Inspired by molecular motors in biological systems, researchers at Doshisha University develop the world’s first symmetric ratchet motor in which a perfectly circular disk spins in one direction when placed on vibrating particles. While conventional rachets rely on asymmetry, this motor emerges from spontaneous symmetry breaking. This discovery highlights a new principle in physics of extracting order from noise, setting the stage for innovative energy-harvesting devices that work on ambient vibrations.

An international research group led by The University of Osaka has developed scODIN, a novel computational tool to classify cell types from single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Existing methods struggle to balance speed and accuracy, often misclassifying rare or transitional cells. scODIN overcomes this limitation by combining a hierarchical classification system (Tier system) with k-nearest neighbor inference. This approach allows for the rapid and accurate classification of large datasets, processing 650,000 cells in just six minutes. The tool's improved accuracy stems from its ability to identify cells at varying levels of detail, recognize intermediate phenotypes through double labeling, and recover cells affected by dropout events. scODIN promises to accelerate biomedical discoveries by enabling more precise and efficient analysis of complex biological processes and disease mechanisms.

A research team led by Director C. Justin LEE of the Center for Cognition and Sociality at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Professor HA Yoon of Yonsei University College of Medicine, identified that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, produced by astrocytes in the spinal cord through the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), is the key factor that blocks recovery after spinal cord injury. Furthermore, they demonstrated the therapeutic potential of targeting this pathway by showing that MAOB inhibition promotes spinal cord repair.

Flow cytometry, a widely used technique for single-cell analysis, often relies on fluorescent tags and lasers. While impedance-based flow cytometry avoids these drawbacks, they suffer from low sensitivity. In a recent study, researchers from Japan developed a low-cost adaptive platform that dynamically adjusts the microchannel height based on analyte size. Their approach significantly improved signal strength and quality, paving the way for accurate research findings which could result in clinical applications of impedance flow cytometry.

A practical approach to improving welfare outcomes in food animal production is the focus of the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing’s 11^th annual symposium, Oct. 2, at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville, featuring talks from veterinarians on topics from animal welfare audits to the metapneumovirus impact on turkeys.