(born 1946) is a Japanese

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

famous for his pioneer research in single molecule biology, and made important contributions to single molecule fluorescence microscopy.2011 Society Awadees, Biophysical Society
/ref>

Contribution

Yanagida has been leading the development of single molecule detection techniques to study

molecular motors Molecular motors are natural (biological) or artificial molecular machines that are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. In general terms, a motor is a device that consumes energy in one form and converts it into motion or mech ...

, enzyme reactions,

protein dynamics In molecular biology, proteins are generally thought to adopt unique structures determined by their amino acid sequences. However, proteins are not strictly static objects, but rather populate ensembles of (sometimes similar) conformations. Tran ...

, and

cell signaling In biology, cell signaling (cell signalling in British English) is the Biological process, process by which a Cell (biology), cell interacts with itself, other cells, and the environment. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all Cell (biol ...

since he succeeded in the direct observation of motion of single

F-actin Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of ...

filaments in the presence of

myosin Myosins () are a Protein family, family of motor proteins (though most often protein complexes) best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are adenosine triphosphate, ATP- ...

in 1984. His single molecule experiments designed to investigate how

thermal fluctuations In statistical mechanics, thermal fluctuations are random deviations of an atomic system from its average state, that occur in a system at equilibrium.In statistical mechanics they are often simply referred to as fluctuations. All thermal fluctu ...

(noise) play a positive role in the unique operation of biological molecular machines allowing for flexible and adaptive biological systems including

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

and

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

.Professor Toshio Yanagida
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Biography

Yanagida was born in Hyogo, Japan, and received his doctorate in Engineering Science in 1976 from

Osaka University The , abbreviated as UOsaka or , is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university in Osaka, Japan. The university traces its roots back to Edo period, Edo-era institutions Tekijuku (1838) and Kaitokudō, Kaitokudo (1724), ...

. He was Professor of

Bionics Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 195 ...

at the Faculty of Engineering Science,

from 1988 to 2010, and also Professor of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

at the

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

from 1996 to 2010, where he served as Dean from 2002 to 2004. After retiring from this position and becoming Professor Emeritus, he has been Specially Appointed Professor at the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences,

and Director of

RIKEN is a national scientific research institute in Japan. Founded in 1917, it now has about 3,000 scientists on seven campuses across Japan, including the main site at Wakō, Saitama, Wakō, Saitama Prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo. Riken is a ...

Quantitative Biology Center.

Honors and awards

For his outstanding contributions, Yanagida received numerous honors and awards including the 1998

Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy The is a prestigious honor conferred to two of the recipients of the Japan Academy Prize (academics), Japan Academy Prize. Overviews It is awarded in two categories: humanities and natural sciences. The Emperor of Japan, Emperor and Empress ...

, the 1998

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

,Asahi Prize recipients
/ref> and also the 2011 US Genomic Award for Outstanding Investigator in the Field of Single Molecule. He was selected as a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

by the Government of Japan in 2013 and a member of the Japan Academy by Japan Academy.

References

External links

Yanagida's Lab, Osaka University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanagida, Toshio Riken personnel Japanese biophysicists Japanese molecular biologists Japanese physiologists Japanese medical researchers 21st-century Japanese biochemists Laureates of the Imperial Prize Academic staff of Osaka University Osaka University alumni People from Hyōgo Prefecture Scientists from Hyōgo Prefecture 1946 births Living people