University of Tokyo

Using their sonar system, toothed whales are able to zero in on prey in the pitch black conditions of the deep sea. Seals lack such a system, but still catch prey in the same conditions. New research now shows how their whiskers allow them to do so.

We've been hearing a lot about synthetic skins made for robotic hands, which would give the devices human-like qualities. Scientists in Japan have gone a step further, by covering a robotic finger in a self-healing skin made from live human cells.

A new type of desalination membrane uses a series of nanoscale tubes lined with a Teflon-inspired material that repels salts while allowing water to flow through with little friction. The team says it's fast, and requires little pressure and energy.

The movements of the Sun, Moon and stars have long been used to keep track of time, and now engineers from the University of Tokyo have proposed a new way to use the cosmos to precisely track time, using showers of particles from cosmic rays.

Red wine and chocolate are notorious for staining clothes, thanks to the tannic acid that they contain. Scientists at the University of Tokyo have now used that acid in a textile coating which keeps clothes from stinking, and that doesn't wash out.

Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, but it comes at a huge environmental cost. Engineers in Japan have developed a new technique to make concrete by recycling waste concrete and combining it with captured carbon dioxide.

Widespread wireless charging could one day keep our devices juiced up indefinitely. A new breakthrough has been made in that direction, as researchers in Japan have developed a system that can turn a whole room into a wireless charger.

Japanese researchers have developed a new type of cholera vaccine by genetically modifying rice to carry a non-toxic cholera antigen. The vaccine needs no refrigeration with the rice simply ground into a powder, mixed with water and consumed.

It sounds like the premise of a comedy sketch, but researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a way to recycle food scraps into construction materials that are stronger than concrete, yet remain edible and tasty.

Although there are rigs that allow gamers to walk on the spot while their avatar walks in a VR environment, such setups tend to be large and complex. A new system, however, simulates walking simply by buzzing the seated user's feet.

Through experiments on mice with a genetic mutation that causes schizophrenia, scientists in Japan believe they have happened upon a new drug to tackle the disease, and one that is already approved for use as a dietary supplement.

The cement used to make concrete carries quite a carbon footprint. Now, scientists at the University of Tokyo have created a cement-free alternative that directly bonds sand particles together using a reaction between alcohol and a catalyst.