Signs of dementia are written in the blood

33 metabolic compounds linked to dementia could be key to new methods of diagnosis and treatment

14-Sep-2021 - Scientists in Japan have identified metabolic compounds within the blood that are associated with dementia. The study revealed that the levels of 33 metabolites differed in patients with dementia, compared to elderly people with no existing health conditions. Their findings, published in PNAS, ...

Bubbles and whispers - glass bubbles boost nanoparticle detection

13-Jul-2018 - Technology created by researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) is literally shedding light on some of the smallest particles to detect their presence - and it's made from tiny glass bubbles. The technology has its roots in a peculiar physical ...

Nanomushroom sensors: One material, many applications

27-Feb-2018 - A small rectangle of pink glass, about the size of a postage stamp, sits on Professor Amy Shen's desk. Despite its outwardly modest appearance, this little glass slide has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of processes, from monitoring food quality to diagnosing diseases. The slide is ...

'Twist and shine': Development of a new photoluminescent sensor material

19-Apr-2017 - Stress sensors are important tools when it comes to evaluating the robustness of a material facing strong mechanical forces. OIST researchers have just published in Advanced Materials an article reporting a new kind of sensor molecules that brightens up when the material they are incorporated ...

Sensor sensation

27-Dec-2016 - Microfluidic platforms have revolutionized medical diagnostics in recent years. Instead of sending blood or urine samples off to a laboratory for analysis, doctors can test a single drop of a patient's blood or urine for various diseases at point-of-care without the need for expensive ...

Lights, action, electrons!

12-Oct-2016 - Ever since J.J. Thompson's 1897 discovery of the electron, scientists have attempted to describe the subatomic particle's motion using a variety of different means. Electrons are far too small and fast to be seen, even with the help of a light microscope. This has made measuring an electron's ...

Visualizing atoms of perovskite crystals

12-Jan-2016 - Organic-inorganic perovskite materials are key components of the new generation of solar cells. Understanding properties of these materials is important for improving lifetime and quality of solar cells. Researchers from the Energy Materials and Surface Sciences (EMSS) Unit, led by Prof. Yabing ...

Nano-policing pollution

19-May-2015 - Pollutants emitted by factories and car exhausts affect humans who breathe in these harmful gases and also aggravate climate change up in the atmosphere. Being able to detect such emissions is a critically needed measure.New research by the Nanoparticles by Design Unit at the Okinawa Institute of ...

Decoding DNA's phonebook

06-May-2015 - New clues about diseases like inflammatory bowel disorder may be found thanks to a new genomic interactions catalogue by a group of researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom. This research is published in Nature Genetics.Biologists have compiled the most comprehensive catalogue of promoter ...

Largest neuronal network simulation to date achieved using Japanese supercomputer

05-Aug-2013 - By exploiting the full computational power of the Japanese supercomputer, K Computer, researchers from the RIKEN HPCI Program for Computational Life Sciences, the Okinawa Institute of Technology Graduate University (OIST) in Japan and the Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have carried out the ...