http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from RIKEN The formation of a 'body plan' during embryonic development is driven by the distribution of signaling molecules called morphogens in the embryo, determining front from back and left from right. Atsushi Miyawaki, Satoshi Shimozono and colleagues from the Laboratory for Cell Function Dynamics at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, have now developed fluorescent probes that allow the distribution of the morphogen retinoic acid (RA) to be visualized in a living embryo for the first time, providing new insight into the important role that morphogens play in patterning the body during embryonic development1. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fluorescent-probes-embryonic-brain.html Medical research Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:25:43 EST news290417136 Many scientists dream of making a single discovery that provides fundamental insight into nature, may be used to help save human lives, and can assist in the preservation of an endangered species. In new research reported in the journal Cell, a Japanese team is on the verge of accomplishing this nearly impossible feat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fluorescent-protein-eel-revolutionizes-key.html Medical research Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:25:45 EST news290363135 One of the major frontiers of modern science is a comprehensive understanding of the human brain and its functions to guide the development of new technologies in information and communication. In a major announcement for the globalization of science, two Japanese research organizations, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and RIKEN, will join forces with a large European consortium on the Human Brain Project (HBP) which the European Commission has officially announced as one of two Future and Emerging Technology (FET) Flagship projects. The new project will federate international efforts to understand and simulate the human brain for the creation of new technological advances for society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-japanese-contribute-human-brain.html Neuroscience Fri, 24 May 2013 08:40:02 EST news288600987 In our interaction with our environment we constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions. But how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved to assist decision-making remains a mystery. By observing whole-brain activity in live zebrafish, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute have visualized for the first time how information stored as long-term memory in the cerebral cortex is processed to guide behavioral choices. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-visualize-memory-formation-zebrafish.html Neuroscience Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:01 EST news287923163 All mammals sleep, as do birds and some insects. However, how this basic function is regulated by the brain remains unclear. According to a new study by researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, a brain region called the lateral habenula plays a central role in the regulation of REM sleep. In an article published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, the team shows that the lateral habenula maintains and regulates REM sleep in rats through regulation of the serotonin system. This study is the first to show a role of the lateral habenula in linking serotonin metabolism and sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-getting-a-grip-on-sleep.html Neuroscience Tue, 14 May 2013 17:00:02 EST news287759136 Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan have identified the first gene to be associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (also called AIS) across Asian and Caucasian populations. The gene is involved in the growth and development of the spine during childhood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gene-adolescent-idiopathic-scoliosis.html Genetics Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:01 EST news287576143 Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences have identified a gene that when mutated is responsible for a spectrum of disorders affecting the bones and connective tissue. This finding opens new avenues for research into a diagnosis and treatment for these until now incurable diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gene-responsible-spectrum-disorders-affecting.html Genetics Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00:13 EST news287306300 Humans often synchronize their movements when, for example, we cooperate to move a piece of furniture. We also synchronize gestures and facial expressions when we interact. Coordinated actions are in fact surprisingly common in the animal kingdom, as exemplified by the flocking of birds and the schooling of fish. Such behaviors, however, have to date only been observed in the wild. Yasuo Nagasaka and colleagues from the Laboratory for Adaptive Intelligence at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute have now devised the first method for observing coordination under experimental conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-experimental-method-spontaneous-synchronization-arm.html Neuroscience Thu, 02 May 2013 08:00:01 EST news286699319 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are degenerative motor neuron diseases in which the key mutated genes are involved in RNA metabolism. This similarity suggests that a common dysregulation of some aspect of RNA metabolism in motor neurons may underlie both disorders, although the exact cellular effects of the neurodegenerative mutations are unknown. Koji Yamanaka, Hitomi Tsuiji and colleagues from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and other institutions in Japan have now obtained evidence that a cellular structure that edits messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts is defective in both of these motor neuron diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-messenger-rna-transcripts-defective-motor.html Medical research Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:00:01 EST news286184312 Just as a uniform helps distinguish a soldier from a police officer, scientists use proteins that immune cells wear on their surfaces to determine their job in the body. T cells, for example, that display the CD8 protein are classified as 'cytotoxic lymphocytes', which kill off cancerous or infected cells, whereas those displaying the CD4 protein are identified as 'helper' T cells that coordinate the immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reassigning-cells-infection.html Immunology Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:50:01 EST news286183937 Tumor cells often express proteins that set them apart from their healthy neighbors. These very same proteins can also help the immune system to recognize and destroy the cancer. Several research groups and companies have already demonstrated proof-of-concept for antitumor therapeutic vaccines based on this principle, typically employing 'retrained' dendritic cells (DCs) harvested from a patient's own immune system. To date, however, such vaccines have demonstrated only limited effectiveness in beating back tumor progression. Shin-ichiro Fujii, Kanako Shimizu and colleagues from the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology have now revealed research that could supercharge the potency of future cancer vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-two-pronged-approach-immune-vaccines-effectively.html Cancer Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:39:06 EST news286184340 In the era of molecular medicine, potentially active compounds for use in cancer therapies can be identified faster than ever before. Yet pinpointing the molecular target of an anticancer compound and deducing its mode of action remains a painstaking process. Yushi Futamura, Hiroyuki Osada and colleagues from the Chemical Biology Department of the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute have now discovered that anticancer compounds induce a shape change in target tumor cells that is directly related to a compound's mode of action. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cancer-drugs.html Cancer Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:30:01 EST news285839665 Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the midbrain, resulting in motor symptoms such as tremors and stiffness. The cause of cell death remains unknown and researchers have long sought a way to replace the lost dopamine-producing cells. A study led by Takuya Hayashi from the RIKEN Center for Molecular Imaging Science now suggests that in monkeys such neurons can be derived from bone marrow stem cells and then transplanted back into the brain to reverse the symptoms of this devastating disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-dopamine-producing-neurons-derived-bone-marrow.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:20:02 EST news285839534 Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the aggregation of misfolded proteins, which accumulate to form insoluble clumps within or around nerve cells. In the adult motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), for example, such aggregations are formed by misfolding of the TDP-43 protein (Fig. 1). The mutation responsible for the inherited form of ALS is known to originate in the gene encoding the TDP-43 protein, but the relationship between the biochemical properties of TDP-43 and the progression of ALS has been unclear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-stability-misfolded-protein-linked-age.html Medical research Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:10:01 EST news285839511 Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan report today that they have identified a compound that could be used as a new treatment to prevent relapse in acute myeloid leukemia patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-compound-acute-blood-cancer-relapse.html Cancer Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:06 EST news285423111