| Jul 29 | Endangered three-toed woodpeckers found in Hokkaido national park (Mainichi) |
 An endangered species of woodpecker has been spotted in Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido, researchers have announced.
Not since they were last spotted in 1988, have three-toed woodpeckers been seen in the area and they are considered a threatened species. However, a joint research team from a private bird research group -- headed by Tatsuya Mochizuki-- and a biology laboratory at Iwate University's Faculty of Agriculture recently found that the birds have several habitats in the largest national park in Japan. The research team will soon submit an article on the discovery to a U.S. journal.
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| Jul 29 | States agree new funding, schedule for nuclear fusion plan (AFP) |
 The European Union and six states backing a multi-billion-dollar nuclear fusion project said Wednesday they had reached a deal on the financing and timetable for the experimental reactor.
An explosion in costs had cast a cloud over the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which aims to make the nuclear fusion process that fuels the sun a practical energy source on Earth.
ITER, based at Cadarache in southern France, was set up by the EU, which has a 45 percent share, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the US to research a clean and limitless alternative to dwindling fossil fuel reserves.
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| Jul 29 | Safer method to develop iPS cells found (Yomiuri) |
| A Kyoto University team has developed a method to efficiently generate induced pluripotent stem cells that is less likely to lead to tumor development than the conventional method. iPS cells are able to transform into the cells of any organ. The new research, representing a step forward in putting iPS cells into practical use in regenerative medicine, was reported in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America on Tuesday. |
| Jul 28 | Researchers find wine, sake turns iron compound superconductive (AP) |
| Researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science have found that an iron compound become superconductive, where electrical resistance disappears in a substance, if they are dipped in wine, sake or beer, the institute said Tuesday. "It is still not known what it is in sake that is the cause (of the phenomenon) but it will provide a clue to the development of new superconductive materials," said Yoshihiko Takano, leader of the Nano Frontier Materials Group at the institute. |
| Jul 27 | Japan lifts foot-and-mouth state of emergency (AFP) |
 Japan lifted a state of emergency Tuesday in a southern region known for its prized and pampered cattle, after a three-month foot-and-mouth outbreak forced the slaughter of almost 300,000 farm animals.
The highly contagious virus, which rarely affects humans but sickens cloven-hoofed animals, had forced the suspension of meat sales from Miyazaki prefecture.
"Wagyu" cattle -- from both Miyazaki on Kyushu island and Kobe on Honshu island -- are famed for being pampered, fed beer and massaged daily, sometimes with sake, and some are even played classical music for relaxation.
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| Jul 27 | Traditional treats get high-tech tweak (Yomiuri) |
| Of the countless variations on traditional foods and beverages available nationwide, more and more are being created in a decidedly nontraditional manner with technologies adapted from other industries. Universities are at the forefront of such innovation, bringing novel twists to everything from sweets to sake while also making use of local produce and boosting regional economies. At a weeklong event at Takashimaya department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, last month, 31 universities introduced new products made with the help of technologies adapted from other industries. |
| Jul 27 | Power from the sea a step closer (Yomiuri) |
| Technology developed in Japan is now able to generate electricity and produce fresh water from seawater more efficiently and at a lower cost than before, edging the technology closer to practical use. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)--although currently cost-ineffective--is expected to be not only a source of renewable energy, but a way to collect lithium from the sea. Former Saga University President Haruo Uehara, a pioneer in the OTEC field, has created the Uehara cycle, a technological discovery that may have opened the door to practical use of OTEC. |
| Jul 26 | Foundation of science crumbling (Japan Times) |
| In 1995, Japan enacted the science and technology basic law with the idea that, owing to scarce natural resources, Japan should promote science and technology as the foundation for its development. Under the law, the government has so far prepared three basic plans for science and technology - each plan covering five years - and spent nearly ¥60 trillion over the 15 years. Yet, the science and technology white paper for 2010, endorsed by the Cabinet in mid-June, shows that Japan's base for scientific research has been crumbling. |
| Jul 25 | Japan's 'seismic ship' may yield a bonanza (Japan Times) |
 Despite the ongoing Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the search for deep-sea oil and gas reserves elsewhere continues unabated - off the coasts of Scotland, Greenland, West Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, and even Japan. In February 2008, the government took delivery of a vessel that could conduct the most advanced type of three-dimensional seismic explorations. Bought from Norwegian oil prospectors Petroleum Geo-Services, the ship, formerly named Ramform Victory, cost ¥23.2 billion. The ship, renamed Shigen (meaning "Resource" in Japanese), is now on the front line of this new push to seek out domestic oil resources.
Like other seismic-survey ships, Shigen collects its data by shooting seismic waves down at the seabed from a so-called "air gun" it tows behind it.
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| Jul 24 | 'Space yacht' successfully changes orientation using sunlight (AP) |
| The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Friday a yacht- like spacecraft has successfully adjusted its attitude, or direction it is pointed, in space by means of subtle pressure from sunlight as the first such success. The experimental spaceship Ikaros, 1.6 meters in diameter and 0.8 meter in length, was launched on May 21, together with the Venus probe Akatsuki, by an H-2A rocket and is sailing toward the planet. |
| Jul 24 | Croc-like animals seen in reservoir at Isahaya Bay dike (AP) |
| Three animals believed to be crocodiles were spotted swimming Friday in a reservoir at a land reclamation project area in Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture, prefectural government officials said. The prefectural and Isahaya city governments are asking local residents to stay alert while planning to hold a search at the reservoir on Saturday, they said. Crocodiles are not an animal native to Japan. |
| Jul 24 | Japanese dolphins given plasma TVs in the name of science (Daily Telegraph) |
| Researchers are testing dolphins' visual capacity by screening nature movies on big screen plasma TVs in front of their tanks. Bottlenose dolphins Nami and Nina are shown images of killer whales and dolphins by researchers from the Umikirara Aquarium in southern Japan and Tokiwa University in central Japan, The Japan Times reports. According to the newspaper, "When the screen shows images of dolphins for a few seconds, the two move their heads slowly as if to ask 'who are you?'" Scientists record the eye movements to see if they coincide with the sea mammals' differentiating between images. |
| Jul 23 | Moderate quake hits close to Tokyo (Sydney Morning Herald) |
| A 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit central Japan early on Friday not far from Tokyo, but there was no tsunami warning and no immediate reports of damage, US and Japanese seismologists said. The quake happened at 6.06am, 60km northeast of Tokyo, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Its depth was estimated at 56km, USGS said. |
| Jul 20 | JAXA offers glimpse of Mercury probe (Yomiuri) |
| The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, recently gave the press a look at the almost-completed prototype of a space probe scheduled to depart for Mercury in summer 2014--a unique creation entirely covered with mirrors. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun in this solar system, and temperatures on its surface climb as high as 450 C. Therefore the probe's most important challenge is to withstand the heat. The mirrors covering the probe are its secret weapon. JAXA has calculated that by reflecting the strong sunlight, the temperature on the surface of the mirrors can be limited to 160 C and that inside the probe, where its observation equipment is stored, to 60 C or lower. |
| Jul 20 | Reviving an endangered albatross (Yomiuri) |
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| Jul 20 | Elderly Ehime zoo kangaroo has joey (Japan Times) |
 A 12-year-old red kangaroo named Butii, which would be about 100 years old in human terms, gave birth in April at the Tobe Zoological Park of Ehime Prefecture. Experts say red kangaroos usually live eight to 10 years on average, so it is highly unusual for one to give birth at such an advanced age. The joey showed its face in May.
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| Jul 19 | Japan gears up for Tokai quake (Manila Bulletin) |
| The "Great Tokai Earthquake" has yet to occur but Japan is gearing up for that imminent event in the hope that efforts at disaster preparation will minimize any casualties. Such is the case with the Shizuoka Prefectural government which is now at the forefront of an urgent emergency management program aimed at educating individuals and communities of an impending massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale that is also expected to trigger tsunami attacks. |
| Jul 18 | Jurassic crawfish fossil found (Japan Times) |
 A fossilized claw belonging to a large crawfish dating from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, has been found in a layer of earth in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, a museum curator said Saturday. The fossil is one of the largest reported so far in the world and could be a newly discovered species, said Hisayoshi Kato, a curator at the Natural History Museum and Institute run by the Chiba Prefectural Government.
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| Jul 16 | 1-meter-wide flower 'to bloom soon' in Tokyo (Yomiuri) |
| Flower lovers are in for a rare visual treat--but perhaps not an olfactory one. An Amorphophallus titanum, a mega-flower known as the world's largest, is expected to bloom soon for the first time in nearly 20 years at a Tokyo botanical garden. But visitors should not expect a sweet perfume, as the inflorescence gives off the scent of decaying flesh. Native to Sumatra, Indonesia, the flower has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence and is said to bloom once every few years in the wild. |
| Jul 15 | Japanese solar sail successfully rides sunlight (MSNBC) |
 An unmanned probe riding a solar sail through space has felt its first accelerating push from sunlight in a successful test of its novel propulsion system, Japan's space agency has announced.
Observations of the Ikaros solar sail built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency confirmed that the spacecraft has received a growing speed boost from light radiated by the sun, the space agency said.
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| Jul 15 | Hayabusa's popularity going up, up, up (Yomiuri) |
| A month after its epic 6-billion-kilometer mission ended in a fiery flash over Australia, the Hayabusa space probe continues to capture the public's imagination. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara Campus, where the probe that traveled to the Itokawa asteroid and back was manufactured, attracted 7,894 visitors in June--a sevenfold jump from the 1,134 who visited the facility the same month last year. Travel agencies have even arranged special bus tours to the research and development facility, and visitors have come from as far as Osaka and Nagano prefectures to learn more about the probe that possibly became the first to collect surface samples from an asteroid. |
| Jul 14 | Feral cat roundup to protect Ogasawara birds and bats (Yomiuri) |
| Stray cats on the Ogasawara Islands are being captured and shipped to Honshu to become pets instead of remaining free to prey on the islands' protected native species as the islands are under consideration to become a World Natural Heritage Site. The nonprofit Institute of Boninology and the Tokyo Veterinary Medical Association started capturing feral cats in 2005 to reduce further harm to the islands' ecosystem, while islanders have helped capture cats since July. The stray cats used to be pets but became feral, living far from villages and eating wild birds. |
| Jul 13 | Stud bulls doomed, farm chief says (Japan Times) |
| Agriculture minister Masahiko Yamada reaffirmed Monday that six privately owned stud bulls in Miyazaki Prefecture will have to be killed despite local efforts to save them from the mandated slaughter aimed at containing the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. After meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, Yamada said he would demand that Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru have the bulls put down in accordance with a special law. |
| Jul 12 | Video shows dolphin suicide try: 'Cove' star (Japan Times) |
The star of the documentary "The Cove" about the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, says video footage showing a dolphin jumping out of an aquarium tank underlines the cruelty of captivity and that all of the creatures should be set free.
The startling footage of the dolphin, a species known as the false killer whale, shows the animal suddenly leaping out of a tank during a July 4 marine show at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in the northern part of the island. The footage was shot by an American tourist, who sent it to Ric O'Barry.
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| Jul 11 | Soy sauce 'could reduce symptoms of the menopause' (telegraph.co.uk) |
| Soy sauce could reduce symptoms of the menopause among women, such as hot flushes and sleepless nights. Scientists say soy contains a natural compound which can help reduce production of oestrogen, the hormone which contributes to menopausal problems. Studies in Japan, where soy is consumed with meals regularly, found that Asian women experienced milder menopausal symptoms than Americans and Europeans where use of soy is less frequent. |
| Jul 11 | 44 monkeys fall victim to unknown infection (Yomiuri) |
| An unknown pathogen was probably responsible for the sudden deaths of 44 Japanese monkeys that have died in captivity since 2001, according to research by the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University. Located in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, the institute announced Thursday that only Japanese monkeys had developed symptoms from the pathogen and it would not affect people. According to the institute, the monkeys died after becoming extremely anemic and bleeding from mucous membranes in their noses. Most lost all their blood platelets, which help close wounds. |
| Jul 10 | Shimane nuke plant given lowest safety grade (Japan Times) |
| The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has assigned the lowest grade to the No. 1 and 2 reactors at Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s nuclear power plant in Shimane Prefecture due to the discovery of numerous inspection failures, sources said Thursday. The agency will issue a stern warning to Chugoku Electric and order the Hiroshima-based utility to include measures to prevent a recurrence of the problem in its safety regulations for nuclear power plants. |
| Jul 09 | Govt science panel proposes unified budgets with eco-focus (Yomiuri) |
| The government's Council for Science and Technology Policy has formulated a strategy for compiling the fiscal 2011 budget that places priority on environmental energy and medical care. Among other priorities, the action plan calls for a 70 percent cut in solar power generation costs by 2020 and the establishment of a panel of experts from industry, government and academia to formulate a way to attain that goal. |
| Jul 08 | Singapore tops Japan in cited research (Yomiuri) |
| The frequency that Japanese scientific research papers were cited in the last five years was lower than the world average, slipping to the second place in Asia after Singapore, a science and technology information company said. Thomson Reuters surveyed the number of times research papers were cited or carried in 11,000 international scientific journals. Results were released Tuesday. |
| Jul 07 | Successful test firing of control engine on Venus probe Akatsuki (AP) |
| Akatsuki, the first Japanese planetary probe designed to travel to Venus, will enter the planet's orbit on Dec. 7 after a successful test firing of its trajectory control engine, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Sunday. The 13-second test was carried out on June 28 when Akatsuki was around 14.6 million kilometers from Earth, confirming that the engine can adjust the probe's speed by about 12 meters per second as planned, JAXA said. |
| Jul 07 | Electrified fence no match for troop at Aichi monkey center (Japan Times) |
 A 5.3-meter-tall high-voltage wire fence at Kyoto University's research center in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, proved no match for about a dozen monkeys bent on breaking out, it was learned Tuesday. The monkeys first climbed up trees and then used their branches as slingshots to propel them over the fences, researchers said. The trees are about 2 meters high and 2 to 3 meters from the fences.
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| Jul 07 | The write stuff: Scallop shells recycled as chalk (Yomiuri) |
| A Kawasaki-based company has been chalking up success--literally--by turning scallop shells destined for the garbage heap into high-quality chalk that has brightened classroom blackboards in Japan and South Korea. Nihon Rikagaku Industry Co. developed the chalk by mixing fine powder from crushed scallop shells with calcium carbonate, a conventional chalk material. The chalk has won over schoolteachers and other users for its brilliant colors and ease of use, and has helped recycle scallop shells, disposal of which was once a major problem for scallop farmers. |
| Jul 06 | Biometric ATM gives cash via 'finger vein' scan (New York Times) |
 Poland's cooperative BPS bank says it's the first in Europe to install a biometric ATM -- allowing customers to withdraw cash simply with the touch of a fingertip.
The digit-scanning ATM, introduced in the Polish capital of Warsaw, runs on the latest in "finger vein" technology -- an authentication system developed by Japanese tech giant Hitachi.
The company says that an infrared light is passed through the finger to detect a unique pattern of micro-veins beneath the surface - which is then matched with a pre-registered profile to verify an individual's identity.
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| Jul 05 | Japanese lab finds 'minute particles' in asteroid pod (AFP) |
 Japan's space agency said Monday it has found "minute particles" of what it hopes is asteroid dust in the capsule of the space probe Hayabusa which returned to Earth last month.
Scientists hope any dust samples from the potato-shaped asteroid Itokawa could help reveal secrets about the origins of the solar system.
"We have started the opening process of the sample container of Hayabusa since June 24, 2010 and confirmed there are minute particles," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
But the agency added it remained unclear whether the particles are contaminants from Earth or come from Itokawa which the space probe landed on during its multi-billion-kilometre (mile) journey.
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| Jul 05 | Strong earthquake hits northeastern Japan (Xinhua) |
| An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 jolted northeastern Japan on early Monday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 6:56 a.m. quake. No tsunami warning was issued. The focus of the quake was off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of about 30 kilometers, the agency said. |
| Jul 05 | Japanese probe yields insights into Moon's inner life (AFP) |
 Japanese astronomers on Sunday said they had found traces of a mineral that adds an important piece of knowledge to the puzzle of the Moon's geological past.
Using a instrument-laden probe, Kaguya, which was placed in orbit around the Moon in 2007, the team found abundant signatures of the mineral in concentric rings in three big crater regions.
The mineral, called olivine, is deemed to be a telltale of mantle, the deep inner layer of iron- and magnesium-rich rock that lies beneath the Moon's crust.
A leading theory is that the Moon was created about 4.5 billion years ago after the "Big Whack" -- it was ripped from Earth after our planet suffered a gigantic collision from some space object.
As the material coalesced into a ball, its surface gradually cooled, forming a crust made of a light-coloured aluminous mineral, feldspar, which floated in a dense, molten liquid.
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| Jul 04 | Modified genes found in wild plant (Japan Times) |
| Wild plants growing near a national highway in Mie Prefecture carry genes of a genetically modified rapeseed, possibly as a result of crossbreeding with imported rapeseeds that were lost during transportation, a survey by a citizens group has found. Cases of crossbreeding between genetically modified rapeseeds and normal rapeseeds for horticultural purposes have occurred in the past, the group said. |
| Jul 04 | Space center facilities decaying / Annual repairs outpaced by salt erosion due to proximity to ocean (Yomiuri) |
Facilities at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center, the base for launching this country's mainstay H-2A rockets, have seriously deteriorated due to age.
Although repairs have been conducted at a cost of about 1 billion yen annually, the center's seaside location has led to rapid salt erosion, and countermeasures cannot keep up with the damage.
Launches of H-2A rockets were transferred to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. in April 2007, and liftoffs are scheduled for rockets carrying full-scale commercial satellites and information-collecting satellites.
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| Jul 03 | Stem cells reshape heart surgery (Yomiuri) |
| Japanese researchers have for the first time in the nation successfully used stem cells to treat heart disease, opening up the possibility of replacing the need to resort to artificial hearts or transplants. Prof. Hiroaki Matsubara and his team from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine harvested the stem cells from the patient's heart, used them to grow new heart muscle cells, and replanted them. The patient--Shigeki Yamaguchi from Nagata Ward, Kobe--had been ill with acute heart disease and had suffered a heart attack in February. |
| Jul 02 | Mitsubishi Electric to Supply Ozone System for US Water Treatment Plants (Asahi) |
| Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced that it has received orders from three water plants in the United States for ozone systems to be used in water treatment plants, such as waterworks and sewage. The orders are comprised of ozone generators and their structures. |
| Jul 02 | Miyakonojo farmers resume shipping livestock as epidemic ends (Kyodo) |
| Farmers resumed shipping livestock in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Friday as a three-week ban on moving animals was lifted at midnight Thursday, after confirmation that the foot-and-mouth epidemic had ended. A suspected case of the disease broke out June 9 in the city, which serves as one of Japan's major livestock centers. But no other cases have since emerged, thanks to a quick countermeasure of culling and burying all the animals at the farm. |
| Jun 29 | Japan to get its first 2.4 petaflop supercomputer (techeye.net) |
 Japan is soon to get its first 2.4 petaflop supercomputer called the TSUBAME 2.0, which will use Voltaire's 40Gb/s InfiniBand switches, the computer fabrics manufacturer announced today.
The TSUBAME 2.0 will begin operating in Autumn, with Voltaire teaming up with NEC to get it running in that time frame.
It is expected to be 30 times faster than the TSUBAME 1.0 and 12 times faster than Japan's current fastest supercomputer, owned by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which was only unveiled in March of this year. The TSUBAME 2.0 will also require only 200 square metres of floor space, two thirds less than its predecessor.
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| Jun 29 | Japan's oldest female koala dies (AP) |
| Japan's oldest female koala, Yoshi, died Sunday at Awaji Farm Park England Hill on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, just two weeks after turning 21, the equivalent of over 100 in human terms, the park operator said Monday. Born in Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo in June 1989, Yoshi came to the park in Minamiawaji at the age of five. She started to show signs of aging about 10 years ago and stopped eating last week, shortly after her birthday on June 14. She was found dead around 7 p.m. Sunday by a park staffer, according to the operator. |
| Jun 28 | Lasers used to map giant burial mounds in 3-D (Japan Times) |
 Nara-based archaeologists said they have succeeded in drawing three-dimensional maps of the surface of large burials mounds for the first time by flashing them with laser beams at a rate of more than 100,000 times a second from a helicopter.
The new method, revealed at an academic conference Saturday in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, is an important advance because archaeologists don't have free access to most of the large ancient mounds, which are managed by the Imperia Household Agency.
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| Jun 27 | Rice seed coating cuts labor needs / New method seen as boost for nation's threatened rice-farming culture (Yomiuri) |
| With the nation's rice farming threatened by a declining birthrate and an aging population, a new labor-saving method of rice cultivation is drawing wide attention. The method--coating rice seeds with iron powder--was developed by Minoru Yamauchi, 58, a researcher at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization. Coating rice seeds with iron powder is meant to ensure the proper growth of rice seedlings after the seeds are sown directly in rice paddies, instead of in seed beds that long have been considered an indispensable part of conventional rice-farming practice in Japan. |
| Jun 27 | Asahiyama's natural touch (Japan Times) |
 Ivan the polar bear has been having relationship problems recently. The strapping 300-kg, 10-year-old lives at Asahiyama Zoo, a municipal facility on a wooded hillside in the city of Asahikawa, central Hokkaido. The zoo is Japan's most northerly, and 15 years ago it was near bankruptcy. Today, crowds come from as far away as Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing to see the animals - and they often make a beeline for the polar bear house. Without doubt, Ivan - or "Eewan" as he is known to countless Japanese fans - is a national and international star.
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| Jun 27 | 40-year-old reactor set to continue (Japan Times) |
| Kansai Electric Power Co. has decided to extend operation of the 40-year-old No. 1 reactor at the Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture for another 10 years, which will make it the longest operating domestic nuclear reactor, informed sources said Saturday. The government will formally approve the plan as early as this week, they said. While Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga No. 1 nuclear reactor in the prefecture entered its 41st year of operation in March, it will be deactivated in 2016. |
| Jun 26 | Mercury hits 37.1 C in Hokkaido (AP) |
 The temperature rose slightly above the 37 C line Saturday on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, marking the highest temperature so far this year in Japan, a local weather observatory said.
The mercury peaked at 37.1 C in the eastern Hokkaido town of Ashoro, the highest this year in Japan, 37 C in the city of Kitami, and 36 C in Obihiro, the regional observatory said.
The prefectural capital Sapporo in western Hokkaido marked 31 C, prompting people in its landmark Odori Park to eat ice cream and children to bathe in a fountain.
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| Jun 26 | Infectious disease researchers warn against kissing pets (Mainichi) |
| Researchers from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) are advising pet owners to avoid kissing their dogs and cats, or being bitten or scratched by them, citing a possible infectious disease caused by a bacterium in the mouths of animals. A study group led by Koichi Imaoka, general manager at the NIID's Department of Veterinary Science, recently revealed that since 2002, six people have died after being infected with a bacterium of the genus Capnocytophaga living in the mouths of dogs and cats. |
| Jun 25 | Hayabusa capsule yields gas (Japan Times) |
| The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday it has collected a trace amount of gas, possibly vaporized material from asteroid surface samples, from inside the tiny capsule jettisoned by the Hayabusa unmanned space probe earlier this month. JAXA said it will thoroughly analyze the gas. The capsule was picked up June 14 in the desert around Woomera in southern Australia following the probe's successful seven-year round-trip to the asteroid Itokawa, about 300 million km from Earth. |