Tag - biology

 
 

BIOLOGY

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 10, 2015
China's big biotech bet starts to pay off
Years of pouring money into its laboratories, wooing scientists home from overseas and urging researchers to publish and patent is starting to give China a competitive edge in biotechnology, a strategic field it sees as ripe for "indigenous innovation."
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 4, 2015
Study reveals famous California redwood is 777 years young
A new study to determine the age of iconic old-growth redwoods in California's Muir Woods has revealed that one of the tallest and most famous trees in the forest is much younger than many assumed given its massive size, scientists said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 4, 2015
Mysterious deep-sea oarfish washes up in California
A dead oarfish, a mysterious and serpent-like creature that swims deep below the ocean's surface, has washed up on a Southern California island and a university biologist will study the remains, officials said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2015
Florida scientists document 'virgin births' of endangered sawfish
Scientists have documented in Florida a series of "virgin births," reproduction without mating, in a critically endangered sawfish species pushed to the brink of extinction by overfishing and habitat destruction.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 29, 2015
Expert judges that dinosaurs were warm-blooded
Dinosaurs were warm-blooded, according to a scientist who judged their metabolism using body mass and growth rates deduced from fossils of species including Tyrannosaurus rex.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 15, 2015
Deepwater fish found to be warm-blooded
Move over, mammals and birds, and make room for a fish called the opah in the warm-blooded club.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 7, 2015
Deep-sea microbes called missing link for complex cellular life
Deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Norway, scientists have found microorganisms that appear to be a missing link connecting the simple cells that first populated Earth to the complex cellular life that emerged roughly 2 billion years ago.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 21, 2015
First infant MRI study finds babies' brains feel pain 'much like adults'
The brains of babies "light up" in a similar way to adults when exposed to the same painful stimulus, suggesting they feel pain much like adults do, researchers said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Apr 11, 2015
Take a slow, deep dive into marine life
Island nations have a unique relationship with the sea, and for Japan these connections often manifest themselves through its culture and cuisine. This can make an aquarium visit doubly interesting: Come for the fish, stay to watch the visitors as they admire each tank's inhabitants with a unique mixture...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 28, 2015
Primordial sea predator with spiky claws unearthed in Canada
A fossil site in the Canadian Rockies that provides a wondrous peek into life on Earth more than half a billion years ago has offered up the remains of an intriguing sea creature, a four-eyed arthropod predator that wielded a pair of spiky claws.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 14, 2015
When nature evolves to be awesome
A few years ago, an anthropologist told me an amazing story about a wild chimpanzee she had observed in Senegal. A bushfire had ignited in the summer heat, and she saw a chimp stand upright on its hind legs, face the fire and perform "a really exaggerated slow-motion display."
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 12, 2015
Oceans yield 1,500 new creatures in past year; many others lurk unknown
Scientists identified almost 1,500 new creatures in the world's oceans last year, including a humpbacked dolphin and a giant jellyfish, and reckon that most species of marine life are yet to be found.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2015
World's diet worsening with globalization, study finds
The world's diet has deteriorated substantially in the last two decades, a leading nutrition expert said on Monday, citing one of the largest studies available on international eating habits.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2015
Map of 'epigenome,' a second genetic code, unveiled
Scientists for the first time have mapped out the molecular switches that can turn genes on or off in the DNA in more than 100 types of human cells, an accomplishment that reveals the complexity of genetic information and the challenges of interpreting it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 18, 2015
Strongest biological material: limpet teeth
Spider silk may lose its claim as the strongest known natural material after researchers found that limpet teeth are tougher.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Feb 9, 2015
3-D printers take center stage in Japan's regenerative medicine
As public expectations for regenerative medicine mount, scientists are turning to the vast potential of 3-D printing technologies in their quest to re-create skin, blood vessels, cartilage and other complex human tissue.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2015
Carnivorous plant fine-tunes the slipperiness of its trap to kill ants en masse
A tricky insect-eating plant from Borneo proves that one need not have a brain to outsmart the opposition.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 1, 2014
Plastic surgery in demand as more and more people snap selfies
Dental hygienist Jennifer Reynolds was always self-conscious about her looks, never took selfies and felt uncomfortable being tagged in photographs posted on social media.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’