University of Tokyo

Scientists in Japan have produced a plastic with the highest heat resistance ever reported, and done so by using natural materials as the building blocks, paving the way toward greener production for the omnipresent material.

The star Betelgeuse has dimmed twice in the past year. Now astronomers say they’ve found what may have caused the latest episode – and also discovered that the star is smaller, closer to Earth and further from exploding than previously thought.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have made magnetic tape using a new material, which allows higher storage density and more protection against interference, as well as a new way to write to the tape using high frequency millimeter waves.

We've heard about microneedle patches before, and we've also heard about cheap, disposable paper biomedical testing kits. Japanese scientists have now combined the two, in a paper-backed microneedle patch that measures blood glucose levels.

The Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory in Japan has received an upgrade. A rare-earth element called gadolinium has been added to the water in the facility, which will make it more sensitive to neutrinos from more distant and ancient supernovae.

A team led by researchers at the University of Tokyo has shown that feeding pigs on the barley waste left over from the distillation of the Japanese liquor shochu makes for more relaxed pigs and results in tastier pork.

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a synthetic version of a fungal compound that could help take out cancer, by reactivating a missing gene that would normally drive the sinister cells to self-destruction.

The world of atoms and molecules is tricky to study, not just because it’s so small but because events occur so quickly at that scale. Now, researchers have captured slow motion video of the movements of single molecules at 1,600 frames per second.

Scientists tinkering with the design of lithium-ion batteries have come up with a new electrolyte they say can offer greater safety and an ability to operate at higher voltages, promising smartphones and electric vehicles with longer run times.

Production of cement is a big source of CO2 emissions, so the more we can recycle existing concrete, the better. That's where a new study comes in, which indicates that discarded concrete becomes stronger than it was before, when wood waste is added.

Gamma-ray bursts are already the most energetic events we know of in the universe. Now, astronomers have detected the most powerful one ever. The competition isn’t even close, either – it's almost a thousand times more powerful than your average GRB.

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.