Science Tokyo Bulletin #5—May 2026

With the merger of two universities, the future development of collaborative research in medical and engineering fields is highly anticipated. The development of the world's first medical AR glasses is attracting particular attention. Associate Professor Tomohiro Amemiya and Associate Professor Soichiro Yoshida spoke about the medical AR glasses that they are developing and researching.

Science Tokyo has commenced operations as Japan’s second University for International Research Excellence by establishing eight Visionary Initiatives (VIs). The VIs, which form a vision-driven, cross-disciplinary research and education framework that aims to shape future society through the power of science, have been incorporated into the Institute’s organizational structure.

A research team of Specially Appointed Associate Professor Harrison B. Smith at Science Tokyo and Specially Appointed Associate Professor Lana Sinapayen of National Institute for Basic Biology has developed a new approach to detecting life beyond Earth that does not rely on identifying specific biological markers. Instead, the study suggests that life may be detectable through patterns emerging across groups of planets, offering a new framework for astrobiology in situations where traditional biosignatures are ambiguous or unreliable.

Swarms of pico-satellites could work together as a single large antenna for direct-to-smartphone communications. Instead of relying on a single large satellite with a phased-array antenna, the team showed that pico-satellites orbiting Earth in formation could each carry individual phased-array elements and be synchronized wirelessly. The proof-of-principle experiment demonstrated reliable, high-quality data transmission, paving the way for cheaper, more reliable network coverage worldwide.

A multi-channel wearable scent display allows a user to experience multiple scents while exploring virtual environments. Based on virtual scenes, the device can blend up to eight fragrances in real time and deliver them with precise control of odor intensity. By synchronizing smell with virtual reality content, the device enables better immersion and realism—opening new possibilities for enhanced digital entertainment, realistic simulation training, and future digital scent technologies.

An artificial intelligence-based projection makeup system from Science Tokyo lets users describe a mood or style in their own words and instantly see matching makeup colors on their faces. The technology learns each person’s preferences in real time and displays results under realistic lighting that reflects individual skin tone and texture, making it more true to life than traditional virtual makeup apps that project effects onto two-dimensional displays.

MLIP calculations successfully identify suitable dopants for a novel photocatalytic material, report researchers from Science Tokyo. A materials informatics approach could predict which ions can be stably introduced into orthorhombic Sn3O4 , a promising and recently discovered photocatalytic tin oxide. Their experiments paved the way for next-generation clean energy applications.

Cancer cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) can travel from distant tumors through the bloodstream and kidneys and be excreted into urine, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using sophisticated molecular tagging systems in mouse models of brain, lung, and pancreatic cancer, the researchers directly traced sEVs from tumors to urine.

Study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. They found that LGP2 binds to viral RNA and recruits MDA5 molecules, as if threading beads on a string.