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Molecular Biochemistry Lab
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The lab unravels evolution and disease through "invisible stress."
AboutAbout the lab
Unraveling the two faces of stress.
The Molecular Biochemistry Lab studies the "invisible stress" that living organisms experience and the mechanisms by which they respond to it.
Fluctuations in oxygen, reactive oxygen species, and pH can trigger aging and disease, but they also act as forces that direct development and evolution.
The lab develops technologies to make stress visible, and investigates how it is sensed and responded to, how cancer arises, and how mammals evolved.
Combining chemistry and biology, it also tackles the mystery of the origin of life across disciplinary boundaries.
Key terms
- Reactive oxygen species
- Highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules produced by processes such as respiration. They can damage cells but also serve as signals
- TRP channel
- A gateway in the cell membrane that lets ions pass when it receives a stimulus. It acts as a sensor for temperature and chemical substances
- Tumor budding
- A phenomenon in which cancer cells break away from the tumor mass in small clusters
NewsLab news
Prof. Takahashi was selected as a recipient of the 22nd JSPS Prize (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
A review on oxidative stress in cancer metastasis was published in Trends in Cell Biology
A paper on oxidative stress within tumors and tumor budding was published in Nature Cell Biology
ResearchResearch themes
Since the birth of the Earth, fluctuations in oxygen and carbon dioxide have continued to shake life in the form of oxidative stress, hypoxia, and pH fluctuation. Believing that this adversity itself has shaped the forms of life, the lab studies a broad range of topics to reveal the two faces of stress: from developing visualization technologies to elucidating sensing and response mechanisms, cancer, mammalian evolution, and the origin of organic matter.
*Illustrative imageSensors that detect stress
The lab showed for the first time in the world that some of the 28 types of TRP channels in mammals are biological sensors that detect reactive oxygen species. TRPA1 also detects hypoxia at the same time.
*Illustrative imageWhy do cancer cells escape?
Cancer cells are exposed to strong oxidative stress and acquire defenses to survive. Using its own original probe to visualize the distribution of oxidative stress within tumors, the lab found that tumor budding, in which cancer cells break away from the tumor mass, occurs in places where oxidative stress is high.
*Illustrative imageWhat only mammals acquired
Mammalian red blood cells lose their nuclei at the final stage of maturation, but birds and reptiles do not undergo this enucleation. Viewing it as an adaptation to stress, the lab compares the three groups, and has also found, ahead of the rest of the world, a new oxygen sensor that was needed when mammals acquired viviparity.
*Illustrative imageHow were the building blocks of life made?
The organic compounds that make up life are thought to have arisen from carbon dioxide on the primitive Earth. Using materials such as meteorites to recreate the environment of that time, the lab traces, step by step, the pathways through which organic molecules were formed.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Molecular Biochemistry Lab include faculty members, researchers, academic assistants, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorNobuaki Takahashi
- Assistant ProfessorYoshifumi Ueda
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Domestic canary from Morocco” Mounir Neddi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Sensors that detect stress: “Dionaea muscipula trap” che / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Why do cancer cells escape?: “Dandelion seed head (Taraxacum officinale)” Avenue / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- What only mammals acquired: “Bird-nest-with-eggs-Sitia-Crete” Petro Stelte / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How were the building blocks of life made?: “Stromatolites Hamlin Pool, Shark Bay” Philarazzi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Materials Analytical Chemistry Lab): “Moseley Hall Chemistry Lab” Mbrickn / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Reaction Engineering Lab): “Toyota Mirai fuel cell stack and hydrogen tank SAO” Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Catalytic Organic Chemistry Lab): “Catalyst nanoparticles” Luca Silvioli / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Chemistry of Materials Lab): “Magnetron detail” Schrauber5 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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