OIST in the News
Singing Folk Songs - Keep the Okinawa's Dialects Alive
A local newspaper, the Okinawa Times introduced Mr. Takaaki Iwasa, OIST Associate Vice President for the Office of the Chief Operating Officer about his feeling toward "Shimakutuba," Okinawa's dialect. He learned Okinawa's three strings, sanshin and songs which are usually written in the dialect. He says that singing and passing down the folk songs are a good way to keep the dialects alive.
Read the article online.
Read MoreScientists Crack Genome of Superfood Seaweed, Ito-Mozuku
The Marine Genomics Unit has unveiled the genome of ito-mozuku, the popular Japanese brown seaweed, providing data that could help farmers better grow the health food. Read MoreMachine Learning Tracks Moving Cells
New software from the Micro/Bio/Nanofluids Unit allows scientists to study the migration of label-free cells at unprecedented resolution. Read MoreSmall Brains, Big Picture: Study Unveils C. elegans’ Microscopic Mysteries
A joint collaboration between scientists from the Information Processing Biotlogy Unit and the Neurobiology Research Unit discovered how brain cells in the microscopic worm C. elegans send electrical signals. The results from their research on the minuscule animal can serve as a future model for piecing together neuronal processing in other organisms, including humans.
Their work was published in Scientific Reports on March 5, 2019.
Read MoreProf. Kono Helps Uncover How Cells Split Smoothly
Prof. Kono and her colleagues have uncovered how one protein keeps conditions ‘just right’ so that cells can easily divide into two identical daughter cells. Read More<Column> OIST Science Talk Season 2 : No. 6 - Dr. Tsumoru Shintake
OIST Communication and Public Relations Division hold "OIST Scientists Talk on Clothing, Food and Housing" at Junku-do Bookstore Naha from 6:30pm - 7:30 pm every second Friday of the month.
Before the each event, OIST Communications staff introduces the speaker. This time, Tomomi Okubo, The Media Section staff wrote about Dr. Tsumoru Shintake and introduced about his project on wave power generator.
Read MoreContributed Article on Citizen Science and Fire Ant Countermeasure
Dr. Masashi Yoshimura, the coordinator of the OKEON Churamori Project contributed an article to the journal "Seibutsu no kagaku Iden” and it is published on Vol.73 No.2 in 2019.
Chapter 3. Citizen Science and RIFA Countermeasure
By Masashi Yoshimura (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology)
You can read the article from here (In Japanese only)
Mouse Model of Parkinson's in the News
The Brain Mechanism for Behaviour Unit pinpointed how brain activity changes in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease, hinting at what may drive symptoms in humans. Read MoreTarget for Cancer Therapy Demystified in Yeast Experiments
The G0 Cell Unit revealed the mechanism driving an important enzyme for tumor cell proliferation, hinting at methods to undermine it. Read MoreFasting Study Makes Headlines
A new study by the G0 Cell Unit uncovers previously unknown effects of fasting, including notably increased metabolic activity and possible anti-aging effects. Read MoreImproved Perovskite Solar Cells in the News
The Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit has made modifications to Perovskite Solar Cells render them more stable and scalable than ever before. Read MoreSCORE! Event - TV Report
SCORE!, a start-up contest for local high school students jointly hosted by OIST was featured in QAB's evening news:
You can read the event report from our website: Okinawa’s Future is Bright! Start-up Contest by Local High School Students
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Arrow Worm Study Reveals Evolutionary Trends
The phylogenetic position of chaetognaths, or arrow worms, stumped scientists for centuries; now, researchers have revealed important evolutionary trends by pinpointing their proper place. Read MorePaper by Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials Unit Downloaded Most
A research paper by Prof. Eliot Fried's Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials Unit was the most downloaded article of the in the Journal of Nonlinear Science during 2018. Congratulations Prof. Fried and his team!
Read MoreEye-catching Kaleidocycles in the News
Researchers in the Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials Unit have unveiled a new class of kaleidocycles, one they predict could spur advances in fundamental research, synthetic chemistry, and even robotics. Read MoreImmune Signal Unit Explains Key Immune System Regulator
Researchers describe how the transcription factor JunB, which modulates gene expression, plays a critical role in keeping the immune system in line in mice. Read MoreWho is the Owner? Plastic Floats Washed Up on the Coast of Okinawa
Ryukyu Shimpo ran a story based on the interview of Dr. Chris Petoukhoff about his and his friends discovery on the beach of Tancha.
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BOOKS AND ARTS : Do luxe labs shape science?
Laboratory Lifestyles: The Construction of Scientific Fictions Sandra Kaji‑O’Grady, Chris L. Smith and Russell Hughes MIT Press (2019)
Read MoreOIST Column Series #6: What is the Indian Festival that Scientists Celebrate in Okinawa?
The latest OIST column for the Asahi Shimbun GLOBE+ is out! Click this link to read and know more about the grand Diwali celebrations organized at OIST each year!
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Dr. Ferdinand Marlétaz Helps Unearth Origins of Vertebrate Gene Regulation
A new study, published in Nature on November 21, 2018, gives a glimpse into the origins of vertebrate gene regulation. The researchers studied the lancelet, or amphioxus, an organism in the chordate phylum that lacks the unique attributes of a vertebrate, such as a head, eyes and limbs, but shares a similar body plan. Learning how the lancelet controls its gene activity clarified which control mechanisms evolved with vertebrates, and which were around already.
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