Rowan Hooper - The Japan Times

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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 / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jan 11, 2006

I.D. 'revolution' gets its comeuppance

The year 2005 was when, shockingly, "intelligent design" almost got on the syllabuses of American science classes. But then 11 rational parents in Pennsylvania took their school board to court, and, just before Christmas, the presiding judge delivered a crushing verdict.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Jan 11, 2006

Smoky brown cockroach

* Japanese name: Kuro-gokiburi * Scientific name: Periplaneta * Description: The smoky brown is similar to the more common American cockroach, but at 3-3.5 cm long it is slightly smaller. It is a rich mahogany brown color, and the thorax is dark and shiny, which distinguishes it from the lighter thorax...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Dec 28, 2005

Ichimonji bitterling

* Japanese name: Ichimonji-tanago * Scientific name: Acheilognathus cyanostigma * Description: The bitterling is a small fish, growing to around 70 mm in length. Adults are fairly deep-bodied, with a similar body shape to goldfish. In the breeding season, males become much more brightly colored than...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Dec 14, 2005

* Japanese name: Nosuri * Scientific name: Buteo buteo * Description: Buzzards are fairly common raptors in Japan, where they are among the larger of the birds of prey, typically growing to between 51-57 cm in length with a 110-130-cm wingspan. They are chunky birds with broad, blunt-ended wings and...

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Dec 14, 2005

Trade-off apparent in bats' 'costly tissues'

Here's a rhetorical question that isn't just an excuse to talk about something rude. Would you men out there rather have large gonads or large brains? For female readers, how about this: What do you think is most important in a male, testes size or brain size?

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Nov 30, 2005

'Monster' gene defect may counter deadly affliction

Want to have huge muscles but are too lazy to go to the gym? There could soon be a way.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Nov 23, 2005

* Japanese name: Medaka * Scientific name: Oryzias latipes * Description: This ordinary-looking little creature is one of the most important fish in biological research. Growing just 5-8 cm long, in the wild it is pale brown dorsally and silver underneath and on the flanks. The dorsal fin has 5-6 rays;...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Nov 9, 2005

Mystery snail Tanishi

* Japanese name: Tanishi * Scientific name: Cipangopaludina japonica * Description: A large snail, growing up to 60 mm long. It has two large "horns"; shell color is uniform, light to dark olive-green, but may have color bands. As in the photo, they are often muddy, and they are also known as mud snails. *...

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Nov 9, 2005

Study finds broccoli combats gastritis

As futurists get excited by the prospect of engineering ourselves to have longer lives, it's easy to forget that, as well as the high-tech ways, there are very simple ways to live longer.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 26, 2005

* Japanese name: Nekogigi * Scientific name: Pseudobagrus ichikawai * Description: Catfish have whiskers, making them easily recognizable. Of course, the whiskers are not made of hair, but they have the same function as a cat's whiskers: They are sensory organs, more correctly called barbels. The bagrid...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Oct 12, 2005

Looking at both sides of the equation

Someone asked me the other day if I wouldn't like to be a woman, just to see what it was like. Sure, I'd love to try it, I said, for a day or two. Imagine seeing the world from the other side, seeing how men assess you and wielding power over them with a glance. Or if you're a woman, imagine being a...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Oct 12, 2005

Striped diving beetle

* Japanese name: Shima-gengorou * Scientific name: Hydaticus bowringii * Description: This beetle is small, some 15 mm long, but sturdy. Its elytra (wing cases) are black, with an almost lacquered quality. What makes this species unmistakable are the two golden stripes running down the length of each...

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Sep 28, 2005

Shrines are no salve when it comes to extinctions

Natural selection these days can be more than a little unnatural, especially in Japan, which has a curious relationship with nature.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Sep 21, 2005

* Japanese name: Ayu * Scientific name: Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis * Description: Ayu are as Japanese as cherry blossom. Small fish in the salmon family, they grow to about 20 cm long, sometimes reaching 30 cm. Ayu are celebrated as being, when skewered and grilled over a fire, one of the tastiest...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Sep 8, 2005

Eight-map butterfly

* Japanese name: Sakahachichou * Scientific name: Araschnia burejana strigosa * Description: These are feisty butterflies, with a wingspan of about 5 cm and sharp, erratic flight. In terms of coloration, red, orange and brown usually predominate. The forelegs are merely "brushes," and are not used...

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Sep 8, 2005

Could chimp genome answer Plato's question?

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Aug 25, 2005

River grasshopper

* Japanese name: Kawarabatta * Scientific name: Eusphingonotus japonicus * Description: This is a grasshopper with a mottled, stone-gray or brown body that is very difficult to spot. Males are between 25-30 mm long, females between 40-43 mm. The large hind legs (femurs) have a herring-bone pattern,...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Aug 11, 2005

* Japanese name: Kaitsuburi * Scientific name: Tachybaptus ruficollis * Description: Little grebes, also known as dabchicks, are quite small and rather dumpy birds with blunt rear ends. They are dark brown, with a chestnut-brown throat and face. This chestnut color becomes richer and more shiny during...

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Aug 11, 2005

A-bomb gene 'shadow' may be fading

One of the strongest memories I have of a trip to Hiroshima that I made a few years ago is of the shadow on the steps of the Sumitomo Bank. Someone had been sitting on those steps, probably waiting for the bank to open, when at 8.15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, a bomb went off.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Jul 28, 2005

Med students set to train on superdummies

It's the most advanced artificial human outside of a Japanese sex shop. The Human Patient Simulator, also known as Stan D Ardman ("Standard Man"), may not look or feel exactly human, but it leaves sex toys behind when it comes to mimicking human physiology.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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