New skin prediction service to analyze RNA

From left, Kao Corp. President and CEO Michitaka Sawada and Representative Director Yoshihiro Hasebe stand with Preferred Networks, Inc. Representative Director Daisuke Okanohara and President and CEO Toru Nishikawa at a press conference in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Kao Corp., a consumer and chemical products manufacturer, and start-up Preferred Networks, Inc. will launch a trial service next March that analyzes the RNA, or ribonucleic acid, in sebum to evaluate and predict people's skin condition, the two companies announced Wednesday.

The RNA molecule serves as a template for synthesizing proteins such as hormones or enzymes, based on DNA information. Kao announced this June that it had discovered ribonucleic acid exists in human sebum and developed an analytical method to monitor RNA -- both achievements are world firsts.

To put the method into practical use, Kao decided to cooperate with Preferred Networks, which specializes in building AI systems. Preferred Networks has worked with the National Cancer Center Japan to build a cancer diagnosis system using microRNA in blood.

Sebum on the face can be removed easily with oil-absorbing paper, so it puts less stress on a person to receive a skin evaluation and prediction in this way. Kao and Preferred Networks used AI capabilities such as machine-learning and deep-learning technology to analyze test results from skin, blood and other elements, in addition to the RNA in sebum, and determined that RNA is connected to about 100 points related to skin condition, such as elasticity and keratin function.

AI also created a model to assess future risks of skin damage from that data.

Kao will launch its service to evaluate and predict customers' skin condition from the RNA in their sebum in March 2020 at its Beauty Base by Kao store in the Ginza district of Tokyo, which will reopen this December. Based on the RNA results, the service will propose suitable cosmetics. The store will be able to analyze about 100 customers' RNA a month.

The more data is collected, the more accurate an evaluation can be provided, according to the two companies. Kao President and CEO Michitaka Sawada said, "Predictions can help to maintain good skin condition through cosmetics that combat aging."

About 13,000 types of RNA were discovered in sebum. The two companies also plan to use the RNA in sebum to develop early diagnosis technologies for intractable conditions such as Parkinson's disease in the future.

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