Noevir Co. starts to market DHA and EPA health food supplement
Noevir Co., a cosmetics company, starts selling a DHA/EPA health food supplement directed towards control of lifestyle diseases. Noevir press release, June 26, 2013
Joint Japanese-Chinese research group develops trinuclear titanium polyhydride complex for dinitrogen cleavage at ambient temperature and pressure
The results are coauthored by scientists from RIKEN’s Center for Sustainable Resource Science and the State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University, China. Science June 28, 2013, DOI: 10.1126/science.1238663
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers identify linolenic acid as main source of acrolein, causative agent for „oil drunkenness“
The study was jointly done with Tsuno Food Industrial Co. Yasuhi ENDO et al., JAOCS July 2013, DOI 10.1007/s11746-013-2242-z
Stocks of PeptiDream Co. plunge 41 % within two days upon cancellation of an Upjohn contract
PeptiDream is a startup company with a focus on innovative peptide therapeutics, https://www.peptidream.com/en/ Nikkei Biotech, June 28, 2013
MHLW gives green light for clinical research on iPS studies to treat age-related macular degeneration
The studies will be done by Masayo TAKAHASHI of RIKEN’s Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe. Age-related macular degeneration concerns up to 700.000 elderly Japanese. It is planned to create autologous iPS cells using skin cells taken from a patient, and then induce retinal pigment epithelium cells, or RPE cells, from each patient’s iPS cells. […]
Revised Labor Contract Act will restrict temporary employment of researchers to 5 years
According to changes enforced on April 1, 2013, workers employed for 5 years or longer must receive unlimited labor contracts. This also relates to the employment of researchers in academia Nikkei Biotech, June 27, 2013
Japanese researchers find bile acid metabolites involved in obesity-associated cancer, mice experiments
Gut bacterial metabolites of cholic acid such as deoxycholic acid have been shown to provoke the secretion of inflammatory and tumor-promoting factors in the livers of obese mice Shin YOSHIMOTO et al., Nature June 27, 2013, doi:10.1038/nature12347
RIKEN team develops procedure for making tissues transparent without damage
Dr Takeshi IMAI and others at RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe have developed a fructose-based solution which rendered mouse embryos and brains transparent within 3 days, permitting observations of fine structures and flurescent labeling under a flurescence microscope without making sections Meng-Tsen KE et al., Nature Neuroscience 2013,doi: 10.1038/nn.3447
Shiseido develops mathematical model for the study of skin irritations
Cooperation partner is Professor Masaharu NAGAYAMA of Hokkaido University Nikkei Biotech, June 24, 2013
JCR Pharmaceuticals, Kobe, opens first plant for pharmaceuticals production based on disposable bioreactors
Japan Chemical Research Co. has completed a plant with up to three culture vessels containing 2.000 L volume each, to be used to produce recombinant therapeutic enzymes. The product pipeline includes human iduronate 2-sulfatase for the treatment of Hunter’s disease, human alpha-galactosidase A for the treatment of Fabry’s-disease, and human glucocerebrosidase for the treatment of […]