Abby Hahm 

“You drink grass?”—a common comment directed at those who enjoy the vibrant green beverage known as matcha tea.

In a sense, yes.

Matcha is a finely ground powder made from green tea leaves, deeply rooted in Japanese culture. It is harvested from tea bushes that are intentionally shaded to reduce light exposure, which helps preserve and even enhance its nutritional value. This shading process increases the levels of bioactive compounds such as chlorophyll and theanine, which contribute to matcha’s rich color and distinct taste.

Although matcha has gained widespread popularity in recent years, particularly in social media and health-conscious communities, it has been a cherished part of Japanese tradition for centuries. Valued for its abundance of antioxidants and energy-boosting properties, matcha has been studied for its potential to enhance cognitive function, improve energy levels, and support physical performance when incorporated into the diet.

Norman Lee

Imagine a world where your cat friend could live up to 30 years, enjoying more years of purring, playing, and cuddling by your side. This once-distant dream is now closer to reality thanks to research led by Professor Toru Miyazaki at the University of Tokyo. The secret lies in a protein called the Apoptosis Inhibitor of Macrophage (AIM), which plays a crucial role in kidney health.

Kidney disease is a leading cause of illness in cats, often causing serious health problems and shortening their lifespans. In humans and other animals, AIM identifies and marks waste build-up so that immune cells, such as macrophages, can effectively remove these wastes. However, this protein remains inactive in cats because of a strong bond between AIM and an antibody called Immunoglobulin M (IgM), which is 1000 times stronger in cats than other animals. This strong bond causes AIM to be unable to break free from IgM to do its cleanup job, which leads to waste buildups in the kidneys and the resulting kidney diseases. 

Sneha Dayal 

What once seemed like science fiction has just become a reality as scientists have successfully grown an artificial human notochord, the precursor to the spine, with the aid of stem cells. This revolutionary achievement has opened the way for better understanding and treatment of spinal injuries, congenital developmental disorders, vertebrae degeneration, and much more. A notochord is a tissue that forms during embryonic development, consisting of neural tissue and bone stem cells. It serves as a guide for the body, creating a blueprint for the formation of the spine and nervous system. Despite its significant potential in furthering scientific progress in the medical field, scientists have struggled to learn about and recreate such a complex and sensitive system - until now. 

Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in London achieved this revolutionary feat by first analyzing and comparing chicken, monkey, and mouse embryos to understand the molecular signals needed to generate the notochord. They then introduced human stem cells to a sequence of precisely timed chemical signals they had derived from the analysis in the previous stage. According to Dr. Rito, the study’s first author, “Finding the exact chemical signals to produce notochord was like finding the right recipe. Previous attempts to grow the notochord in the lab may have failed because we didn’t understand the required timing to add the ingredients.” They persevered through numerous successive failures and ultimately succeeded. Their lab-grown notochord has already proven to closely mimic a natural notochord by actively growing and sending out chemical signals that manage surrounding tissues