OPEN SPACE,
OPEN MIND

The individuality of each cell speeds up the chrysalis's dramatic transformation.

Research

A research group led by Daiki Wakita, Specially Appointed Researcher (and JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow) at the Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo; Satoshi Yamaji, Master's student (at the time of the research) at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication (and Graduate School of Engineering), Tohoku University; Daiki Umezu, Lecturer at the Graduate School of Science, Osaka University; and Professor Takeshi Kano of the Hakodate School of Systems Information Science, Future University, demonstrated through simulations that when the body structure changes significantly within an insect pupa, the "individuality" of the cells improves the overall function of the cell cluster, allowing two processes—"scattering muscle fragments" and "forming a stable mesh pattern"—to occur simultaneously and rapidly.