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December 22, 2024
 

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MEDICINE

Students at Hiroshima University’s School of Dentistry offer silent prayers for the donors of bodies before they practice anatomy on the cadavers in late October.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Chugoku
Dec 16, 2024
In death, body donors become silent teachers for medical students
Practical training on cadavers significantly increases the understanding of the human body, says one professor.
An Afghan midwife prepares a report in the nursery section at a private hospital in Kabul on Dec. 10.  The Taliban's supreme leader is reportedly behind a ban on women studying midwifery and nursing at training institutes across the country, already among the worst in the world for deaths in childbirth.
WORLD / Society
Dec 16, 2024
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban block last hopes of a job
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from university and most jobs, and imposed tight restrictions on their lives.
Before (top) and after images of the regrowth of a tooth in a ferret (center top and bottom) and mice (right and left)
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2024
Japanese researchers test pioneering drug to regrow teeth
Tests on mice and ferrets suggest that blocking a protein called USAG-1 can awaken a third set of teeth.
Illegally cultivated cannabis plants uncovered by police at a home in Chiba Prefecture. Revised cannabis-related laws now criminalize the use of marijuana in addition to its possession and sale.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2024
Japan tightens cannabis laws amid rising youth usage
The use of marijuana has been criminalized, with the maximum penalty for possession, transfer and now usage set at up to seven years in prison.
The government plans to lower official drug prices for fiscal 2025 while carefully considering the scope of items subject to the planned cuts in light of the impacts on drugmakers.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2024
Japanese drug market prices 5.2% lower than official prices
Generic drugs made up 62.1% of the market by value in September, with a government target of 65% by fiscal 2029 to cut medical costs.
This threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data and insufficient containment measures, with powerful agricultural interests influencing the response.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024
A bird flu pandemic would be one of the most foreseeable catastrophes in history
The threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data, and insufficient containment measures.
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.
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 1, 2024
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, there is a one-year grace period for their integration with My Number cards.
U.K. Members of Parliament will vote on assisted dying for the first time in nine years.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2024
U.K. Parliament to hold first vote on assisted dying in nine years
Under the legislation put forward, assisted dying would be restricted to adults with a terminal illness who are expected to die within six months.
Brain adaptations during pregnancy may enhance efficiency rather than cause loss of function, similar to transformations seen during adolescence and menopause.
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2024
We’re finally starting to understand the pregnant brain
Brain adaptations during pregnancy may enhance efficiency rather than cause loss of function, similar to transformations seen during adolescence and menopause.
The health ministry's free "catch-up vaccination" program for the human papillomavirus will be extended to March 2025 for the initial dose of the vaccine.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2024
Deadline for ‘catch-up’ HPV vaccination program extended until March
The revised timeline allows eligible women to receive their first dose by the end of March 2025 and complete the remaining two within the following year.
In 2022, the number of elderly people with dementia in Japan reached 4.43 million, according to data from the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2024
Japan researchers develop a simple way to spot signs of Alzheimer's disease
The study showed that Alzheimer's disease can be predicted by identifying the "head-turning sign" in response to questions.
A woman carries firewood she bought at a marketplace in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Oct. 2. Telehealth — the use of technology to provide and access health care services remotely — has been growing around the world but is relatively new in Zimbabwe.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2024
In Zimbabwe, Starlink’s fast internet gives telehealth a boost
The satellite unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX received the green light in May to operate its internet services in Zimbabwe.
A building in the city of Osaka housing the Osaka High Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 25, 2024
Osaka court upholds 18-year sentence for murder of ALS patient
Yoshikazu Okubo killed the patient at the request of the victim in 2019, causing her death by acute drug poisoning.
A pig that is pregnant with piglets suited for cross-species transplants
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 25, 2024
Startup transplants pig kidney into monkey for first time in Japan
It is hoped that the operation will provide insights into the future use of animal kidneys in humans.
A Japanese research team has developed a method to curb cancer growth by restraining certain T cells and stimulating weakened immune activity.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 22, 2024
Japan team finds new way to curb cancers using immune system
The researchers developed in tests using mice a method to stimulate weakened immune activity by restraining the cells restraining the immune response.
Out of over 16,000 pharmaceutical products, 3,103 — or 18.5% — were either in limited or suspended supply as of the end of October, according to a recent survey. Of these, over 60% are generic drugs.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Japan's generic drug shortage continues as flu season kicks off
The supply shortfall is due to a string of scandals that hit the generic drug industry in recent years as well as other structural problems.
A Nigerian health official administers an mpox vaccination at Federal Medical Center in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024
WHO approves Japanese pharmaceutical company's mpox vaccine
The listing from the World Health Organization paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly approve and import the vaccine for distribution.
Scientists worry that if H5N1 spreads through commercial pig farms, it could evolve into a form capable of causing a human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024
Bird flu in pigs is one step closer to endangering humans
Flu viruses have historically been transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs — either on farms or at agricultural fairs.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer known for his anti-science stances, lacks public health experience and has a history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine activism.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2024
RFK Jr.’s junk science will put every American at risk
His promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories could turn the government into an “accelerant for misinformation.”
Lecanemab was developed by drugmakers Eisai of Japan and Biogen of the United States.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024
European agency switches to recommending new Alzheimer's drug
The committee judged that the efficacy of lecanemab outweighs the risk for some patients.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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