In this paper, our struggle to realize a high-speed digital processed microscopic observational system for tele-micro-operation with a dynamic focusing system and a high-speed digital-processing system using the "depth from focus" criteria is reported. To realize the system, each functional element and its system configuration had been deeply discussed not only in the academic society but also with several companies, and the final product system had been developed after several trials.

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The iodine stabilized He-Ne laser at 633 nm is widely used as the national length (wavelength) standards in many countries. Since the wavelength emitted by the laser is directly proportional to the cavity length of the laser, extremely high mechanical stability is necessary for the cavity of the iodine stabilized He-Ne laser. Many special parts as well as special materials are adopted to achieve a sufficiently high stability in the conventional iodine stabilized He-Ne lasers while the adoption of such special parts and materials brings difficulty in the maintenance of the lasers. I developed and constructed a new iodine stabilized He-Ne laser with a special mechanical design. The assembly and adjustment of the laser is quite easy. Although most parts and materials of the laser are commercially available, it showed better stability especially against the ambient temperature variation. The new iodine stabilized He-Ne lasers were used for a long time as the national length standards of Japan.

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To ensure the reliable results in acoustic measurement such as environmental noise measurement, NMIJ/AIST has developed essential calibration techniques and established a traceability system based on the Japanese Measurement Law with acoustic standards at the highest level of accuracy. A new calibration service for reliable acoustic measurements under this system realized a minimum uncertainty in the environmental noise measurements, indispensable to sustain high quality of our daily life.

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In the midst of the information flood of biological data, the role of the bioinformatics technology rises. This technology is expected to provide information to reduce the risk in the experiments and to help the designing of the experimental protocol. For this purpose, we mainly targeted a G protein coupling receptor (GPCR) and developed a computational pipeline which identifies these genes from genome sequences and performs their functional analyses. The applied results have been worked out into an integrated comprehensive functional analysis database (SEVENS). This core technology has become the trigger of collaborative researches, which continues today in a spiral evolutionary form. This flow is the dynamic form that continues advancing by the interaction between the research direction determined by three elements as a driving force and the direction of the life science fields progressing rapidly. The three elements are the core technique matured for a long term, the close cooperation with the experiment researcher, and the environment producing technical incubation.

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Bioethanol production from woody biomass by enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic components and fermentation has attracted much attention. In this process, pretreatment is important to improve enzymatic degradability of cellulose. A milling process is one of the most effective methods for pretreatment, but its high cost has been a problem. Recently we have developed the economically-feasible wet-mechanochemical process as milling pretreatment, which can unravel cellulosic components into nanoscale fibers. Thus-obtained nanofibrous product showed a high enzymatic accessibility, while keeping the cellulose crystalline structure and the lignin content. This process is based on the understanding of the nanoscopic structural characteristics of wood and cellulose.

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The Geological Map of Japan 1:50,000 shows fundamental national land information of the subsurface materials of the district, and is multifariously used for resources development, disaster prevention, industrial location, environment protection, and as the geological standard of the district. It is important basic information for understanding natural environments scientifically and is essential information for the sustainable development of society. While geological maps mostly made by universities or companies are for understanding specifically interesting strata or rocks, the 1:50,000 geological maps made by GSJ, AIST comprehensively integrate research results of all strata and rocks in the district and explain the geological evolution of the district without contradiction. There has never been any paper describing the process in developing the 1:50,000 geological map, which integrates geological researches for the district. The author shows his own development process with the 1:50,000 geological maps as examples.

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[in Japanese]

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