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November 22, 2024
 

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Rowan Hooper

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Rowan Hooper
Rowan Hooper has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from Sheffield University, UK, and he worked as an insect biologist in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, for five years before spending a two-year period at The Japan Times in Tokyo. He is now news editor for New Scientist magazine, based in London.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 7, 2001
Biodiversity crucial for ecosystems
Wildlife variety is the spice of life -- we know it, and now scientists have confirmed it. Biodiversity is crucial for ecosystems to work properly, according to a French-British study published in Nature this week.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 6, 2001
Beach wood louse
* Japanese name:Funamushi * Scientific name: Ligia exotica * Description: Beach wood lice are isopods, which are in the crustacean group, like shrimps. But unlike shrimps, their bodies are flattened parallel to the ground. Like regular wood lice, they have seven pairs of legs and large eyes. They...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 5, 2001
Humans, evolve you must
Us lot, contemporary humans in a postindustrial society, we've got a welfare system, social security and even, in some countries, free health care. Premature babies survive, the wounded get better, the hungry get fed. We're shielded from the blind hand of natural selection, aren't we?
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 29, 2001
Far East tree frog
* Japanese name:Nihon amagaeru * Scientific name:Hyla japonica * Description: These small, green frogs grow up to 5 cm long. They have discs for toes and a brown stripe running down each side of the body starting from the nostrils.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 28, 2001
Unraveling the nature of the beast
Nurture got a poke in the eye from nature last week, with the publication of a wide-ranging study of identical and fraternal twins that showed differences in certain attitudes are partly due to genetic factors.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 22, 2001
Genji firefly
* Japanese name: Genjibotaru * Scientific name: Luciola cruciata * Description: Fireflies aren't flies -- they are beetles, as you can tell from the hard shell that protects their wings when they're not flying. Adults are 12-18 mm long. They have black bodies and legs, and a red thorax. The most...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 21, 2001
Living and dying by the sword
Alfred, Lord Tennyson famously drew attention to the rigors of the natural world when he wrote of "Nature red in tooth and claw." His poem, "In Memoriam," was published in 1859 (the same year as "The Origin of the Species"). But had Tennyson known of the sexual habits of the common bedbug, and if he...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 15, 2001
Hummingbird hawkmoth
* Japanese name: Oosukashiba * Scientific name: Cephonodes hylas * Description: These moths are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds, because they fly just like them. But they are in fact insects -- day-flying moths. The thorax and abdomen of this species are bright green, with red, black and yellow...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 14, 2001
New hope for dementia
In 1906, a German doctor called Alois Alzheimer discovered strange clumps in the brain of a woman who had died of a then-mysterious mental illness.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 8, 2001
Gecko
*Japanese name:Nihon yamori *Scientific name:Gekko japonicus * Description: A type of lizard, geckos are soft-bodied, 10-14 cm long, bright gray in color, with bands or speckles on their backs and bulging eyes in a large head. Geckos have special expanded toes with suction pads that allow them...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 7, 2001
Good intentions jinx the 'living dead'
Doom and gloom this week for those who believe in the essential goodness of the human race, with two papers in the journal Science that implicate humans in mass extinctions of mammals in North America and Australia.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 1, 2001
Japanese rat snake
* Japanese name: Aodaisho
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 31, 2001
White lines, blowin' through my brain
Until 1903, a bottle of Coca-Cola contained around 60 mg of cocaine -- enough, it has now been shown, to trigger long-lasting changes in brain activity. According to a report in today's issue of Nature, giving a single dose of cocaine to mice changes the way that nerve connections transmit signals in...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 25, 2001
Spring cicada
* Japanese name: Haruzemi * Scientific name: Terpnosia vocua
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 24, 2001
Bone collectors dig into our past
Two papers published today shed light on our early evolution, though "early" is a relative term. The first describes what could've been the first species of mammal, a tiny beast that quivered in the shadows of the dinosaurs 195 million years ago. The second reports on a shift in eating habits of early...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 18, 2001
Pipistrelle bat
*Japanese name: Abura komori *Scientific name:Pipistrellus abramus
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2001
Mimicry demonstrated to drive origin of species
One of the claims often made by opponents of the theory of evolution -- there are some still left, mainly in Kansas -- is that because natural selection is a phenomenon we can't directly observe, the theory is untenable. And while creationists insist that species are immutable despite a staggering amount...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 11, 2001
Water scorpion
*Japanese name: Kooimushi *Scientific name:Diplonychus japonica *Description: Water scorpions are aquatic insects that look a bit like beetles. They have wings, but they don't have the protective shell that beetles have. Their mouthparts are also unlike beetles: They have a sharp beak that is used...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 10, 2001
What's your cerebrotype?
In "The Prince," Machiavelli set out his manifesto of duplicity and deception. His name stands for cunning, for forming alliances with those in power. The theory of Machiavellian Intelligence proposes that with the advent of social interaction, the advantage gained by manipulating others was the driving...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 4, 2001
River damselfly
*Japanese name: Kawatombo *Scientific name: Mnais costalis *Description: Damselflies perch with their wings folded shut (their bigger cousins, dragonflies, perch with their wings held open). There are many damselflies that live around rivers, but some male river damselflies have orange wings, making...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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