. 2025」を配信

Researchers from Science Tokyo have discovered that bacterial swarms transition from stable vortices to chaotic turbulence through distinct intermediate states. Combining experiments with bacterial swarms, computer simulations, and mathematical modeling, the team clarified the intricate process by which orderly swirling turns to disordered turbulence as the free space available to bacteria increases. These findings provide new insights into active matter physics and could inform future applications in micro-robotics, biosensing, and active fluid-based micro-scale systems.

Rubidium could be the next key player in oxide-ion conductors. Researchers at Science Tokyo have discovered a rare rubidium (Rb)-containing oxide-ion conductor, Rb5BiMo4O16, with exceptionally high conductivity. Identified through computational screening and experiments, its superior performance stems from low activation energy and structural features like large free volume and tetrahedral motion. Its stability under various conditions offers a promising direction for solid oxide fuel cells and clean energy technologies.

The detection of cancer-associated micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) in urine through a combination of nanowire-based miRNA extraction and machine learning (ML) analysis by researchers from Science Tokyo can fuel the development of early-stage cancer diagnostic tools. The nanowire-based capture and extraction of miRNAs in urine enabled the detection of more than 2,000 distinct miRNA species, while the ML-based classifier accurately distinguished between cancerous and noncancerous samples.

A collaborative research team, including Science Tokyo, has developed wide-incident-angle radio-wave absorbers for millimeter-wave and terahertz applications. These absorbers demonstrate wideband frequency absorption up to an incident angle of 60 degrees, made possible through the use of frequency selective surface (FSS) patterns. This innovation greatly improves the absorbers' efficiency in advanced communication systems, such as 5G and Beyond 5G networks. Notably, the absorbers also allow low-frequency signals, like Wi-Fi, to pass through. This dual functionality makes them highly versatile and suitable for modern communication systems that demand both high-frequency signal absorption and low-frequency transmission.

Tongue cancer (TC) cells can enter a chemo-resistant state by activating pathways related to autophagy and cholesterol synthesis, report researchers from 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.

Frequent mutations of SARS-CoV-2 have reduced the effectiveness of vaccines, highlighting the need for mutation-resistant treatments. In a collaborative study, researchers from Science Tokyo, Japan developed CeSPIACE, a peptide inhibitor that blocks the virus from binding to host cell receptors. Unlike some existing treatments, CeSPIACE works against many variants, including those from the original strain to Omicron XBB.1.5. This breakthrough could help prevent and treat COVID-19.

The discovery of a family with sequence similarity 102 member A (Fam102a) protein as a novel bone remodeling factor that regulates both osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation can aid the development of innovative therapeutic strategies to counter osteoporosis. Their research findings reveal the intrinsic role of Fam102a in the nuclear trafficking of key transcription factors-regulatory proteins involved in the complex bone remodeling process.

One leading theory on the origins of life on Earth proposes that simple chemical molecules gradually became more complex, ultimately forming protocells—primitive, non-living structures that were precursors of modern cells. A promising candidate for protocells is polyester microdroplets, which form through the simple polymerisation of αHAs, compounds believed to have accumulated on early Earth possibly formed by lightning strikes or delivered via meteorites, into protocells, followed by simple rehydration in aqueous medium. A recent study from ELSI at Science Tokyo provides new evidence supporting the formation of polyester microdroplets under a wider range of realistic prebiotic conditions than previously thought.