Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed an AI model that integrates cine MRI imagery of uterine peristalsis with clinical data, significantly improving pregnancy prediction for patients with recurrent implantation failure. The novel approach condenses 18 seconds of uterine movement into a single image for deep learning analysis.
Not the iPS cells themselves, but the liquid they're grown in, injected into arthritic knees. A Japanese team's world-first study showed 71.4% improvement by international criteria with no serious adverse events. We look at what a seven-patient uncontrolled pilot can and cannot tell us, and where conditioned medium sits in Japan's regulations.
Japanese esports team ZETA DIVISION partners with the University of Tokyo to scientifically extend pro player careers through neuroscience research on reflexes, cognition, and motor control. Fighting game legends Momochi and Higuchi join the study.
Japanese startup Orizuru Therapeutics has begun clinical trials transplanting iPS cell-derived islet cells into diabetes patients. The first-ever transplant surgery succeeded in February 2025, with company-sponsored trials planned in Japan and the US. Over a decade after Professor Yamanaka's Nobel Prize, Japan's regenerative medicine enters the practical stage.
On March 6, 2026, Japan's Health Minister formally approved ReHeart (severe heart failure) and Amshepri (Parkinson's disease), the world's first iPS cell-derived medical products. In May, Amshepri became the first iPS product covered by public insurance, priced at 55.3 million yen. Here are the conditions, the seven-year deadline, and the objections.
Researchers at Kyoto and Hiroshima Universities created iPS cells from bonobos, chimpanzees, and gibbons, then achieved the world's first differentiation into limb bud mesoderm cells. Inside Japan's Whole-Zoo iPS Cell Project and its work on primate evolution, conservation, and zoo veterinary medicine.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have built the CUBIC Organ/Body Atlas — a 3D map of every single cell across all organs and the entire body of mice at single-cell resolution. Combining the CUBIC tissue-clearing method with a custom light-sheet microscope, the team pinpointed roughly 610 million cells in a newborn mouse. Published in Cell, this breakthrough could reshape pathology and drug discovery.
Osaka University spinoff Reimei has launched the world's first corporate clinical trial of a corneal epithelial cell sheet made from donor-derived iPS cells. Learn how this breakthrough could solve the global corneal donor shortage, restore vision for millions, and where Japan's regenerative medicine regulation stands versus the US FDA.
A revolutionary pair of glasses born in Japan uses liquid lens technology to automatically adjust focus for myopia, farsightedness, and presbyopia. Developed by ViXion, a HOYA spinoff, the ViXion01S weighs just 33g and runs for 15 hours. With over $3.6 million raised in crowdfunding and a top government tech award, we explore this next-gen autofocus eyewear and the future of vision correction technology.
Japan has approved Elevidys, a $2 million gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as the most expensive drug ever covered by its public health insurance. How does Japan's universal healthcare system handle the era of ultra-expensive medicines? We explore the challenges, patient hopes, and public debate.
Japan's health ministry panel has approved two iPS cell-derived regenerative medicine products — a world first. "ReHeart" for severe heart failure and "Amshepri" for Parkinson's disease are set to become the first commercially available iPS cell therapies. Twenty years after Shinya Yamanaka created iPS cells from mouse cells, Japan's groundbreaking technology is finally reaching patients.