Science & Technology

• WAVE POWER EXCITES AS NEXT ENERGY SOURCE (Wed., Oct. 5, 2011)
  Researchers estimate that ocean waves could produce around the same amount of electricity for Japan as 36 nuclear reactors. (Japan Times)
• VIDEO: FLOATING PODS TO OFFER TSUNAMI SHELTER (Wed., Oct. 5, 2011)
  A Japanese company shows off its Noah capsule — a floating pod it says can offer life-saving shelter during tsunamis. (BBC)
• JAPAN DISCOVERS PLUTONIUM FAR FROM CRIPPLED REACTOR (Wed., Oct. 5, 2011)
  Trace amounts of plutonium are found as far as 28 miles from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant, the first time that the dangerous element released from the accident was found outside the immediate area of the plant. (WSJ)
• HUMANS COLONIZED ASIA IN TWO WAVES (Wed., Oct. 5, 2011)
  Two newly published studies aim to resolve the question whether there was more than one migration from Africa into Asia. In one instance, geneticists have sequenced the genome of an Aboriginal man, using a 100-year-old lock of hair. (New Scientist)
• TSUNAMI: MORE JAPANESE FIRMS EMBRACE TELEWORKING (Wed., Sept. 21, 2011)
  Japan’s major firms are increasingly implementing programs to enable their employees to work from home to raise productivity, meet workers’ family needs and cut greenhouse gases emitted through commuter transportation. (Times of India)
• NEW PACIFIC EEL IS A ‘LIVING FOSSIL’, SCIENTISTS SAY (Wed., Sept. 21, 2011)
  A newly discovered eelthat inhabits an undersea cave in the Pacific Ocean has been dubbed a “living fossil” by the U.S.-Palauan-Japanese team that discovered it because of its primitive features. (BBC)
• APPLE: IOS 5 GETS JAPAN EARTHQUAKE NOTIFICATIONS (Wed., Sept. 21, 2011)
  Apple has brought support for Japan’s earthquake notification service to iOS 5 beta, 9to5Mac is reporting. According to the blog, if an earthquake hits, iPhone users will be alerted with a notification giving them information on the earthquake. (CNET)
• Japanese Find Radioactivity On Their Own (Mon., Aug. 30, 2011)
  As the government fumbles its reaction to the widespread contamination, residents are using their own dosimeters. (NY Times)
• UC Researchers Produce First Quantitative Estimate Of Fukushima Radiation Leak (Mon., Aug. 30, 2011)
  UC San Diego researchers concluded that 400 billion neutrons were released per square meter surface of the cooling pools at Fukushima Daiichi. (DailyTech.com)
• Pacific Metals Discovery May End Chinese Monopoly (Mon., July 11, 2011)
  Japanese scientists discovered rare earth metals used in iPhones, iPads and other gadgets underneath the Pacific Ocean, which may challenge China’s current monopoly of precious materials. (Mobiledia.com)
• Analysis: Underwater Rare Earths Likely a Pipe Dream (Mon., July 11, 2011)
  An underwater bonanza of rare earth deposits discovered by Japanese scientists poses little threat to miners already developing major rare earth projects on solid ground. (Reuters)
• Clues To Japanese Quake May Lie Off Costa Rica (Mon.-Fri., June 27-July 1, 2011)
  Pieces of rock and seafloor from deep in the Pacific Ocean near Costa Rica may help explain why Japan’s deadly magnitude-9.0 quake was so large. (msnbc.com)
• Japanese Scientist Makes A ‘Delicious’ Burger Out Of... Human Excrement (Mon.-Fri., June 20-24, 2011)
  A researcher from the Okayama Laboratory comes up with a novel idea after Tokyo Sewage asked him to come up with a way of using up the city’s waste. His research team extracted the proteins to create an artificial steak. (Daily Mail)
• Japan Refuses To Extend Kyoto Protocol Commitments To Cut Carbon Emissions After 2012 expiry (Mon.-Sat., June 13-18, 2011)
  Japan affirms it will not extend its legal commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gases after they expire in 2012. (Washington Post)
• Japan Diet Passes Cybercrime Bill (Mon.-Sat., June 13-18, 2011)
  The Diet enacts legislation that makes the creation or distribution of computer viruses a criminal act, but critics say the move could infringe on the privacy of communications guaranteed by the Constitution. (Japan Times)
• Softbank’s Son Takes On Atomic Future With Solar Plans (Mon.-Sat., June 13-18, 2011)
  Masayoshi Son has a track record in taking on monopolies after building a business that opened up the nation’s telecommunications industry. Now he aims to shake up Japan’s power utilities amid the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. (Japan Times)
• Takeda's Diabetes Drug Tied to Cancer Risk (Mon.-Sat., June 13-18, 2011)
  The Japanese copmany's Actos, the world's most popular diabetes drug, may raise bladder cancer risks, U.S. regulators say. (BusinessWeek)
• Japanese Invent Toy Ears To ‘Match Your Mood’ (Wed.-Sun., June 8-12, 2011)
  Japanese inventors devise a gadget that measures brainwaves to give wearers furry cat’s ears that match their mood. (BBC)
• Japanese scientist photographs giant water bug devouring baby turtle (Fri., May 27, 2011)
  Dr Shin-ya Ohba photographs a giant water bug eating a juvenile turtle in an unusual predatory role reversal. (BBC)
• Sharp makes the world’s highest resolution LCD HDTV (Mon.-Thurs., May 23-26, 2011)
  The 85-inch screen, developed by Sharp, uses Super Hi-Vision, a next-generation broadcasting technology that packs 16 times the resolution of today’s high-definition TV. (PC World)
• Tokyo subways to install WiMax (Sun., May 22, 2011)
  Tokyo subways will start offering the high-speed WiMax wireless service around next March, allowing commuters to exchange text messages and surf the Interenet in moving trains. (Japan Times)
• Toyota, Shell unveil new hydrogen fueling station in Torrance (Wed.-Fri., May 11-13, 2011)
  Toyota and Shell unveil a hydrogen fueling station, marking a new stage in efforts to develop an infrastructure for vehicles that run on the gas. (Daily Breeze)
• Japan looks abroad for high-tech help at Fukushima plant (Mon.-Tues., May 9-10, 2011)
  When the Japanese needed robots to work in environments at the nuclear plant deemed too dangerous for humans, the country known for its high-tech prowess looked abroad to Massachusetts-based iRobot to do the work. (LA Times)
• Japanese language traced to Korean Peninsula: study (Wed.-Thurs., May 4-5, 2011)
  PARIS — Japan's many dialects originate in a migration of farmers from the Korean Peninsula some 2200 years ago, a groundbreaking study borrowing the tools of evolutionary genetics reports. (AFP)
• Astronaut Noguchi lauds space on Challenger anniversary (Wed.-Thurs., May 4-5, 2011)
  Astronaut Soichi Noguchi shared his experiences in space with grade school students Saturday as part of his efforts to build their curiosity about space at a gathering commemorating the 1986 Challenger disaster. (Japan Times)
• Scientist discovers new frog species (Mon.-Tues., May 2-3, 2011)
  A Japanese biologist has discovered a new species of miniature frog in the Malaysian part of Borneo Island. (Japan Times)
• UCLA prof researches structural devastation in Japan (Mon.-Tues., April 18-19, 2011)
  When Jonathan Stewart visited Japan with fellow engineers belonging to the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance in March, shipping containers had been thrown across the dock yard, and cars were strewn across the streets of Kashima. (Daily Bruin)
• Google’s Person Finder helps locate loved ones in Japan (Mon.-Tues., April 4-5, 2011)
  More than three weeks after the quake and tsunami, and with a nuclear crisis that’s still unfolding, the service is tracking about 607,000 records. (LA Times)
• Q&A: Early lessons from Japan’s earthquake (Fri.-Sat., March 11-12, 2011)
  Though scientists have just begun to pore over the data, they have already made some surprising discoveries — Friday’s 8.9-magnitude temblor off the east coast of Japan ranks as one of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded. (LA Times)