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Will Dunham
Green marks the spot where a fissure formed, then fused back together in this artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal. Red arrows indicate the direction of the pulling force that unexpectedly triggered the phenomenon.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2023
Self-healing metal? It's not just the stuff of science fiction
Scientists have witnessed pieces of pure platinum and copper spontaneously heal cracks caused by metal fatigue during nanoscale experiments.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 5, 2023
With a gulp and burp, a bloated star swallows a Jupiter-sized planet
As the star grew, its surface reached the orbit of the doomed planet, with mayhem ensuing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 20, 2023
Scientists identify mind-body nexus in human brain
Researchers discovered parts of the brain governing body movement are connected with a network involved in thinking, planning, mental arousal, pain and other functions.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2023
Oldest-known bat skeletons shed light on evolution of flying mammals
Fossils show that, early in their history, bats already possessed many traits seen in modern species.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 10, 2023
Small ears, frizzy hair and dry ear wax — the genetics of mammoths
Researchers said they had analyzed the genomes of 23 woolly mammoths — including 16 newly sequenced ones — based on remains preserved in Siberian permafrost.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 5, 2023
Study explains how primordial life survived on 'Snowball Earth'
The findings demonstrate that the world's oceans were not completely frozen and that habitable refuges existed where multicellular organisms including plants and animals could survive.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 28, 2023
Intriguing moon water source found in glass beads from space rock impacts
Scientists say the beads are a potential reservoir of this precious resource for future human activities on the moon.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2023
Scientists explain alien comet 'Oumuamua's strange acceleration
Hypotheses were floated in light of its unexpected behavior, including fleeting speculation that it might actually have been an alien spacecraft, but a new study has a more sober take.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 22, 2023
Ryugu asteroid samples suggest ingredients for life came from space
Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 16, 2023
New analysis reveals dynamic volcanism on Venus
Radar images taken by NASA's Magellan spacecraft show that a volcanic vent about 1.6 kilometers wide on the Venusian surface expanded and changed shape over an eight-month span in 1991.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 10, 2023
Dwarf elephants? Giant rats? Strange island creatures at high risk
Extinction risk has been seen by researchers to be highest among island species that have undergone more extreme body size shifts compared to mainland relatives.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 3, 2023
For toothed whales, sound production is all in the nose
Echolocating toothed whales make the loudest sounds in the animal kingdom by forcing highly pressurized air past structures called phonic lips in their nose.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2023
Bone study transforms understanding of dinosaur growth
Tyrannosaurus, topping 12 meters long, was an example of a large and fast-growing theropod, with a large growth spurt in its teenage years. Other theropods grew at a slower rate.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 22, 2023
Scientists newly confirm 1,350 km metallic structure at heart of Earth's inner core
The research studied waves from 200 earthquakes with magnitudes above 6.0 ricocheting like ping pong balls up to five times within the planet.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 9, 2023
Tree study shows how three years of drought may have doomed ancient empires
'The climate changes that are likely to occur for us in the next century will be much more severe than those the Hittites experienced,' one of the co-authors noted.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2022
'Jaws' may have outmaneuvered 'The Meg' in ancient shark showdown
The megalodon was one of the largest predators in Earth's history, appearing about 15 million years ago and going extinct about 3.6 million years ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2022
Scientists unveil image of 'gentle giant' black hole at Milky Way's center
The black hole — called Sagittarius A* — is the second one ever to be imaged.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2022
New research helps explain the brightest, most energetic objects in the universe
The latest observations support a 'unified model' of active galactic nuclei, which holds that all such objects are the same but appear to have different properties when seen from Earth.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 15, 2022
Analysis of elephant tusk DNA reveals poachers' links with ivory trafficking networks
The new study suggest between three and six criminal organizations were responsible for most shipments, with poachers returning repeatedly to the same elephant populations.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 27, 2022
Researchers achieve milestone on path toward nuclear fusion energy
Using the world's largest laser, the researchers coaxed fusion fuel for the first time to heat itself beyond the heat they zapped into it, achieving a phenomenon called a burning plasma.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?