University of Tokyo

A galaxy seems like a hard thing to miss – let alone 39 of them – but that’s exactly what a team of astronomers has just discovered. So where have these countless stars been hiding? About 11.5 billion light-years away, in a part of the light spectrum that’s invisible to many telescopes.

In order to see how many viruses are present in a patient's biological fluid sample, costly devices such as fluorescence microscopes are typically used – not a good solution for developing nations. That's why scientists have developed an inexpensive smartphone-connected gadget that does the job.

Why start from scratch when nature has already designed better robot materials and parts than ours? Japanese researchers have now developed a new way to integrate living muscle tissue onto a robotic skeleton, and make it move in a realistic way that takes some of the strain off.

Few natural light shows come more spectacular than the legendary Northern Lights. For the first time, scientists in Japan have now directly observed its inner mechanics, confirming once and for all a long-held hypothesis and furthering our understanding of one of the world's great natural wonders. ​

For a wearable electronic sensor to be truly practical it would need to be comfortable when worn for extended periods of time. A team at the University of Tokyo has now developed a breathable nanoscale mesh that can be safely worn for a week without causing any skin irritation.

​​Imagine if things like satellite antennas could fold down small when not in use, but then unfurl into a rigid structure as needed. Well, that's just what ladybug wings do. In order to find out how they do so, scientists recently replaced a ladybug's real wing cover with one that's transparent.​

Scientists at the University of Tokyo believe they're on to a new prediction method for earthquakes – measuring the amount of a helium isotope in the groundwater.

Using rarely detected seismic waves from a "weather bomb," a unique type of extratropical storm, scientists might be able to uncover the hidden structure of the Earth.

A new durable, flexing OLED display is less than one quarter the thickness of Saran wrap and can be worn on the skin to display blood-oxygen levels, with the developers working to afford it other health-monitoring too.

Researchers have developed a thin and flexible pressure sensor that's able to continue to function effectively when curved over a tiny radius.

Working with a new magnetic insulator material with unusual atomic properties, scientists at Stanford University have observed electrical conduction in a non-conductive material that may lead to superior magnetic memory devices.

The latest creation inspired by the ancient art of paper folding comes in the form of a new "zippered tube" design that forms paper structures with enough stiffness to support weight, but can be folded flat for shipping or storage.