News of the month
2023/11 CCUS: Japan inaugurates ship for liquid CO2 sea transport
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101705.html The CO2 transport test ship “Ekusukuru”, which incorporates a marine cargo tank system for transporting carbon dioxide (CO2) and…
2023/10 RIKEN to use generative AI in search for exhaustive hypotheses that exceed human cognitive abilities
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/09/06/11054/ A new program “Development and sharing of generative AI models for scientific research” aims to train RIKEN’s experimental/measurement data…
2023/09 Sakana Dream Co. develops high-value aquaculture fish through reproductive stem cell transplantation
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/column/16/021500017/100300305/ https://sakana-dream.com/english Sakana Dream (Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture) is developing and marketing new cultured fish by applying a surrogate fish…
2023/08 Japan’s Fermelanta to produce bio-based pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients using E. coli
https://fermelanta.com https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/column/16/021500017/080100292/ Firmelanta is a startup from Ishikawa Prefectural University that uses E. coli bacteria to create biotech products. The…
2023/07 Mahoro humanoid robot improves the handling of cell cultures
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/06/29/10868/ The general-purpose humanoid robot “Mahoro” is one of the most well-known of all experimental automation devices. Mahoro has a…
2023/06: Shimadzu test-markets intestinal bacteria co-culture device
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/06/21/10838/ Shimadzu Corporation begins test marketing of its “Intestinal Bacteria Co-Culture Device”, which can co-culture intestinal bacteria and intestinal epithelial…
2023/05 Kobe’s BioPalette develops genetically modified enterobacteria for microbiome therapy
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/04/25/10628/ https://www.biopalette.co.jp BioPalette is a Kobe University startup established in February 2017 based on research results from Kobe University. Professor…
2023/04 Chitose Carbon Capture Central (C4) starts 7 ha microalgae cultivation facility in Kuching, Malaysia
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/report/16/082400016/041900285/ Across the road is a thermal power plant, and the CO2 in its exhaust gas is used to cultivate…
2023/03 Suntory pioneers bowel analysis through gut sound recorded by smartphone
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/23/03/09/10478/ The Suntory Group has released “Gut Note,” a smartphone application utilizing gut sound analysis technology which records the sound…
2023/02: A digital twin achieves productivity improvement and reduced human workload
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101606.html In order to address labor shortages in Japan, where the working-age population is declining more rapidly than anywhere else…
2023/01: A 1 µm green microalgae, Medakamo hakoo, holds promise for synthetic biology
https://www.jst.go.jp/pr/announce/20230127/pdf/20230127.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04367-9 A team from the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo University of Science has cultured a new type…
2022/12 Japanese team wins first prize in European competition on artificial photosynthesis
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101598.html The University of Tokyo and INPEX Co., partners in NEDO’s project “Technology Development for the Production of Key Chemicals…
2022/11 Osaka University team prints edible QR code into cookies
https://www.jst.go.jp/pr/announce/20221017/pdf/20221017.pdf Kosuke Sato and colleagues have embedded “edible information” into cookies using a 3D printer. 2D codes, or AR markers,…
2022/10 Cyfuse reports progress on 3D printed organoids
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/10/27/10073/ https://en.cyfusebio.com Cyfuse was established in 2010 and is focused on 3D cell technology that uses a bio 3D printer…
2022/09 Sekisui converts waste to ethanol
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/09/21/09955/ Sekisui Chemical plans to commercialize a technology that uses microorganisms to convert combustible garbage into ethanol by 2025. In…
2022/08 A microarray measures COVID antibody levels in blood in 8 minutes
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/08/15/09819/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44211-022-00161-z The system developed by a joint research group from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and Chiba…
2022/07 ToMMo completes whole genome analysis of 50,000 Japanese
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/07/04/09683/ Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) announced on June 30, 2022, that it has completed the analysis of…
2022/06 Dr Foods offers vegetable-based foie-gras burger
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/06/28/09664/ Dr. Foods (Shinjuku, Tokyo), a developer of cultured meat and plant-derived meat, announced on June 28, 2022, that it…
2022/05 Green Earth Institute and NEDO inaugurate “Kanto Biofoundry Base” for bioprocess optimization
As part of NEDO’s “Development of Production Technologies for Bio-based Products to Accelerate the Realization of Carbon Recycling, The Green Earth…
2022/04 Japan opens demonstration center for CO2 recycling at Osaki Power Plant
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101530.html, https://greenproduction.co.jp/archives/5604 Production of key compounds from CO2 in coal-fired flue gas using diamond electrodes Keio University Tokyo University of ScienceCoal…
2022/03 MHLW approves CureApp’s software for hypertension control
On March 9, 2022, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare approved CureApp’s HT hypertension control, the first software digital…
2022/02 Nanocarriers may lead to pest-resistant crops without changing the plant genome
https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/pr/2022/20220223_1/index.html Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) have shown that cell-penetrating peptides (CPP*) can be…
2022/01 NEDO will reduce CO2 emissions in the concrete and cement industries
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101510.html The Japanese Ministry of Economy is financing a ten-year joint project with JP¥ 55 billion (approx. € 390 million)…
2021/12 Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology aims to create “Super Crickets” for food and feed through genome breeding
Crickets are being utilized as edible insects, and a research team led by Professor Jun Ogura of Nagahama Institute of…
2021/08 Japanese consortium achieves solar hydrogen production on 100 m2 scale
A consortium of ARPChem, Fujifilm, TOTO, Mitsubishi Chemicals and the University of Tokyo, supported by NEDO, has installed and operated,…
2021/07 Demonstration plant for materials from PEG-modified lignin
Based on technology of the Forest Research Institute, the plant will be operated by a consortium consisting of seven companies,…
2021/05 Sanatec starts to distribute free seedlings of genome-edited “Sicilian Rouge High GABA” tomatos
Sanatec Seeds, a venture spin-out of the Japan’s University of Tsukuba, is the first company in the world to commercialize…
2021/04 RIKEN-industry consortium tailors E. coli by synthetic biology to produce 1,3-butadiene from glucose
The team of Yutaro MORI at RIKEN, in collaboration with Yokohama Rubber and ZEON Co., has developed a technology to…
2021/03 Will artificial intelligence help us to healthier intestinal microbiomes?
AuB, a Tokyo startup whose president Keita Suzuki is a former member of Japan’s national soccer team, has analyzed the…
2021/02 Kobe University installs „smart cell” pilot lab
In this pilot lab, supported by funds from NEDO; smart cells can be developed in less than one-fifth of the…
2021/01 Spider silk „moon parka” on limited sale from Goldwin, Japan
In collaboration with the startup company Spiber https://www.spiber.jp, Japan’s sportswear producer Goldwin has offered a web-based lottery for the purchase of…
2020/12 Kawasaki Heavy Industries launches first liquid hydrogen carrier tanker
The Japanese CO2 Free Hydrogen Supply Chain Promotion Organization HySTRA (Members: Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Shell Japan Corporation, Power…
