研究者・留学生向け英文メールニュース 「Tokyo Tech Bulletin No. 70」を配信

A novel synthesis method for producing naturally occurring, biologically active phenanthridine derivates in the lab has been reported by scientists at Tokyo Tech. This approach utilizes difluoromethylborates to produce difluoromethylated phenanthridines. By examining the reaction conditions and uncovering the reaction mechanism, the results of the study pave the way for the development of pharmaceuticals with antitumor and anticancer properties.

Genetic analyses conducted on an alga species may provide clues to the origin of auxin signaling mechanisms, as reported by scientists at Tokyo Tech. A series of experiments on Klebsormidium nitens — a member of an algae group sharing common ancestry with land plants unveiled key transcription factors and regulatory elements sensitive to auxin, an important hormone in land plants. The findings shed light on the diverging evolutionary paths of algae and land plants.

New design for a foldable phased-array transmitter can help make satellites lightweight, smaller, and cost-efficient to launch, report scientists at Tokyo Tech. The transmitter is made of stacked layers of liquid crystal polymer and incorporates flexible creases, which provide flexibility and deployability. The new design could make research and implementation of space technologies more accessible to private companies and startups.

Two new innovative methods describe how to measure the electrical resistivity of liquid iron—such as that found in planetary cores—at extremely high pressures and temperatures. Prior to this, there were no experimental measurements of the electrical resistivity of liquid iron beyond 51 GPa and 2,900 K. These findings will help derive better theoretical models for the puzzling properties of liquid iron.

A novel microfluidic device revealing diverse and dynamic flows in the small intestine has now been developed by scientists from Tokyo Tech. Their innovative experimental platform uses microscopic fluorescent beads as substitutes for gut bacteria in dissected small intestine sections, allowing one to visualize and quantitatively analyze the luminal dynamic flow in the tissues deformed by a pneumatic actuator.

At Tokyo Tech, Some researchers are seeking to explain the laws of natural phenomena that have yet to be elucidated in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, and biology, while others are attempting to create new technologies and apply them to society through engineering technology, the development of new materials, information science, environmental and social studies and so on. Four researchers from these diverse fields of research will share details of their research and their thoughts in a series of short videos.

The discovery of Ba₂LuAlO₅ as a promising proton conductor paints a bright future for protonic ceramic fuel cells, report scientists from Tokyo Tech. Experiments show that this novel material has a remarkably high proton conductivity even without any additional chemical modifications, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal the underlying reasons. These new insights may pave the way to safer and more efficient energy technologies.

Researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed a tin-based metal–organic framework (MOF) that can photocatalytically reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) into formate under visible light. The tin-based MOF exhibited a high apparent quantum yield of 9.8% and carried out extremely selective photoreduction without needing an additional photosensitizer. This could prove extremely useful, as currently, most metal complexes for reducing CO₂ to useful chemicals utilize expensive, rare and precious metals.

Tokyo Tech, Tohoku University, Fujitsu Limited, and RIKEN announced that they will embark on the research and development of a distributed training of Large Language Models (LLM) on supercomputer Fugaku, within the scope of the initiatives for use of Fugaku defined by Japanese policy.LLMs are AI models for deep learning that serve as the core of generative AI including ChatGPT. They aim to improve the environment for creating LLMs that can be widely used by academia and companies, contribute to improving the research capabilities of AI in Japan, and increase the value of utilizing Fugaku in both academic and industrial fields by disclosing the results of this R&D in the future.