OIST in the News
COVID-19 Insights from OIST#6 - Lessons Learned from Other Countries
COVID-19 OIST Insight 6
OIST is collaborating with Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The 6th story was written by Prof. Mahesh Bandi.
Article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
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Since the first coronavirus cases were reported six months ago, nations all over the world have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic via a wide range of measures. Let us examine the lessons we have learned along the way.
Read MoreCOVID-19: Insights from OIST#5 - Tracking the asymptomatic traveler
COVID-19 OIST Insight vol.5
OIST is collaborating with Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The 5th story was written by Prof. Mahesh M. Bandi.
Article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
Read MoreIn deep water: combatting the extinction of sharks
The latest OIST column in the Asahi Shimbun GLOBE+ is out now! This month we wrote about the shark research that is being carried out at OIST and the University of the Ryukyus. The article is in Japanese, but the original English translation is given below.
In deep water: combatting the extinction of sharks
Read MoreCOVID-19 Insights from OIST#4 - Vaccine Development
OIST is collaborating with Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The forth story was written by Provost Mary Collins.
Article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
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Read MoreCOVID-19: OIST Insights #3 - How we can best prevent virus infection and accurately identify the virus?
OIST is collaborating with an Okinawa's newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The second story of the series was written by President Peter Gruss and Provost Mary Collins.
The article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
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Read MoreCOVID-19: OIST Insights #2 - What makes it so difficult to treat viral infections?
OIST is collaborating with Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The second story of the series was written by President Peter Gruss.
Article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
What makes it so difficult to treat viral infections?
Read MoreCOVID-19 Insights from OIST#1 - Understanding the threat
OIST is collaborating with Ryukyu Shimpo for a series of column articles related to COVID-19 on weekly basis. The first story was written by President Peter Gruss.
Article is in Japanese, but please see below the original draft in English.
Understanding the threat
The new coronavirus COVID-19 has inflicted a global health emergency.
There are physical steps we can all take to reduce its spread and protect human lives. But the fightback is also greatly strengthened by society’s understanding of infectious diseases.
Read MoreTurning Disability Into Ability
Kaori Serakaki, 43, is a graphic designer at Media Section, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). Serakaki designs posters and pamphlets for various events the university hosts. Her sophisticated designs have earned high recognition and are essential to her team. The designer has Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in communication.
Read More"Look for Something That You Can Really Get Into" (OIST-Shimpo Next Generation Education Project)
As part of the OIST-Shimpo Next Generation Education Projects, OIST and Ryukyu Shimpo cohosted a lecture by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine at Ryukyu Shimpo Hall in Naha on March 25th. OIST has also introduced some of their science for young generations at the exhibition which coincided with the lecture.
You can read the full article in Japanese from here.
Read MoreWhat Makes a Jellyfish?
Scientists in the OIST Marine Genomics Unit have uncovered some surprising history hidden in the genes of two species of jellyfish. The new study, published on April 16, 2019 in Nature Ecology & Evolution, reports the genomes of two jellyfish species and investigated why some creatures can enter the medusa stage while others remain frozen as polyps.
Media Coverage:
Read MoreNHK Broadcast Satoh Unit's Jellyfish Story
NHK's signature morning program "Ohayo Nippon" broadcast OIST's recent study which was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
You can learn what makes jellyfish from here: https://www.oist.jp/news-center/press-releases/what-makes-jellyfish
Read MoreUmibudo Genome Decoding, the Center of Attention!
The Marine Genomics Unit (Prof. Satoh) has decoded the genome of the popular umibudo (seagrapes), providing data that could someday be critical to local farmers.
Read MoreOIST Column: PHD Student Started an Event for Nerds!?
Maggi Brisbin, a PHD Student who studies marine biology at the Mitarai Unit innitiated an event of "nerds", by "nerds" in Okinawa. Tomomi Okubo from the OIST Media Section contributed the column (available only in Japanese) to the Asahi Shimbun GLOBE+ and introduced why and how she started it.
https://globe.asahi.com/article/12230647
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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)