Beetle’s 'Ear' Turns Out to Be Fungus Farm Protecting Eggs

Global food shortages are worsening due to extreme weather linked to climate change, driving up vegetable prices even in Japan. Amid this crisis, Hakuo Kikuchi, CEO of Quantum Flowers & Foods, has developed a groundbreaking technology that drastically shortens the time required for crop and grain breeding.

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and other researchers have discovered that female saw-toothed grain beetles cultivate fungi in a special organ on their hind legs, using it to coat their eggs with protective fungal filaments that block parasitic wasps from laying their own eggs inside.

Offshore wind power, seen as Japan’s key to achieving carbon neutrality, is facing a critical test following the withdrawal of major players such as Mitsubishi Corporation. While the government is preparing to reopen bidding for large-scale offshore wind projects, questions remain over what institutional reforms are needed to make renewable energy truly sustainable.

Based in the ancient capital of Nara, “future implementer” Hiromichi Fujimoto is leading multiple companies that blend technology and imagination to shape the society of tomorrow.

JR Tokai has unveiled to the press the interior of its new Linear Chuo Shinkansen test train, the M10, currently undergoing trial runs. To reduce noise, the ceiling is covered with a membrane that also functions as a projection screen displaying scenery and maps.

Kyoto’s prized bamboo shoots, a seasonal delicacy that graces dining tables each spring, are facing an unprecedented crisis this year. The culprit is the Chinese bamboo moth (Sinachiku nomeiga), whose larvae feed on bamboo leaves, weakening the plants and severely reducing harvest yields.

Two Japanese regions — Okuizumo in Shimane Prefecture and Arida-Shimotsu in Wakayama Prefecture — have been officially recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), receiving their certification in Rome, Italy.

Astronaut Yui Kimiya, currently on a long-term mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), successfully captured a newly developed supply spacecraft using the station’s robotic arm in the early hours of October 30th.