Hokkaido University
北海道大学

Japan

Hokkaido University originates from Sapporo Agricultural College which was established in 1876 as Japan’s first modern institution of higher education to grant bachelor’s degrees. It is one of Japan’s top national universities and has 12 undergraduate and 21 graduate schools covering a wide range of disciplines. Boasting one of the biggest campuses in Japan, the university houses cutting-edge research facilities, a university hospital, and one of the world’s largest research forests.

In 2014, the university adopted the “Hokkaido Universal Campus Initiative (HUCI)” — a reform program which aims to further internationalize the university as a whole to foster more world leaders who can contribute to the resolution of global issues. These leaders will be able to address contemporary issues, represent the frontier spirit as they forge new ways ahead, and contribute to the development of human welfare and society. The initiative will be in effect until 2024, approaching the university’s 150th anniversary in 2016.

As part of the efforts, the university has established the “Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-CoRE)” which brings together world-class researchers from around the world and within the University to promote international collaborative research and education. It consists of six Global Stations covering Soft Matter (GSS), Quantum Medical Science and Engineering (GSQ), Zoonosis Control (GSZ), Food, Land and Water Resources (GSF), Big Data and Cybersecurity (GSB) and Arctic Research (GSA). The university also offers a number of degree programs in English for international students.

1 June 2017 - 31 May 2018

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Hokkaido University published between 1 June 2017 - 31 May 2018 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC
246	92.07

Outputs by subject (FC)

Subject	AC	FC
Chemistry	117	47.62
Life Sciences	55	15.85
Physical Sciences	67	24.28
Earth & Environmental Sciences	42	14.97

Highlight of the month

Cockroaches spatially map smells

The human brain can encode the spatial locations of things we see and touch, but the cockroach brain seems to also map smells.

By studying how the brains and antennae of male American cockroaches respond to plumes of female-produced sex pheromones, a Hokkaido University–led team has shown — for the first time in any animal — that olfactory areas in the cockroach brain can build a three-dimensional spatial representation of smells in its surroundings.

The researchers used microelectrodes to map the architecture of this neural circuit, showing how sensory neurons in the antennae relay signals through pheromone-responsive projection neurons to the centre for olfactory learning in the insect brain.

This aroma atlas presumably evolved to help the nocturnal critters sniff out mates in darkness with a high degree of precision — something to consider next time you hear a cockroach skitter across your bedroom floor in the dead of night.

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