author

 
Menu
Search
 
December 04, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Apoorva Mandavilli
In an image provided by federal agencies, a colorized electron microscope image shows avian influenza grown in cultured cells. The virus is poised to become a permanent presence in cattle, raising the odds of an eventual outbreak among people.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2024
How U.S. farms could start a bird flu pandemic
The longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it has to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic.
A chicken in its coop on Fogline Farm in Pescadero, California, on March 1. Unlike the coronavirus, the H5N1 virus has been studied for years. Vaccines and treatments are available should they ever become necessary.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2024
Is bird flu coming to people next? Are we ready?
Outbreaks have been found among dairy cows in multiple states, as well as at least one infection in a farmworker in Texas.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2022
Will COVID boosters prevent another wave? Scientists aren’t so sure.
The shots may help vulnerable Americans dodge serious illness or death. But some experts believe boosters must be improved and are calling for a new strategy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 1, 2022
New infectious threats are coming. The U.S. probably won’t contain them.
The coronavirus revealed flaws in the nation's pandemic plans. The spread of monkeypox shows that the problems remain deeply entrenched.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 17, 2022
How often can you be infected with the coronavirus?
Variants that are adept at dodging the body's defenses and waves of infections two, maybe three times a year, may be the future of COVID-19.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 19, 2022
Scientists question data behind an experimental Alzheimer’s drug
Studies linked to Cassava Sciences, once a stock market favorite, have been retracted or challenged by medical journals.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 11, 2022
New COVID vaccine findings pose tough questions for parents of young children
For adults, vaccines proved to be safe and powerfully protective in clinical trials and were speedily authorized for use. But the trials in children were complicated by the arrival of virus variants.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2022
Vaccine protection against moderate illness waned among adolescents, new CDC data suggests
The vaccine does protect against severe illness, and booster shots increase the protection.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 22, 2022
Got a COVID booster? You probably won’t need another for a long time.
New studies suggest that several parts of the immune system can mount a sustained, potent response to any coronavirus variant.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 10, 2022
The next vaccine debate: Immunize young children now, or wait?
Next week, advisers to the U.S. FDA will decide whether to endorse two doses of the vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old, before trials have shown the full course to be effective.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2022
Younger Americans benefited less from COVID booster shots than older people
Several recent studies have found that vaccination alone, without boosters, remained strongly protective against severe illness and death in most people, even after omicron's appearance.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 3, 2022
The COVID-19 vaccine we need now may not be a shot
Nasal vaccines may be the best way to prevent infections long term, because they provide protection exactly where it is needed to fend off the virus: the mucosal linings of the airways.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 9, 2022
Will ‘forever boosting’ beat the coronavirus?
Everyone should get a booster shot. In the long run, though, doses every few months aren't a viable public health strategy, scientists say.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 29, 2021
Will the vaccines stop omicron? Scientists are racing to find out.
A “Frankenstein mix” of mutations raises concerns, but the variant may remain vulnerable to current vaccines. If not, revisions will be necessary.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 2, 2021
How often do COVID-19 vaccines cause heart problems in kids?
While the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna do seem to be associated with an increased risk of myocarditis, the absolute risk remains very small.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 18, 2021
In a handful of U.S. states, early data hint at a rise in breakthrough infections
With the arrival of the contagious delta variant, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among vaccinated Americans also may have increased, according to preliminary figures.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 9, 2021
How does the delta variant dodge the immune system? Scientists find clues.
The variant, first identified in India, is believed to be about 60% more contagious than alpha, the version of the virus that thrashed Britain and much of Europe earlier this year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 28, 2021
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines likely produce long-lasting immunity
The findings add to growing evidence that most people immunized with mRNA vaccines may not need boosters, so long as the virus and its variants do not evolve much.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 27, 2021
Immunity to the coronavirus may persist for years, scientists find
The findings may help put to rest lingering fears that protection against the virus will be short-lived.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 4, 2021
Reaching ‘herd immunity’ is unlikely in the U.S., experts now believe
New variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach. The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER