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News from Japan

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-Oct-2025 23:11 ET (1-Nov-2025 03:11 GMT/UTC)

Leaked tritium revealing the mechanism of radioactive cesium flow from Fukushima Daiichi to the ocean

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have identified the source and the factors affecting the radioactive cesium (¹³⁷Cs) flow to the port of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant via its drainage channels. Using tritium in groundwater that leaked from contaminated water storage tanks as a hydrological tracer, they estimated that ~50% of ¹³⁷Cs comes from "roof drainage" of the rainwater falling on the reactor buildings.

Journal: Water Research

Amami rabbits show exceptionally delayed maturity in island environment

Okayama University of Science

Using bone‐histology methods typically applied to dinosaurs, researchers found that the endangered Amami rabbit takes approximately five years to reach maturity—about five times longer than closely related rabbits. This extreme growth delay, previously seen only in extinct island mammals, makes this the first known case in a living mammal. The dense, robust bones suggest skeletal adaptation to the island’s steep terrain.

Journal: Mammal Study

Support systems that relieve the strain of medical care and parenting

Kyushu University

For many researchers, inspiration doesn’t just come from curiosity—it’s born out of personal struggle and lived experience. Professor Shoko Miyauchi of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering is one such researcher. Motivated by the frustrations and anxieties she encountered during her own parenting experience, she has developed systems to support families with childcare needs. We sat down with Miyauchi to hear about her current research and future goals.

Mapping the dynamic glycosylation landscape of rat serum proteins

National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A comprehensive study mapped the dynamic glycosylation landscape of rat serum proteins, uncovering sex- and time-dependent variations with clear cell-type specificity. Researchers found distinct cell-type-specific glycosylation patterns: liver-derived proteins carried O-acetylated Neu5Ac, while B cell-derived antibodies (IgG) exclusively utilized Neu5Gc. Female rats exhibited pronounced daily fluctuations in these sugar structures, unlike the stable profiles in males, suggesting regulation by hormonal and circadian cycles. This work provides the first integrated map of glycosylation dynamics in rat serum, establishing a foundation for future studies in comparative glycobiology and biomarker research.

Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Funder: Research Grant for Young Scientists in the Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), EXCELLS Project Research, Human Glycome Atlas Project (HGA), J-GlycoNet cooperative network MEXT, as a Joint Usage/Research Center, MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI, JST FOREST Program, JST CREST, Grant-in-Aid for Promotion on Co-Creative Urban Development in Nagoya City University Grant, MEXT Project for promoting public utilization of advanced research infrastructure (Program for supporting construction of core facilities)

How Plantago asiatica plants communicate with each other to respond to salt stress

Meijo University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Plants exchange adaptive information, helping them to adjust to environmental challenges. Salt stress in plants, caused by soil salinity, often results in water loss. Plants often cope with this situation by closing the stomatal aperture. In this study, the scientists wanted to understand how Plantago asiatica plants utilize both above- and below-ground communication to differentially respond to salt stress cues perceived from neighbors with variable genetic identities.

Journal: Plant Signaling & Behavior

Successful measurement of ultrafast electric fields: development of a diamond nonlinear probe

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have successfully measured electric fields near the surfaces of two-dimensional layered materials with femtosecond (10⁻¹⁵ s) temporal and nanometer (10⁻⁹ m) spatial resolution. They employed a diamond containing a nitrogen-vacancy center—a lattice defect—as a probe within an atomic force microscope, enabling atomic-scale spatial precision.

Journal: Nature Communications

Hibernation-like hypothermia suppresses neuroinflammation and promotes functional recovery after brain injury

International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have demonstrated that hibernation-like hypothermia induced by activation of hypothalamic Q neurons effectively suppresses neuroinflammation and promotes neuronal survival and motor function recovery in a murine model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unlike conventional therapeutic hypothermia, this physiological approach does not depend on external cooling, and thus may offer a novel and more controllable strategy for TBI treatment.

Journal: JNeurosci

Rethinking how nucleoside supplementation speed up DNA replication: It’s not just about having enough

National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In their recent paper in Nucleic Acids Research, Pandey et al. report that the key effect of nucleoside supplementation is not a general boost in all DNA components—but a specific balancing act involving T (thymidine).

Journal: Nucleic Acids Research

Development of new candidate agent for lethal and severe cutaneous drug reaction

Niigata University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are life-threatening diseases requiring new effective treatments. Our group previously identified necroptosis as a key form of cell death in lesional skin. To develop novel therapeutics that inhibit necroptosis, we established a screening system using a compound library of over 200,000 molecules. Experiments in SJS/TEN model cells and mice demonstrated that the identified inhibitor effectively suppresses necroptosis, suggesting its therapeutic potential for SJS/TEN.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Hitchhiking DNA picked up by gene, saves a species from extinction

RIKEN
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by a RIKEN researcher in Japan has solved a genetic mystery and revealed a previously unknown way that DNA can control what cells do. The study reveals that in the roundworm C. elegans, vital RNA needed to keep the ends of chromosomes intact does not have its own gene. Instead, it hitchhikes inside another one. DNA hitchhiking could be a common strategy in the animal kingdom, and has implications for anti-aging therapies and regenerative medicine in humans.

Journal: Science

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