Manipulation of life forms at will！
Well-being（心身ともに健康で社会的に充実した状態）は、持続可能な未来を築く上で不可欠な要素です。しかし、我々の責務は現在のWell-beingを追求するだけでなく、100年後の世代もまた豊かに暮らせる社会を創造することにあります。私たちは、Planetary Health Nutritionの研究を通じて、食を軸にヒトと地球の健康の両立を目指しています。この取り組みにより、現在そして未来の世代すべてがWell-beingを享受できる、真に充実した社会の実現に貢献したいと考えています。
私たちは、以下のような研究を行っています。 研究内容にご関心・ご質問等がありましたら、遠慮なくご連絡ください！
Well-being, a state of physical, mental, and social health, is essential in building a sustainable future. However, our responsibility extends beyond merely pursuing well-being; we must create a society where future generations can thrive a century from now. Through our research in Planetary Health Nutrition, we aim to harmonize human and planetary health through diet. By undertaking this endeavor, we aspire to contribute to a genuinely fulfilling society where all present and future generations can enjoy well-being. Your involvement in this mission is not just important, it's essential, and could inspire and motivate others to join us in this vital work.
Your potential contribution to our research in the following areas is invaluable. We encourage you to contact us if you are interested or have questions regarding our study. Your insights could be the key to unlocking significant discoveries in Planetary Health Nutrition, empowering you to make a real difference in our mission.
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ― Martin Luther King, Jr.
Every act of creation is first an act of destruction. ― Pablo Picasso
Key Publications
- Rapid manipulation of mitochondrial morphology in a living cell with iCMM. Cell Rep Methods. 2021.
- Identification of a p53-repressed gene module in breast cancer cells. Oncotarget. 2017.
- Argininosuccinate synthase 1 is an intrinsic Akt repressor transactivated by p53. Sci Adv. 2017.
- Compartmentalized AMPK signaling illuminated by genetically encoded molecular sensors and actuators. Cell Rep. 2015.
- Rapid and orthogonal logic gating with a gibberellin-induced dimerization system. Nat Chem Biol. 2012.
CANCER METABOLISM
Cancer metabolism refers to the mechanism by which cancer cells procure the energy required for growth and spread, differing from the metabolic processes of healthy cells. Comprehending cancer metabolism is crucial for advancing therapeutic tactics to curb or delay cancer progression.
Our ongoing research endeavors to address the following inquiries:
- What underlies the dissimilar metabolic systems of cancer cells?
- How do cancer cells perceive and communicate metabolic information to their adaptive mechanisms?
- Can novel cancer treatments be devised by disrupting the metabolic systems of cancer cells?
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
The development of biomolecular devices aimed at deliberately manipulating cellular functions has garnered attention in the interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology. To develop useful biomolecular devices, it is necessary to understand how all bio-molecules cooperate to exhibit functionality and to control biomolecules accordingly. Projects underway in this field are as follows:
- Synthetic lethal weapon to combat cancer cells
- Reprogramming devices to perturb spatiotemporal signaling dynamics in a cell
- Reprogramming devices to perturb metabolic systems in a cell
DIGITAL × BIOLOGY
What would change when artificial intelligence (AI) will be comprehensible enough for everyone to use it? We are currently trying to comprehend and manipulate life forms using "digital biology", a concept that integrates life science and AI technology. AI may assist to visualize the substance of life forms that is difficult to observe through naked eyes. Some of the projects that we are currently working on include:
- Digital stain, a label-free imaging technology
- Application of digital biosensor to visualize invisible information
- Unravelling the mechanism underlying intratumor heterogeneity
PERSONALIZED NUTRITION
Diet is a tremendously complex input for human beings, and personalized nutrition means that the function of 37 trillion cells in our body can be precisely regulated by the input information alone. We are currently working with several collaborators to resolve this challenge. Some of the projects that we are currently working on include:
- Visualization of biological information encoded in blood.
- Epidemiological studies on food and health.
ORGANELLE CODE
The diversity of morphologies displayed by living entities can be attributed to multiple factors, including the attainment of self-replication, the quintessence of life, and the facilitation of efficient information exchange at the cellular level. Consequently, we posit that morphology is not just a phenotype but also a crucial factor in the organization of life. Our objective is to decipher the biological information embedded in the various morphologies possessed by living beings. The current queries being explored in this regard are:
- Why is the morphology of mitochondria altered in various diseases?
- What happens when the organelle morphology is altered in a cell?