Mapping of active brain regions in Japanese honeybees that form a 'hot defensive bee ball'
Japanese honeybee (Apis cerana japonica) workers exhibit a characteristic defense behavior against giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia japonica) that invade their hives: they form a 'hot defensive bee ball' by surrounding the hornet en masse, thus killing it with heat. more »
Analysis of sensitivity control through signal transduction
Sensitivity is one of the hallmarks of biological and pharmacological responses. However, the principle of controlling sensitivity remains unclear. more »
Elucidation of the evolution and diversification of cladodes, a unique leaf-like organ in the genus Asparagus.
How morphological diversity of organisms arises through evolution is one of central themes in biology. In particular, the mechanisms behind acquisition and diversification of unique organ and structure have been studied in these years. more »
“MIDORIKO” in green algal cells: the first molecular identification of rickettsial endosymbiotic bacteria infecting plant cells
The endosymbiosis (long-term living of organisms in the cells of different species) is considered to make great contributions to the establishment of mitochondoria in our eukaryotic cells. more »
AKARI Finds Carbon Monoxide Molecules Embedded in Ten Million Degree Gas
A scientific team using the Japanese AKARI infrared space observatory finds carbon monoxide (CO) molecules in the ten million degree gas associated with the young supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). more »
Dating of meteoritic carbonates tells us the formation time of hydrous asteroids
We improved a method for the dating of meteoritic carbonate grains, and determined accurate ages for several carbonate grains in four meteorites. more »
Identification of the molecules regulating plant immune system in membrane trafficking system
In all eukaryotic cells, a membrane-trafficking system connects the post-Golgi organelles, such as the trans-Golgi network (TGN), endosomes, vacuoles, and the plasma membrane. more »
Galaxy Collisions
An international team led by Junko Ueda (the University of Tokyo), in close cooperation with Daisuke Iono and Ryohei Kawabe (NAOJ) revealed detailed spacial distribution of warm and dense giant molecular clouds across the nearest colliding galaxy pair from the Earth, the "Antennae galaxies", at an angular resolution that is more than 10 times higher than previous studies. more »
An ultra bright submillimeter galaxy, "Orochi"
An international research team led by Sho Ikarashi and Kotaro Kohno (University of Tokyo), and Daisuke Iono (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, NAOJ) discovered an ultra bright submillimeter galaxy in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Field by using a submillimeter telescope, ASTE operated by mainly NAOJ and University of Tokyo. more »
A new two-dimensional topological insulator
Topological insulators are a new state of matter which is gaining increased attention in condensed matter physics. more »