Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Reactions observed under the microscope: Cooperative solid and liquid catalysts make better batteries A joint team consisting of assistant professor Jiuhui Han at FRIS, Professor Pan Liu at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) and Professor Mingwei Chen at Johns Hopkins University (US) has discovered a synergetic effect of solid and liquid catalysts on boosting the energy efficiency of rechargeable lithium-air batteries. By using a state-of-the-art liquid cell transmission electron microscope, they have been able to directly visualize nanoscale interfacial electrochemical reactions in real-time and real-space. The operando observations uncovered the cooperative catalysis of RuO2 and TTF (i.e. model solid and liquid catalysts, respectively) in regulating the dynamic evolutions of electrode/electrolyte and electrode/Li2O2 interfaces. The insights gained from this study offer an in-depth understanding of Li-O2 electrochemistry and will facilitate the development of high-performance, next-generation batteries.   The work was published online in Nano Letters on February 20, 2020.   Publication Details Chen Hou#, Jiuhui Han#, Pan Liu, Gang Huang, Mingwei Chen*, “Synergetic Effect of Liquid and Solid Catalysts on the Energy Efficiency of Li–O2 Batteries: Cell Performances and Operando STEM Observations”, Nano Letters, 2020 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00357 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00357   Liquid cell scanning transmission electron microscopy allows direct visualization of the interfacial reaction dynamics in a lithium-oxygen micro-battery.

Regarding the Covid-19 Coronavirus (For those who are participating in conferences and events)     If you are attending conferences, events, or other functions hosted by Tohoku University, we would appreciate your cooperation with the following.   1. If you have symptoms such as a fever or a cough, or are suffering from pain, please contact a medical institution and undergo a medical examination before participating in the event. 2. As you would with cold and seasonal influenza, we encourage you to take measures to combat the spread of infectious diseases, such as covering your mouth when coughing, washing your hands frequently, and using hand disinfectant. 3. Please use the alcohol disinfectant at the entrance to the venue. 4. If you are in any way worried about your physical condition, please do not overexert yourself. 5. Please be aware that staff members working at events, etc. may be wearing masks. 6. For details on events, etc., please contact the relevant organizer.       关于近期防控新型冠状病毒性肺炎的通知 （来我校参加会议及各种活动的各位）     如果您近期来我校参加会议及各种活动，请注意以下内容，并采取相应的预防措施：   1.若您近期出现发热、咳嗽以及全身疼痛等症状，请在参加会议或活动前联系医疗机关，并前往医疗机构就诊； 2.与一般感冒、季节性病毒感冒一样，为了避免交叉感染，请在公共场合咳嗽时注意文明礼貌，勤洗手并积极进行手指消毒工作； 3.在进入会场前，请使用摆放在入口处的酒精消毒液进行手指消毒后，再进入会场： 4.感到身体不适时，请立即终止参加活动； 5.参与会议及活动的相关工作人员可能会佩戴口罩，请予以谅解； 6.关于会议、活动的详细情况，请与会议、活动的主办部门联系。     PDF

This event has been canceled due to various reasons. We are sorry to everyone who was looking forward to the lecture. Thank you for your understanding. The 4th FRIS-TFC Collaboration Event Workshop on The heart of intracellular transport: membrane trafficking The Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences will hold “the Workshop on the heart of intracellular transport: membrane trafficking” in cooperation with the Tohoku Forum for Creativity in conjunction with the FRIS Annual Meeting 2020. Professor Randy Schekman (UC Berkeley/Howard Hughes Medical Institute), 2013 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine, will attend the meeting and will give a keynote speech. This is a very valuable opportunity, and we hope that many people will attend.   Date and Time: March 12, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 5:50 pm (Social Gathering from 6:00 pm)   Venue: Sakura Hall, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University [Campus map (E01)]   Organized by - Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) - Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Organization for Research Promotion (TFC)   Speakers: Randy Schekman Professor, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/2013 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine   Akihiko Nakano Deputy Director, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics   Yuta Amagai (Assistant Professor, IMRAM) Hiroki Ida (Assistant Professor, FRIS) Masaki Okumura (Assistant Professor, FRIS)   See the symposium website for details.   Contact FRIS (Hashimoto)  @

Assistant Professor Chrystelle Bernard Wins "Best Presentation Award for Young Researcher" in ICFD2019   Assistant Professor Chrystelle Bernard, a researcher of ELyTMaX, gave an oral presentation and received "Best Presentation Award for Young Researcher" in The 16th International Conference on Flow Dynamics (ICFD2019) held in Sendai International Center during 6-8th Nov. 2019. The award-winning research was conducted as part of a research program at ELyTMaX.   Presentation title: Investigation of the Thermal Behavior of Inflight Polymer Particle during Cold-Spray Process   Award date: 3rd Dec. 2019   Conference website: http://www.ifs.tohoku.ac.jp/icfd2019/index.html Award information: http://www.ifs.tohoku.ac.jp/icfd2019/images/Best_Presentation%20Award_for_Young_Researcher.pdf ELyTMaX website: http://www.elyt-lab.com/en/content/elytmax-umi-3757  

Tomokatsu Onaga (The Effect of Concurrency on Epidemic Threshold in Time-Varying Networks) co-authored,   Title: The Effect of Concurrency on Epidemic Threshold in Time-Varying Networks Authors: Tomokatsu Onaga, James P Gleeson, Naoki Masuda Published: 2019 Book: Temporal Network Theory pp. 253-267 Publisher: Springer, Cham Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23494-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23495-9_14  

A scanning electrochemical cell imaging technique shows how nanoscale structural features affect the catalytic activity of MoS2 monolayers for hydrogen evolution reactions, report researchers of a joint team led by Kanazawa University in Angewandte Chemie International Edition   The properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides are attracting a great deal of interest, and one of the reasons is their catalytic activity. In particular, better catalysts are needed to exploit the potential of water electrolysis – splitting water into its component elements – to provide sustainable energy storage.   “MoS2 is one of the most promising precious rare metal-free catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER),” point out Yasufumi Takahashi, Mingwei Chen, and Tomokazu Matsue and their colleagues at Kanazawa University, Tohoku University and other collaborating institutions in Japan, the US and the UK in their recent Angewandte Chemie International Edition report. The work highlights the role of “scanning electrochemical cell microscopy” for engineering the catalytic properties of these 2D materials.   As the researchers point out, scanning electrochemical microscopy has already proved useful in investigations of the catalytic activity of MoS2 monolayers, which have focused on the effects of strain, as well as the metallic versus semiconducting properties of different microstructural phases of MoS2 on HER catalysis. These studies used a microscale electrode to probe the sample for electrochemical activity as a function of location with high spatial resolution, on account of the microscale dimensions of the electrode.   In their scanning electrochemical cell microscopy studies, Takahashi, Chen, Matsue and colleagues use a nanopipette as a local, moveable electrochemical cell to probe the electrochemical activity on the surface instead of an ultramicroelectrode. They highlight the “reproducible and reliable technique for fabricating nanoprobes together with fast electrochemical characterization due to its small capacitive current” as additional advantages of this form of the characterization technique.   The researchers used a nanopipette with a 20 nm radius to study triangular monolayers of MoS2 with a 1H microstructural phase, as well as heterostructures of MoS2 and WS2. Each flake had a side length of around 130 nm. The measurements revealed changes in catalytic activity where edges, terrace features and heterojunctions between MoS2 and WS2 were located, which agrees with the suggestions of previous reports. In addition, aging the sample had a noticeable effect, particularly at edges.   The researchers conclude that their study demonstrates how it is possible to evaluate the local HER activity of catalytic samples using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy. They suggest that the technique can be a “powerful tool” for engineering the phase and structure of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide samples for applications in catalysis.   [Background] 2D transition metal dichalcogenides The isolation of graphene and the extraordinary properties identified in the material attracted intense interest from researchers not only in graphene but in a whole host of other materials, where 2D layers could be isolated. Among these 2D materials are transition metal dichalcogenides where the transition metals include molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) and the chalcogens are group VI elements, which include sulfur (S), selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te). As well as electrochemical catalysis for energy storage, this group of materials has also attracted interest for high-end electronics, spintronics, optoelectronics, energy harvesting, flexible electronics, DNA sequencing and personalized medicine.   [The hydrogen evolution reaction] The use of hydrogen as a fuel involves burning it in oxygen to produce just water and the release of a lot of energy. Hydrogen fuel avoids the use of fossil fuels and the production of carbon dioxide, and it can get around some of the issues of energy storage associated with many alternative sustainable energy technologies such as solar and wind power. The electrolysis of water using a sustainably sourced current provides an environmentally friendly way of producing hydrogen fuel. Although HER is faster than the oxygen evolution reaction, there is still great interest in increasing the reaction rates. As a result, there is a lot of interest in the catalytic activity of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides on HER among other reactions.   Reference: Yasufumi Takahashi, Yu Kobayashi, Ziqian Wang, Yoshikazu Ito, Masato Ota, Hiroki Ida, Akichika Kumatani, Keisuke Miyazawa, Takeshi Fujita, Hitoshi Shiku, Yuri E Korchev, Yasumitsu Miyata, Takeshi Fukuma, Mingwei Chen, Tomokazu Matsue, " High Resolution Electrochemical Mapping of Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Nanosheets", Angewandte Chemie International Edition DOI: 10.1002/anie.201912863 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201912863     Figure 1. [TOC image] Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) allows imaging and quantitative analysis of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalytically active sites in 1H MoS2 monolayers.  

Assistant professor Fumihiro Kaneda at FRIS, Tohoku University and Professor Paul Kwiat at University of Illinois have built the world’s most efficient single-photon source.   A single photon, a smallest unit of light, is a proposed resource in quantum computation and communication, serving as a quantum bit, or qubit. To produce photons quantum optics researchers often used nonlinear-optics effect where one of billions of photons in a laser pulse is split into a pair of low-energy photons. However, this photon-pair production is probabilistic; it can produce nothing (typically with over 90% probability), one pair, or two pairs. Kaneda and Kwiat solved this low-efficiency problem using a technique called time multiplexing. Their technique also uses a nonlinear-optics source but photons produced at random times are adaptively delayed via quantum memory so that produced photons are temporally multiplexed to enhance the presence probability of a single photon at the fixed time.   They are still improving the multiplexed single-photon source. Their planned upgrades would enable to produce 30 to 50 single photons simultaneously at unprecedented efficiencies. Although this is much smaller than the number of bits handled in an ordinary computer, quantum computation with such a small number of qubits could be comparable or faster than a supercomputer for some types of computations.   The researchers’ current findings were published online in Science Advances on October 4, 2019.   Publication Detail: F. Kaneda, P. G. Kwiat, "High-efficiency single-photon generation via large-scale active time multiplexing", Science Advances, Vol. 5, eaaw8586 (2019) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw8586

Jellyfish are animals that possess the unique ability to regenerate body parts. A team of Japanese scientists has now revealed the cellular mechanisms that give jellyfish these remarkable "superpowers." Their findings were published on August 26, 2019 in PeerJ. "Currently our knowledge of biology is quite limited because most studies have been performed using so-called model animals like mice, flies, worms and fish etc. Given that millions of species exist on the earth, it is important to study various animals and broaden our knowledge," said Yuichiro Nakajima, Assistant Professor at the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University in Japan, and corresponding author of the study. "Jellyfish are one of such animals with interesting biological features," Nakajima said. "For example, they have stinging cells, called cnidocytes, to capture prey." Cnidarian jellyfish - named for their stinging cells - have existed on the earth for more than 500 million years. They form part of a unique group of animals that are not bilaterally symmetrical and also possess the capacity to regenerate body parts -- a trait most of the complex animals, including humans, have lost. These early-diverging primitive animals could play a pivotal role in helping us better understand the evolutionary biology of bilaterally symmetrical animals, like us humans. For their study, the researchers used Cladonema pacificum -- a jellyfish species from the Cnidaria phylum that has branching tentacles -- to investigate the spatial pattern of cell proliferation and their roles during jellyfish development and regeneration, aiming to establish the cellular basis of these phenomena. "With easy lab maintenance and a high spawning rate, Cladonema is suitable for studying various aspects of jellyfish biology," Nakajima explained. Cladonema jellyfish have branched tentacles ⒸSosuke Fujita, Tohoku University   To investigate the role of cell proliferation following food uptake in determining body-size growth, appendage shape, and regeneration in Cladonema jellyfish, the researchers examined the distribution of cells that play a key role in DNA replication through cell division, producing new 'daughter' cells that are identical to the original 'parent' cell. They found spatially distinct groups of proliferating cells in the medusa (sexual) life-stage, with cell proliferation in the umbrella-shaped portion of their body being uniform, while cell proliferation in the tentacles was clustered. After withholding food or blocking cell proliferation using a cell-cycle inhibiting agent, the researchers found body size growth was inhibited, and they also observed defects in tentacle branching, differentiation of stem cells into stinging cells, and regeneration. These results suggest that free-swimming adult jellyfish in the sexual stage possess actively proliferating cells that play a key role in controlling body-size, tentacle shape, and regeneration. Additionally, the researchers found that when food was not available, the jellyfish exhibited a gradual decrease in body size after 24 hours, suggesting they are sensitive to food availability and are able to adapt to metabolic changes in response to environmental conditions. Cladonema polyp give rise to jellyfish ⒸSosuke Fujita, Tohoku University "We are currently trying to understand the molecular mechanisms of Cladonema development and regeneration," said Sosuke Fujita, a master student in the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, and the first author of the study. "Based on this research, molecular control of cell proliferation is the key to deciphering jellyfish growth and regeneration. According to Nakajima, the researchers also plan to investigate the differences between the two different adult stages in jellyfish: medusae (sexual) and polyps (asexual). "For these purposes, we will identify gene expression changes associated with different developmental and regeneration contexts and plan to introduce genetic tools for manipulation of genes." The study by Nakajima's group got a lot of attention from foreign media and was highlighted by several worldwide news. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/tu-jg092919.php https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/184335 https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/jellyfishs-superpowers-gained-through-cellular-mechanism https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/offbeat/scientists-unravel-mystery-of-the-jellyfishs-superpower-ability-to-regenerate-body-parts/ar-AAI7v0I http://transition.meltwater.com/redirect?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2019%2F10%2F191001102205.htm&transitionToken=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiJ9.eyJob3N0bmFtZSI6Ind3dy5zY2llbmNlZGFpbHkuY29tIn0.Ki_MhVIfMfUk7falEvFecn0pLyO2IbwTRz0pkC5PQ1uOxwTzEl1gaKsfWOGSIrAp9s_bATcjZQWi29WHH6Kuzg https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/jellyfish-superpower-limb-regeneration   Publication Details: Title: Cell proliferation controls body size growth, tentacle morphogenesis, and regeneration in hydrozoan jellyfish Cladonema pacificum. Authors: Sosuke Fujita, Erina Kuranaga, Yu-ichiro Nakajima Journal: PeerJ, 7:e7579, 2019.　 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7579         #s3gt_translate_tooltip_mini { display: none !important; }

As robots become more and more ubiquitous in human society, the study of their emergence becomes critical to assessing robot performance and appropriateness for different applications, and for employment across countries with different cultural backgrounds. Throughout history, religion has been a major element in all human cultures, and there is a long history of religious commentary on the idea of automation. With emerging robotic platforms and applications already beginning to touch on the subject of religion, now is the right time to begin discussing this potentially controversial topic.   Assistant Professor Weng Yueh-Hsuan and his co-authors published new article in " International Journal of Social Robotics" on 25th September 2019. The objective of this article is to analyze what impacts Taoist religion may have on the use of Ethically Aligned Design in future human–robot interaction.   Publication： Yueh-Hsuan Weng, Yasuhisa Hirata, Osamu Sakura, Yusuke Sugahara, "The Religious Impacts of Taoism on Ethically Aligned Design in HRI", International Journal of Social Robotics, 2019 DOI: 10.1007/s12369-019-00594-z https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12369-019-00594-z

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), one of the most famous toxin, is distributed worldwide in marine and terrestrial animals such as pufferfish, snails, newts and frogs. Its complex chemical structure and potent toxicity has been fascinating scientists in various research fields for a long time. Despite the intense interest in TTX, a question “How this unique toxin is biosynthesized in nature?” has not been resolved. Since the true producer of TTX is ambiguous, the genetic information regarding biosynthesis of TTX is not available at all. Dr. Yuta Kudo, Assistant Professor of Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, and Dr. Mari Yotsu-Yamashita, Professor of Graduate School of Agricultural Science, discovered two new natural compounds related to tetrodotoxin from toxic newt. The biosynthetic pathway of TTX in terrestrial environments was proposed/discussed based the structures of new compounds and the series of putative biosynthetic intermediates of TTX collected by them in previous studies. In addition, the voltage-gated sodium ion channel blocking activity of new compound was evaluated by cell-based assay, and the value was compared with TTX and its known analog. These results may shed light on a mystery of biosynthesis of TTX and proceed the structure-activity relationship study of TTX. The article reporting these results published in “Journal of Natural Products” as ASAP on May 22, 2019.    Publication Details Yuta Kudo and Mari Yotsu-Yamashita* (*corresponding author)  "Isolation and Biological Activity of 8-Epitetrodotoxin and the Structure of a Possible Biosynthetic Shunt Product of Tetrodotoxin, Cep-226A, from the Newt Cynops ensicauda popei" Journal of Natural Products doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00178 LINK； https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00178