Olympus has built a joint venture with Korea’s Sewon Cellontech under the name of Olympus RMS Co., Ltd. This JV has developed in Japan from autologous tissue a CCI kit (Cultured Chondrocyte Implantation kit), for the treatment of traumatic cartilage defects of the knee joint and transdermable osteochondritis, and will start clinical trials in Japan. […]
Keio University: plans for clinical study on iPS cell derived neural progenitor cells, focus on subacute spinal cord injuries
Researchers at Keio University prepare for clinical studies using neuronal precursor cells derived from allogenic iPS cells. It is expected that such treatment can alleviate paralysis symptoms in patients with subacute stage spinal cord injury (“spinal cord injury 14 to 28 days after injury”). There are more than 100,000 patients in Japan, and there is […]
Konica-Minolta establishs subsidiary “Precision Medicine Japan”
The objective is to help Konica Minolta and acquired companies in decision-making for R & D, and to accelerate the development of companion diagnostic (CDx) technologies and services. Nikkei Biotech news release, November 28, 2018
Tokyo Institute of Technology: highly efficient reduction of carbon dioxide with copper manganese photocatalyst
A joint team at TIT and AIST has developed a largely improved system for production of formic acid from CO2, using a Cu (I) photosensitizer and Mn (I) catalysts. The quantum yield was 57%, the turnover number 1300 times or more. JST news release, November 28, 2018
Spiber to build production plant for spider silk proteins in Thailand
The facility will be built in Rayong, Thailand, with production and purification facilities 100 times larger than the company’s production facilities in Tsuruoka, Japan. Construction will start in mid-2019, and commercial production is planned for 2021. Processing of the raw material to spider silk fibers will remain in Japan. Spiber has raised 5 billion Yen […]
Kao finds 13,000 kinds of undegraded RNA in sebum, hopes to develop “personalized cosmetics”
During a technical presentation, Kao presented a number of innovations including the finding that a wide variety of undegraded RNA can be isolated from sebum. Kao expects that this finding will help analyze early diseases such as atopic dermatitis even before symptoms appear, and thus to care from the earliest stage. Also, since RNA changes […]
Team at Kyoto University elucidates mechanism how round shape of eyeball is formed
Satoru OKUDA and colleagues at Kyoto University’s Virus and Regenerative Medicine Research Institute have elucidated the mechanism by which the form of eye balls is shaped. First, myosin gathers on the inner surface of nerve tissue that protrudes from the brain, and the inner surface is contracted. Next, the distal end of the protruding tissue […]
Japan Agency of Science and Technology (JST) starts “dark archive” service
In the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, JST has prepared a “dark archive” of published papers providing for siutations where electronic journals are cut off due to natural disasters or other events. The service is provided by Portico, a non-profit US organization, https://www.portico.org/publishers/jstage/ JST news release, November 21, […]
Toyota Motors provides license to Japan Tobacco (JT) on its unique DNA analysis technique GRAS-Di
GRAS – Di (Genotyping by Random Amplicon Sequencing – Direct) allows to amplify thousands to tens of thousands of genomes with high reproducibility by adjusting original primers. The technology was invented by Toyota in the framework of biomass-to-fuel and environmental greening projects and licensed by Eurofin Genomics in 2017. JT will use the technology to […]
University of Kyoto’s CiRA prepare human killer T cells through iPS technology
Immunotherapy has become a fourth treatment method for cancer in addition to surgical treatment, radiation treatment and chemotherapy. For immunotherapy, a large supply of antigen-specific killer T cells are required. A team around Kaneko SHINZO at CiRA showed that when they used an iPS cell stock not derived from T cells (a HLA homologous iPS […]