University of Tokyo

About: University of Tokyo is a education organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 134564 authors who have published 337567 publications receiving 10178620 citations. The organization is also known as: Todai & Universitas Tociensis.

Functionalized fullerenes in water. The first 10 years of their chemistry, biology, and nanoscience

Abstract: Fullerenes are entirely insoluble in water, but suitable functionalization makes the molecules soluble. Studies on water-soluble fullerene derivatives led to the discovery of the interaction of organofullerenes with DNA, proteins, and living cells, which was first reported in the summer of 1993. Subsequent studies have revealed interesting biological activity aspects of organofullerenes owing to their photochemistry, radical quenching, and hydrophobicity to form one- to three-dimensional supramolecular complexes. In these areas of research, synthetic organic chemistry has played an important role in the creation of tailor-made molecules.

Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ induces fatty acid β-oxidation in skeletal muscle and attenuates metabolic syndrome

Abstract: In this study, we defined the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta/delta (PPARdelta) in metabolic homeostasis by using subtype selective agonists. Analysis of rat L6 myotubes treated with the PPARdelta subtype-selective agonist, GW501516, by the Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays revealed that PPARdelta controls fatty acid oxidation by regulating genes involved in fatty acid transport, beta-oxidation, and mitochondrial respiration. Similar PPARdelta-mediated gene activation was observed in the skeletal muscle of GW501516-treated mice. Accordingly, GW501516 treatment induced fatty acid beta-oxidation in L6 myotubes as well as in mouse skeletal muscles. Administration of GW501516 to mice fed a high-fat diet ameliorated diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, an effect accompanied by enhanced metabolic rate and fatty acid beta-oxidation, proliferation of mitochondria, and a marked reduction of lipid droplets in skeletal muscles. Despite a modest body weight change relative to vehicle-treated mice, GW501516 treatment also markedly improved diabetes as revealed by the decrease in plasma glucose and blood insulin levels in genetically obese ob/ob mice. These data suggest that PPARdelta is pivotal to control the program for fatty acid oxidation in the skeletal muscle, thereby ameliorating obesity and insulin resistance through its activation in obese animals.

Menstrual cycle alters face preference

Abstract: Women prefer slightly feminized male facial shapes1. Such faces (Fig. 1a) are given positive personality attributions1 that might correlate with actual behaviour2. In contrast, masculine features seem to signal immunological competence3. Heritable benefits can be realized only if conception follows copulation, so women might be more attentive to phenotypic markers indicating immunological competence during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle when conception is most likely4,5. Consistent with this hypothesis is the observation that women's preference for the odour of men with low fluctuating asymmetry (a correlate of testosterone-facilitated trait size and developmental stability) increases with the probability of conception across the menstrual cycle5.Symmetrical men report more extra-pair copulation partners6, and extra-pair copulation rates peak in midcycle7. Here we show that female preference for secondary sexual traits in male face shapes varies with the probability of conception across the menstrual cycle.

Experimental demonstration of information-to-energy conversion and validation of the generalized Jarzynski equality

Abstract: Feedback mechanisms such as the ‘demon’ in Maxwell’s well-known thought experiment can, in principle, enable the transformation of information into energy, without violating the second law of thermodynamics. Such information-to-energy conversion by feedback control has now been demonstrated experimentally.