theTokyoBill Japan news brief

theTokyoBill Japan news brief, November 18 2024

In this episode: Children’s shoes stolen, camera reveals thief; Japan universities further blood research with crocodilian hemoglobin; Mantises found dead on roads likely doomed with parasitic infection; Nara’s deer attacks causing concern; Highest-level biolab set to operate in Nagasaki

Duration:: 4m
Broadcast on:: 18 Nov 2024
Audio Format:: other

A short (3-5 min.) English language news brief; stories from in and around Japan.

Music is Motivate by Wavecont, care of Pixabay.com.

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[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to the Tokyo Bill, a short news brief on recent events in and around Japan. More than a dozen children's indoor shoes from a childcare facility in Fukuoka Prefecture went strangely missing. The thefts occurred at Gosho Kodomoen, with 15 shoes missing in total. Fukuoka police began investigating the incidents and installed security cameras. The culprit? Cameras captured a weasel in the foyer, taking shoes from their cubby holes and running away. Staff and police were relieved it was an animal and not a human causing the trouble. The missing shoes have not been found, and the childcare center has placed netting over the shoe cubbies as a precaution. A research group at Yokohama City University in collaboration with other institutions used cryo-electron microscopy to study the molecular structure of alligator hemoglobin. They discovered a unique mechanism of how bicarbonate ions regulate hemoglobin in crocodiles and alligators, allowing them to stay underwater for extended periods. Published in Nature Communications, the study highlights the evolution of hemoglobin and its potential medical implications in developing artificial blood for transfusion. The research reveals the allosteric regulation of hemoglobin where oxygen binding to one subunit affects the others. This groundbreaking study provides detailed insights into crocodilian hemoglobin, offering new understanding after over 40 years of research. Researchers at Kyoto University have identified horse hair worms that parasitize mantises lead them to their deaths on asphalt roads. A large proportion of mantises mistake the road surface for water due to the light reflecting off of it. The worms manipulate the mantises into jumping into water where the insects drown and the worms lay their eggs. The study found that infected mantises are attracted to horizontally polarized light, normally reflected off of water surfaces, and which is similar in strength on asphalt services. The researchers discovered that infected mantises are more likely to walk on asphalt than on, for example, trees, with an 80% infection rate in mantises retrieved from asphalt. The research results were published in the scientific journal PNAS Nexus. NARA Parks Sacred Deer, symbolizing divine messengers in Japan's first capital, have seen a rise in aggressive behavior towards tourists. With 35 reported injuries in September, officials attribute the attacks to tourists feeding the deer crackers and overcrowding due to about 100 extra male deer during mating season. Incidents of abuse, such as a man kicking and hitting a deer, have sparked outrage and calls for a tourist ban. The NARA Deer Protection Association is warning against unnecessary contact with the deer and urging visitors to respect their environment. While feeding deer crackers can be enjoyable, their natural diet should be respected to maintain their well-being and harmony in NARA Park. The government is set to designate Japan's first laboratory equipped to handle deadly pathogens like the Ebola virus for research purposes next month. The facility, established by Nagasaki University in southwestern Japan, has met strict biosafety standards and will join the country's only other biosafety level for lab at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Nagasaki University's facility was completed in 2021, admits the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of studying infectious diseases. The health ministry will gather public input before officially designating the lab, a BSL-4 research facility, allowing for research on highly contagious pathogens following WHO guidelines. This has been the Tokyo Bill. These stories and more, you can read at thetokobill.com, I've been, and remain, Tokyo Bill. Thank you for listening, and take care. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)