Science and Technology Minister Visits CDB

June 20, 2006 – The Japanese Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Iwao Matsuda, visited the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) on June 19 as part of an inspection tour of local research institutions. His delegation was greeted by CDB Center Director Masatoshi Takeichi in the CDB Gallery Devo, for a brief overview of the Center’s research mission and a tour of a demo lab featuring interactive exhibits using actual laboratory experiments including fluorescent microscopy and planaria dissection.

Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Iwao Matsuda, observes embryo manipulation technique

The group next visited the Laboratory for Early Embryogenesis (Guojun Sheng; Team Leader), where the research staff explained their study of some of the earliest genetic, molecular and cellular events in the development of the blood and vascular system. The final stop of the day was the Laboratory for Genomic Reprogramming (Teruhiko Wakayama; Team Leader). There, Wakayama demonstrated the use of micromanipulator technology, which is utilized in procedures such as somatic cell nuclear transfer and blastocyst injection.