Archive for Biota
November 19, 2008 at 10:55 am · Filed under Environment, Animal, Biota, Biotech
The Amami rabbit — a threatened species found only in the Ryūkyū Islands — may become Japan’s first endangered animal clone. Scientists at Osaka’s Kinki University have cloned an embryo of the endangered rabbit and are awaiting its birth next month, it was announced earlier this week.
The Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) is a nocturnal, forest-dwelling “primitive” rabbit with dark fur, short legs, large curved claws and small ears. Found only on the islands of Amami-Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, it is sometimes called a “living fossil” for its resemblance to ancient rabbits that once inhabited the Asian mainland. The Amami rabbit’s dwindling population — now estimated at between 2,000 and 5,000 — has earned it a spot on Japan’s endangered species list.
To produce the clone, researchers took a cell from the ear of a dead Amami rabbit and injected it into the unfertilized egg of an ordinary lab rabbit. After the […]
Original post by Edo
November 4, 2008 at 10:34 am · Filed under Animal, Biota, RIKEN, Biotech
Is the second coming of the woolly mammoth near? Possibly, say researchers at Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), who have successfully cloned mice from carcasses that spent years in a deep freezer.
A RIKEN research team led by genetic scientist Teruhiko Wakayama successfully demonstrated a promising new cloning technique by replicating frozen laboratory mice whose cells were severely damaged after 16 years in permafrost-like conditions (-20 degrees Celsius). The technique might one day be used to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species, according to the researchers.
Scientists have long discussed the possibility of resurrecting extinct animal species by cloning carcasses preserved in ice, but existing techniques do not work with dead, freeze-damaged cell tissue. However, with RIKEN’s new method, researchers were able to extract nuclei from damaged cells after breaking down the tissue in a culture solution. Then, with nuclei extracted from the brain cells of the […]
Original post by Edo
October 29, 2008 at 6:48 pm · Filed under Illumination, Animal, Video, Biota
Smooth nylon shrimp (Heterocarpus laevigatus) inhabiting the dark depths of the Pacific employ a brilliant method of defense. When threatened with attack, the creature spits a cloud of glowing blue fluid from its mouth, temporarily blinding its predator and allowing escape.
This rarely seen footage of the creature’s defense mechanism in action was shot at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
See also:
- Video: Tremoctopus defense mechanism
- Video: Three bioluminescent sea creatures
Original post by Edo
October 20, 2008 at 9:07 am · Filed under Jellyfish, Animal, JAMSTEC, Video, Biota
Red paper lanterns, or aka-chochin, are a familiar sight on the city streets of Japan, where they typically hang at the entrances to cheap pubs and catch the eye of passersby. The ocean, however, is home to a different variety of red paper lantern — an unusual species of deep-sea jellyfish.
Officially named Pandea rubra, the red paper lantern medusa (aka-chochin kurage) was first discovered in the Bering Sea in 1913, but details about its distribution and life cycle have long remained a mystery. In recent years, the creature has caught the eye of researchers at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) armed with high-resolution video cameras.
Using manned and unmanned submersibles, the researchers have collected over 100 hours of high-resolution footage showing more than 60 specimens of the jellyfish in waters from northeastern Honshu to Okinawa, at depths ranging from 500 to 1,000 meters. Here […]
Original post by Edo
October 7, 2008 at 2:15 pm · Filed under Smart Tech, Vegetation, Sentient Tech, Biota, Keio University
Midori-san, the blogging houseplant, at bowls Donburi Cafe in Kamakura
If houseplants could blog, what would they say? To find out, Kamakura-based IT company KAYAC Co., Ltd. has developed a sophisticated botanical interface system that lets plants post their thoughts online. A succulent Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerii) named “Midori-san” is now using the system to blog daily from its home at bowls Donburi Cafe in Kamakura.
The plant interface system, which is built around technology developed by Satoshi Kuribayashi at the Keio University Hiroya Tanaka Laboratory, uses surface potential sensors to read the weak bioelectric current flowing across the surface of the leaves. This natural current fluctuates in response to changes in the immediate environment, such as temperature, humidity, vibration, electromagnetic waves and nearby human activity. A specially developed algorithm translates this data into Japanese sentences, which are used as fodder for the plant’s daily blog posts.
Diagram of plant interface system
Midori-san […]
Original post by Edo
September 25, 2008 at 1:46 pm · Filed under food, Safety, Animal, Health, Biota, Brain
As Japanese consumers become ever more “fussy” over food safety issues, there is a growing demand for technology that improves food quality. To ease the minds of health-conscious meat-eaters, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH) have developed a convenient method for identifying cattle infected with mad cow disease, simply by measuring the brain waves they produce in response to audio stimuli.
To develop and test the new method, the researchers infected 11 healthy cows with mad cow disease and observed the onset of symptoms and changes in brain activity. Mad cow disease (a.k.a. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE) is a fatal infectious disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle (and humans), turning the brain into a sponge-like substance. Symptoms of the disease include loss of muscle control, inability to stand or walk properly, agitation, and red eyes.
Approximately 24 months after infection, the 11 test […]
Original post by Edo
August 20, 2008 at 1:57 pm · Filed under Tokyo, Animal, Video, Biota
Police in Tokyo are on the lookout for a wild monkey on the loose in the Shibuya area. The monkey — identified as a Japanese macaque — was spotted inside Shibuya station this morning (August 20), much to the surprise of morning commuters. (Watch an NNN news report.)
According to the Tokyu Corporation, which operates the Tokyu Toyoko line at Shibuya station, a security officer spotted the monkey climbing around inside the station at 9:45 AM. When the monkey perched itself on a sign, police and station employees tried unsuccessfully to trap it with large nets. After an hours-long standoff, the monkey made a run for it through the crowded station. Police and curious onlookers took chase, but the monkey eluded them by crossing a busy street and climbing up along the Yamanote line tracks. Its whereabouts are now unknown.
City officials say there has been a rise in Tokyo-area monkey […]
Original post by Edo
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