In joint research with The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and Nagoya University, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) developed a new material "thermoelectric permanent magnet" exhibiting extremely high transverse thermoelectric conversion performance, and achieved transverse thermoelectric generation with a power density of 56.7 mW/cm² around room temperature in a thermoelectric-permanent-magnet-based module. When converted into a value per applied temperature gradient, this is not only the world’s highest power density among transverse thermoelectric modules, but a performance even comparable to commercial longitudinal thermoelectric modules. This achievement is expected to lead to thermal energy harvesting and management technologies that can be utilized everywhere magnets are used. This research result was published in Energy & Environmental Science on March 18, 2025.

BingoCGN, a scalable and efficient graph neural network accelerator that enables inference of real-time, large-scale graphs through graph partitioning, has been developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. This breakthrough framework utilizes an innovative cross-partition message quantization technique and a novel training algorithm to significantly reduce memory demands and increase computational and energy efficiency. 

Remote-controlled microflow using light-controlled state transitions within DNA condensates has been reported by scientists from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By switching between ultraviolet light (UV) and visible light irradiation, the researchers demonstrated that the novel DNA motifs containing azobenzene can dissociate or reassemble.  Furthermore, localized photo-switching within a DNA liquid condensate generated two distinct directional motions. This study can fuel the development of innovative fluid-based diagnostic chips and molecular computers. 

Research led by Hiromi Shiraishi, researcher at Chuo University, has revealed that, in addition to Japanese Eel (Anguilla japonica), American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is now widely distributed in processed eel products sold at retail stores across Japan. While eel farming in Japan relies primarily on Japanese Eel, two-thirds of eel consumption in the country depends on imports of live adult eels and eel products, which include several species of anguillid eels. As the world’s largest importer and consumer of eel, Japan is in a position to contribute to the sustainable use of anguillids beyond Japanese eel.

Researchers developed a continuous-flow synthesis method to precisely control the size of cerium oxide nanoparticles down to 1.3 nm. This enabled the first direct investigation of size effects in metal oxides, revealing structural distortions and unexpected Ce³⁺ states—insights that could advance the design of catalytic and electronic nanomaterials.

- Development of "dynamic nanomedicines" for efficient delivery of nucleic acid medicines to sentinel lymph nodes.

- Delivering nucleic acid medicines to sentinel lymph nodes, which serve as a checkpoint for cancer metastasis, activates the immune system, helping to suppress cancer metastasis and recurrence.

- Enhancing cancer immunotherapy to make it effective against immunotherapy-resistant tumors.

- Precise size adjustment of nanomedicines (approximately 10 nm) enables delivery to sentinel lymph nodes.

- Precision nanomedicine design via advanced computational modelling.

- Aim to start clinical trials within five years.

- This announcement is part of a research project conducted by Professor Kanjiro Miyata of the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo (Visiting Research Scientist at iCONM), in collaboration with iCONM researchers.

The Moon’s surface has two main rock types: white highland anorthosite and dark lowland basalt. While both are common on the nearside, the farside lacks dark lowlands. Researchers found that nearside rocks are unusually rich in chlorine (Cl), unlike farside rocks. Farside crust materials, lacking Cl enrichment, likely formed from magma that preserves remnants of the original lunar magma ocean from 4.5 billion years ago.

Kyoto, Japan -- As we witness the detrimental effects of climate change, the need for a rapid shift to renewable energy is only becoming more urgent. One of the most efficient forms of renewable energy, solar power, is generated by solar cells, which are the building blocks of solar panels. These electronic devices use semiconductors to convert the energy of light into electricity, a process called the photovoltaic effect.

Conventional solar cells have fundamental limitations in output voltage and conversion efficiency. A phenomenon called the bulk photovoltaic effect, which has attracted much attention in recent years, may enable highly efficient solar energy conversion without such limitations. However, the essential physics of the bulk photovoltaic effect have not been fully understood.

This effect originates from quantum phenomena and involves the asymmetric photoexcitation behavior of electrons, causing a steady electrical charge flow called a shift current, which is usually generated in the system with space-inversion symmetry. Another current materializes when there is a break in time-reversal symmetry, or the symmetry of physical laws when the flow of time is reversed. Since time-reversal symmetry is broken in magnetic materials, new effects related to the bulk photovoltaic effect are expected to arise in magnetic systems, but many aspects of these systems remain unexplained both theoretically and experimentally.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new way of telling “aged” human cells apart from younger ones using electric fields. While key markers have been found for these “senescent” cells, current methods require biochemical “labels” which are difficult to apply and affect the cells themselves, making them difficult to study. The new method is label-free and less damaging. The team aims to diversify the method, extending it to other cell types.