Science Talk

Be an Innovator! You can change the world for the better with AI-ICT

Dr. Fumihiko "Tom" Tomita

Board Member, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International

Your imagination makes our future. Around 40,000 years ago, two species of Homo sapience and Neanderthalensis had been living in many of the same habitats around Europe. Within 40 years, we may live together with AI-Robot around the World. 150 years history of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has been emerging to the 3rd paradigm in Cyber-Physical System (CPS) , and AI-ICT connecting services Big Bang has already been started. As one of the cutting-edge ICT, our AI-Robot may have a chance to evolve to one new species. We must start to prepare for the cohabitation and the living in harmony with them. And again, your imagination makes our future.

Just read/write the instructions – What iPS cells and genome editing can teach us about human health and individuality

Dr. Knut Woltjen

Associate Professor, Department of Life Science Frontiers, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University 

Every living creature has a ‘genome’, a set of life-making instructions encoded in DNA’s four-letter alphabet: A, T, G, and C. By reading these instructions from tens of thousands of humans, we’ve learned how DNA variations create individuality, and sometimes disease. Yet, the meaning of the instructions remains mostly mysterious. 

Our research uses two revolutionary tools to interpret the meaning from DNA. First, we use iPS cells, personal stem cells that share an individual's genome and can be converted into any cell type in the human body. Second, we employ CRISPR-Cas9, molecular scissors programmed to edit DNA with precision. This talk will spotlight examples of how we use these tools to explore the human genome, manipulating the DNA instructions to improve health and stop disease. 

Marine mammals in Japan: for future coexistence

Dr. Yoko Mitani

Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University

Marine mammals, as top predators in marine ecosystems, are one of the most important indicator species for multidimensional assessment of the richness and characteristics of the marine environment in which they are distributed. In order to achieve sustainable use of the oceans, it is necessary to clarify the interrelationships between marine mammals and the environment, and to resolve issues related to coexistence with humans. However, information on the ecology and behavior of marine mammals, which spend most of their life history in the unobservable ocean, is limited. Our research group has comprehensively visualized ecological changes including human activities by using advanced methods, such as obtaining life history data from chemical markers accumulated in non-metabolized tissues, and behavioral and environmental information from bio-logging methods using recorders and transmitters. In this presentation, I will introduce the results of these studies.