RIKEN held an opening ceremony on April 19, 2019, for a collaborative laboratory on natural products and chemical biology at Hangzhou Future Science and Technology Park. The collaborative laboratory will identify useful substances from natural compounds collected from microorganisms and plants, and conduct research that will lead to drug discovery. Since China is a Kampo/TCM […]
Tohoku Medical Megabank ToMMo and Kyoto University’s CiRA collaborate on iPS cell banking
ToMMo established after the Great Eastern Earthquake so far has analyzed whole genomes of 5000 healthy local people and about 100,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Since 2016, CiRA and ToMMo started collaborative research and established healthy iPS cells from somatic cells of participants in cohort surveys linked with genomic and health information. Differentiated into various […]
Kansai University develops iron oxide catalyst for high-performance organosilicon synthesis
Under a NEDO contract, the team of Yasushi ODORU at Kansai University has succeeded to substitute the conventional platinum catalyst for organosilicon synthesis by a catalyst based on iron oxide nanoparticles coated with DMF. The new catalyst has high activity even in small amounts, and can be recycled by temperature change. It can be used as a […]
Nihon Ita Glass to launch PicoGene PCR1100 mobile RT PCR device
The device allows for rapid, high-precision genetic field testing, for instance early inspection of food poisoning by bacteria. The device uses a compact fluorescence detector which applies the “SELFOC” microlens developed by the company in the 2000s as a unique core technology. Nikkei Biotech news release, April 12, 2019
Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma to explore iPS-based regenerative medicine for kidney failure
The method is based on the “embryonic organ niche method” developed by the Tokyo Jikei Medical University and others. In this method, human cells are implanted at the organ development site (organ niche) of a baby pig and grown to a normal organ. Nephron precursor cells made from human iPS cells which have differentiated into […]