Research Highlights

To shed light on the principles that govern tissue dynamics across species, Yoshihiro Morishita and his colleagues in the Lab for Developmental Morphogeometry have developed a new method for analyzing the development of vertebrate limbs. They proposed a space–time coordinate system that enables tissue dynamics to be compared directly across species that differ in size, shape and developmental time scale. “This system could reveal an organ-specific design principle that is independent of species, which will lead to a deeper understanding of developmental biology,” Morishita concludes. More

Many studies have suggested that the life expectancy of animals can be extended by a lifelong diet of calorie restriction, but for many people this road to longevity is unpalatable. However, similar benefits may be possible by a much more targeted dietary intervention, research by Fumiaki Obata and co-workers in the Lab for Nutritional Biology now suggests. They found that fruit flies live considerably longer when fed a diet that limits consumption of a certain amino acid during early adulthood. More

The blood-brain barrier is a strict gatekeeper around the brain that prevents foreign substances in blood from entering the brain. Although protective, the barrier poses challenges when treatments need to affect the brain in order to work. Now, Masaya Hagiwara and his colleague in the Human Biomimetic System RIKEN Hakubi Research Team has succeeded in establishing a model of the blood-brain barrier using modularized tissue derived from human cells. The “Tissue-in-a-CUBE” is a small cubic structure that could provide a boost in the drug discovery field and be used as an alternative to animal models in pre-clinical studies. More