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Ancient DNA unlocks new understanding of migrations in the first millennium AD

A new study published in Nature reveals waves of human migration across Europe during the first millennium AD using a more precise method of analysing ancestry with ancient DNA. Led by Leo Speidel, ECL Unit Leader at RIKEN iTHEMS, formally a Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral researcher at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL, alongside Pontus Skoglund at the Francis Crick Institute, this study reports a new data analysis method called Twigstats. Applied to over 1500 ancient genomes, the new approach reveals previously unknown details of migrations in Europe during the first millennium AD (year 1 to 1000), encompassing the Iron Age, the fall of the Roman Empire, the early medieval ‘Migration Period’ and the Viking Age. The new approach can be applied to populations across the world and may enable researcher to reveal more missing pieces of the puzzle in future. Please refer to the press release by the Francis Crick Institute for further details.

2025-01-02
iTHEMS Science Outreach Workshop 2024 was held on November 15-17, 2024

On November 15-17, we had Meeting on Outreach of RIKEN iTHEMS 2024 @Sendai & Zoom. This year as the last year the meeting was held at TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity 3F, Lecture Theater, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University. It was organized by RIKEN iTHEMS and Mathematical Science Center for Co-creative Society of Tohoku University and co-organised by Tohoku Forum for Creativity, Organization for Research Promotion, Tohoku University and RIKEN CPR, Prediction Science Laboratory. There were 39 people participated at TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity and 16 more by zoom. There were 20 talks at the venue and 2 talks by zoom. There were 2 posters, one photo exhibition. There were really a variety of thought around the past and the future of mathematics. Some of highlights are: talks concerning about causality from designers and physisists; about teaching mathematics in Art University; about the preparation of "Mathematics Connecting to the World: One S&T poster for Every Household"; etc. 7 talks were given by journalists and 1 by MEXT. The on-site participants consist of 10+1 members from RIKEN, 14+3 from universities and institutes, and 12+5 journalists (at venue + by zoom). We organized a social gathering on the first evening which was successful. We thank very much for the help of Tohoku University for the warm hospitality. By the success of this meeting, we hope the continuation of Journalist in residence program and this workshop next year. Reported by Takashi Tsuboi

2024-12-24
Hadrons and Hadron Interactions in QCD -- Experiments, Effective theories, and Lattice -- (HHIQCD2024) was held from Oct. 14 to Nov. 15, 2024

On Oct. 14 (Mon) - Nov. 15 (Fri), a long-term workshop "Hadrons and Hadron Interactions in QCD -- Experiments, Effective theories, and Lattice -- (HHIQCD2024)" was held at Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP), Kyoto University. The week of Oct. 28 (Mon) - Nov. 2 (Fri) was held as "Nishinomiya-Yukawa symposium". The workshop was sponsored by YITP and supported by RIKEN-iTHEMS and several JSPS/JST programs. We had 193 participants from all over the world, with most of them attending in-person. There were 64 invited talks and 49 contributed talks. The international school, "Introduction to QCD and related topics", was also held and 5 lectures were given. The purpose of this HHIQCD2024 workshop was to bring researchers in lattice QCD, various effective field theories and also experimentalists together and make extensive discussions on hadron physics. Furthermore, the workshop also focused on formal developments of quantum field theories and frontiers of first-principle calculations (quantum computation and tensor network methods). The workshop expected to bring a new direction of researches to understand the nature of QCD. This long-term workshop was a "stay-and-discuss" style workshop in a relaxed atmosphere, where each participant was encouraged to stay long. With this style, participants had intensive discussions with other participants, and even started new collaborations during the workshop. Presentation slides can be downloaded from the HHIQCD2024 web page.

2024-12-17
Exploring Quantum Gravity Theories and Contributing to the Future - Yasunori Nomura

Professor Yasunori Nomura, a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, has been staying at RIKEN iTHEMS for about two months each summer since last year, conducting research. Despite his busy schedule, Nomura is also actively engaged in outreach activities. We spoke with him about his life journey and thoughts on his research activities. Please see the full article via the related link.

2024-12-04
Expanding New Medical Possibilities From Microbial Research - Daiki Kumakura

Daiki Kumakura, is a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University. He is also a Junior Research Associate (JRA) at RIKEN iTHEMS, where he conducts his research. We asked him about the advantages of conducting research at iTHEMS as a student and his aspirations for the future. Please see the full article via the related link.

2024-12-04
Farewell message from Shingo Gibo

Our colleague Shingo Gibo will move on to a new career as senior researcher at Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea as of December 1, 2024. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Shingo Gibo: <i>I joined iTHEMS in September 2018 and spent six years as a postdoctoral researcher at iTHEMS. During this time, I have theoretically studied biological oscillations with Kurosawa-san. Additionally, I collaborated on interdisciplinary research on waveforms in circadian clocks with physicists, Hatsuda-san and Kunihiro-san. I would like to thank all the members for the valuable discussions and support. I have learned a lot and truly enjoyed my time at iTHEMS. From December, I will be moving to Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea as a senior researcher. Thank you for the great six years and see you again!</i>

2024-11-26
To Continue Being a Researcher - Misako Tatsuuma

What processes lead to the formation of planets? — Research Scientist Misako Tatsuuma aims to theoretically answer this question. Describing herself as "indecisive at times but fundamentally a perfectionist," Tatsuuma adds, "I consider strategies carefully before acting." This approach applies not only to her research but also to her private life. What are these strategies? Please see the full article via the related link.

2024-11-18
Connecting People Through Science - Tomoya Nagai

When we think of mathematics, the image of a large blackboard covered with various equations often comes to mind. Spirited conversations in front of such blackboards frequently appear in videos and photos capturing the research atmosphere of the Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS). How are these lively discussion spaces created? We spoke with Tomoya Nagai, the Coordinator and Director of the Program Director's Office, whose work involves creating a conducive research environment. Please see the full article via the related link.

2024-11-18
Toward Developing Unifying Theories of Biology, Mathematics, and Society - Ryosuke Iritani

Living organisms are immensely complex. Their complexity renders it challenging to understand organisms’ behaviors and evolutionary processes. Despite advances in genomic analysis starting to reveal more biological details, many mysteries remain unsolved. Mathematical biology aims to unravel these mysteries using mathematics. We spoke with Senior Researcher Ryosuke Iritani, who is conducting research in this field, about why he chose this field and found it so fascinating. Please see the full article via the related link.

2024-11-18
Farewell message from Yaokun Lei

Our colleague Yaokun Lei will move on to a new career as associate research fellow at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, China as of November. 11, 2024. We all will miss him and wish him the best of luck in his latest endeavor. Here is a message from Yaokun Lei: <i>I joined iTHEMS last August. Although it’s a short time, it has been a truly enriching experience to be a part of iTHEMS. The support and collaborative spirit here have been invaluable, and I am especially grateful for the guidance and help from Hatsuda-san and Sugita-san, whose encouragement has greatly impacted this journey. I am thankful for the friendships and knowledge shared, and as I step forward, I carry with me not only the insights from my research but also the inspiration from our exchanges. I hope our paths cross again in future collaborations. Thank you all for everything, and wishing you continued success and discoveries.</i>

2024-11-12

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Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS) is an international research program at RIKEN. It facilitates close collaborations among researchers from different disciplines in theoretical, mathematical and computational sciences. The ultimate goal of iTHEMS is to unravel the mystery of the Universe, matter, and life, as well as to solve key problems in modern society through interdisciplinary approaches.

Photo of Tetsuo Hatsuda

Program Director: Tetsuo Hatsuda

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