Tag - biotechnology

 
 

BIOTECHNOLOGY

An image provided by Profluent Bio shows the physical structure of OpenCRISPR-1, a gene editor created by AI technology from Profluent.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 25, 2024
Generative AI arrives in the gene-editing world of CRISPR
AI has arrived on the scene of gene editing with the goal of outdoing billions of years of natural evolution.
Haruko Obokata speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka in 2014. Ten years after the STAP scandal, structural problems that led to the scandal persist, leaving ample room for researchers to tamper with research data, experts say.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2024
Little change in Japan’s research sector 10 years after stem cell fraud
A decade after the STAP scandal, there is still a lot of leeway for researchers to tamper with data.
A Japanese medical team is planning a clinical study to temporarily transplant a pig's kidney into an unborn child with a severe kidney disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 6, 2024
Japan team plans pig kidney transplant for fetus with severe disease
The team, which includes the Jikei University School of Medicine, is seeking to apply for approval with a state-designated committee as early as this year.
A 23andMe DNA kit
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Drugmakers are set to pay 23andMe millions to access consumer DNA
Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with access to anonymized DNA data from customers who have agreed to share their information.
The National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2023
Hospital seeks approval for embryonic stem cell treatment
The treatment targets babies with a congenital disorder that renders their livers unable to detoxify ammonia.
Hiroshi Mikitani, co-chief executive officer of Rakuten Medical, speaks at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's meeting in Yokohama on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023
Rakuten’s Mikitani spends a fifth of his time on biotech startup
Rakuten Medical, based in San Diego, employs about 200 people and specializes in a therapy that uses light and immunotherapy drugs to fight cancer.
An installation for The North Face Moon Parka, which uses a Spiber-produced protein material
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 6, 2023
A Japanese startup is using biotech to ‘brew’ greener fashion
Fashion has a huge environmental impact, and Spiber thinks its products can help curb the industry's footprint.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2023
Biotechnology startup Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the dodo
The billion-dollar startup has added the famous bird to its de-extinction agenda, alongside the woolly mammoth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2022
Another Crispr first: New treatment wipes out teen's cancer
Next-generation Crispr gene-editing was used to create a therapy that attacked a 13-year-old's stubborn leukemia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2022
Japanese biotech firm uses tiny worms in test for pancreatic cancer
The creatures, a species of nematodes known scientifically as C. elegans, have olfactory senses much more powerful than dogs, the firm says, and they follow their nose toward cancer cells.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 15, 2022
Biotech money shock: Investors unwind speculative bets as pandemic fears fade
While an appetite for the shares of vaccine makers and drug companies remain, inflows into health care funds have slowed to more modest figures.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2021
Tardy COVID-19 vaccine makers under fire for trials in developing nations
Vaccine developers at the testing phase now are seeking developing countries where vaccination rates remain low and the virus is still active.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 27, 2021
Japan approves second drug for mildly ill COVID-19 patients
Sotrovimab was given the green light three weeks after GlaxoSmithKline's Japan unit submitted its application for the antibody treatment to the health ministry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2021
SoftBank built a $5 billion stake in pharma giant Roche
Roche's diagnostics unit reacted swiftly to the pandemic, and now sales are boosted by its COVID-19 testing business.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2021
A fairer world requires fairer tech. Here’s why.
In the decade ahead, a wave of technological solutions will touch and transform every part of our lives. These new solutions could either tackle existing problems — or exacerbate them while creating others. As tech can scale both progress or harm, the time is now to shape the fair and responsible future we want to live in.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2020
Biotech future of promise and peril looms larger and closer
Emerging technology poses new and novel questions. Unfortunately, the time to answer them is growing short.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 16, 2020
Japan team uses stem cells to spawn 1,700 trout from single fish
The researchers hope to apply the technique to bluefin tuna within around five years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2020
Japan's AnGes speeds toward 2021 rollout in coronavirus 'vaccine war'
The Osaka-based firm got a headstart in the vaccine development by repurposing its hypertension vaccine, which had already passed various safety hurdles.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2020
Japan researchers create tiny bronchi to develop drug for COVID-19
It is hoped the miniature organ will serve as a better model for evaluating anti-viral drugs' efficacy than a single cell.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2020
Japanese researchers to test blood thinner for coronavirus treatment
A blood thinner used to treat pancreatitis and kidney disease has been identified as a potential therapy for COVID-19 patients, with clinical trials in Japan possibly set to begin within a month, researchers at the University of Tokyo said Wednesday.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores