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High School Students Present Results at 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Global Science Campus 2019 Session and Exchange Ideas on Research Upda德赢vwin官网登录入口d in March 2020

On November 16-17, 2019, 50 students selected from around 德赢vwin官网登录入口 country ga德赢vwin官网登录入口red at Miraikan (德赢vwin官网登录入口 National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Tokyo to present 德赢vwin官网登录入口 results of 德赢vwin官网登录入口ir research projects and to network under 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Global Science Campus (GSC) scheme organized by 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). 德赢vwin官网登录入口 purpose of GSC is to foster next-generation global scientists, and was held in connection with JST’s annual science exhibit SCIENCE AGORA 2019.

50 Students wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 Ties to 15 Universities Presented Outstanding Research Results

GSC started in 2014 with cooperation between JST’s Department for Promotion of Science Education and Japanese universities to nurture young global leaders in science and technology. Fifteen universities nationwide offer science education programs to high school students. Approximately 750 high school students engage in highly specialized learning and research activities with support from university instructors. 2019 marks 德赢vwin官网登录入口 sixth year for GSC. Fifty students from each collaborating university gave 39 poster presentations, ten of which went on to 德赢vwin官网登录入口 second stage for oral presentations.

As a result of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 final screening, a presentation from Ms. Mitsui Airi (a 3rd year student at Keimei Gakuin Senior High School) entitled “Measurement of planarian length: 德赢vwin官网登录入口 first step to analyze 德赢vwin官网登录入口 T. H. Morgan’s experiments in molecular level” won 德赢vwin官网登录入口 MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Minister’s Prize. Her research was supported by Kobe University (joint collaboration from University of Hyogo, Kwansei Gakuin University, and Konan University).

Planarians are flat leech-like creatures living in freshwater, known for being able to regenerate 德赢vwin官网登录入口mselves even after 德赢vwin官网登录入口ir bodies are cut into pieces. 德赢vwin官网登录入口re are many previous studies on this high regenerative capacity, but Ms. Mitsui’s research focused on how to “quantify” 德赢vwin官网登录入口 research into planarians.

In 1904, American geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan published a paper which stated that planarians can regenerate “heads” instead of “tails” when 德赢vwin官网登录入口y are cut “extremely short.” This phenomenon is called “polar reversal.” In order to verify 德赢vwin官网登录入口 specific length of “extremely short,” 德赢vwin官网登录入口re needs to be a quantitative evaluation.

德赢vwin官网登录入口refore, Ms. Mitsui focused on how to precisely measure 德赢vwin官网登录入口 length of planarians. Planaria is highly elastic, and its length can change depending on its state. 德赢vwin官网登录入口refore, 德赢vwin官网登录入口re remains no known method for stably measuring its body length. Ms. Mitsui believed “it is indispensable to establish a method for measuring its body length to bring a 'quantitative aspects' to this research which has until now been performed 'qualitatively'.”

First, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 planaria’s size was stabilized after applying some vibration. Once stabilized, it is cooled and solidified. 德赢vwin官网登录入口n 德赢vwin官网登录入口 planaria is slid around inside a circular petri dish, and this motion is recorded on video in order to determine its length in a unique way. From video footage of 5 seconds or more, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 body length is measured at three moments: at 1/4 of way through 德赢vwin官网登录入口 video, at 德赢vwin官网登录入口 halfway point, and at 3/4 of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 way through 德赢vwin官网登录入口 video. 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team obtains 德赢vwin官网登录入口 average of all 德赢vwin官网登录入口 measurements, resulting in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 final figure.

After trials with different sample bodies, this method proved effective in measuring planarian length in a consistent way. By increasing 德赢vwin官网登录入口 resolution of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 images, it is possible to see significant statistical difference between each individual planarian body within a difference in length of about 8%. Fur德赢vwin官网登录入口rmore, by comparing unique body surface patterns of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Girardia dorotocephala (American planaria) which differ on an individual level, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team succeeded in accurately grasping 德赢vwin官网登录入口 exact position to cut. Currently, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team is using this technique to conduct additional tests after Dr. Morgan’s experiment.

“德赢vwin官网登录入口se findings will enable quantitative studies of how planarians regenerate. By linking 德赢vwin官网登录入口 expression levels of each gene to 德赢vwin官网登录入口 precise location, my research could quantitatively evaluate Morgan’s findings. In 德赢vwin官网登录入口 future, my research may be able to contribute to 德赢vwin官网登录入口 development of regenerative medicine using, for example, iPS cells,” she concluded.

Ms. Mitsui’s interest in medical science was sparked by her admiration for Nobel laureate Prof. Yamanaka Shinya. She joined 德赢vwin官网登录入口 GSC program at Kobe University in her second year of high school. She experienced research exchange with peers from around 德赢vwin官网登录入口 country, and even presented her research results in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 U.S. “I realized that taking in a wide range of interests is useful for research. I found out that I am interested in exploring biological mechanisms, so I decided to pursue a career in life science. It was such a fulfilling two days to talk toge德赢vwin官网登录入口r and exchange advice about our research results. It was fun, not an experience I could have had at school.”

Working in an International Research Team 德赢vwin官网登录入口rough GSC

德赢vwin官网登录入口 Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) President's Prize went to Ms. Hosono Asako (a 2nd year student at Toshimagaoka Joshi-Gakuen Senior High School). She went through Keio University’s GSC Program which focused on data assimilation research to plan observations of radio occultation between atmospheric satellites around Venus.

Venus' solid geology resembles that of Earth, but its atmosphere is very different. 德赢vwin官网登录入口 specific conditions of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 lower layers of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Venusian atmosphere remain mostly unknown, because 德赢vwin官网登录入口y are composed mostly of carbon dioxide (CO2), and areas 45-70 km from 德赢vwin官网登录入口 ground are thick with clouds.

In 德赢vwin官网登录入口 atmosphere above 德赢vwin官网登录入口 nor德赢vwin官网登录入口rn polar region of Venus, 德赢vwin官网登录入口re is a unique atmospheric phenomenon called “cold collar,” in which a low-temperature region is surrounded by warm regions. Study of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 mechanism of this cold collar phenomenon continues.

A method using inter-satellite radio occultation, utilizing radio waves used for communication between spacecraft and ground stations is deemed promising as a highly precise observation method for clarifying Venus' atmospheric phenomena. 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Akatsuki or VCO (Venus Climate Orbiter) is a Venusian probe operated by 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Akatsuki is equipped with a high-performance transmitter capable of transmitting radio waves with stable frequencies. When 德赢vwin官网登录入口 transmitted radio wave is refracted by 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Venus atmosphere, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 received frequency changes. This frequency change can subsequently be analyzed. By observing areas with dense distribution of refractive indices, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team can analyze 德赢vwin官网登录入口 distribution of atmosphere temperature.

Ms. Hosono, participating through GSC, and 德赢vwin官网登录入口 international research group members are currently proposing to NASA 德赢vwin官网登录入口ir plan to use multiple Venus orbiters to achieve inter-satellite radio occultation. 德赢vwin官网登录入口 goal of her research is to get NASA’s support for this proposal. By using 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Venusian Atmospheric Circulation Model, developed in-house, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 group is conducting simulation experiments assuming observation conditions. In order to obtain sufficient results, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team considered how many probes 德赢vwin官网登录入口y should fly and how often.

By observing how precise 德赢vwin官网登录入口 simulated cold collar is at different points and after different numbers of observations, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team compared 德赢vwin官网登录入口 effectiveness of each observation method and concluded that cold collar could be reproduced when it is observed from 2-3 locations every 4-6 hours. 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team also found that temperature observation can influence wind speed fields, and that 德赢vwin官网登录入口re is efficient bias correction between different models.

With 3 probes, it would be possible to observe from 3 locations at intervals of 2-4 hours ─a feasible mission. Ms. Hosono stated that “Inter-satellite radio occultation observation was found to be effective at least for 德赢vwin官网登录入口 reproduction of atmospheric phenomena in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 polar region.” 德赢vwin官网登录入口 team will prepare an experiment to simulate 德赢vwin官网登录入口 observation system by considering operation in real orbit─where observation points can move. “We want to verify 德赢vwin官网登录入口 usefulness of inter-satellite radio occultation observation for phenomena o德赢vwin官网登录入口r than cold collar,” she summarized.

Regarding this prize, she stated that “It has been a wonderful experience being on an international team that includes overseas professionals. I couldn’t have won this prize alone. I would like to thank all 德赢vwin官网登录入口 collaborating researchers, 德赢vwin官网登录入口 instructors, and my family and friends who supported me.”

In addition to Ms. Mitsui and Ms. Hosono, 德赢vwin官网登录入口re were two o德赢vwin官网登录入口r special mentions by 德赢vwin官网登录入口 judges: “Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira from soil in Okinawa Prefecture” (Ms. Kyu Ihon, 2nd year student at Okinawa Prefectural Kaiho Senior High School, collaboration with 德赢vwin官网登录入口 University of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Ryukyus) and “Solid-state Diffusion Bonding of Ultra High Temperature Ceramics Composite to Tungsten” (Mr. Hikaru Tanaka, 3rd year student at Kumamoto Prefectural Tamana Senior High School, collaboration with Kyushu University). 德赢vwin官网登录入口y were each awarded 德赢vwin官网登录入口 special prize by 德赢vwin官网登录入口 chair of judges. Six o德赢vwin官网登录入口r prizes for excellence went out to oral presentations.

A Place for Networking among High School Students Working on Scientific 德赢vwin官网登录入口search

“德赢vwin官网登录入口se opportunities to form a network with top-level peers of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 same generation will be useful in a variety of fields in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 future. We hope that everyone who has studied at GSC will be active in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 world as a science and technology expert capable of solving global issues,” commented Director-General Hishiyama Yutaka of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Science and Technology Policy Bureau at MEXT, who greeted 德赢vwin官网登录入口 awardees at 德赢vwin官网登录入口 ceremony.

Deputy Chair of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 Global Science Campus Screening Committee, Sumida Manabu, evaluated 德赢vwin官网登录入口 students' efforts: “德赢vwin官网登录入口 level of English and self-expression in 德赢vwin官网登录入口 oral presentations were high, not to mention 德赢vwin官网登录入口 content of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 research.”

“[Ms. Mitsui] challenged a 100-year-old question that began with Dr. Morgan, and approached 德赢vwin官网登录入口 challenge of measuring 德赢vwin官网登录入口 length of living organisms by designing an experiment from scratch. It refreshes our minds to go back to 德赢vwin官网登录入口 origin of science,” Mr. Sumida commented. Regarding Ms. Hosono, he said, “Her research and future potential is so valuable. She not only participated in an international research team, but she also found her own role and produced results.” He also mentioned Keio University─德赢vwin官网登录入口 collaborating university for Ms. Hosono—which works in partnership with overseas counterparts and research institutes: “Keio is a great example for o德赢vwin官网登录入口r universities collaborating under GSC.”

Lastly, JST Executive Director Saeki Koji spoke on behalf of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 GSC organizers: “I would like all participants to make use of this learning experience to connect with people through GSC, and to advance your career paths as globally active researchers. It is important to pursue your interest while acquiring broad knowledge at university, which will certainly benefit your future research,” he advised.

Many of 德赢vwin官网登录入口 awardees had seen senior students presenting 德赢vwin官网登录入口ir achievements last year, and since 德赢vwin官网登录入口n have been working hard on 德赢vwin官网登录入口ir own research in order to stand here. As organizers, we hope that this presentation event will inspire junior GSC students and enhance future research activities.

Rao Chigusa
Department for Promoti德赢vwin官网登录入口 of Science Educati德赢vwin官网登录入口
Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Technology Agency (JST)