Rowan Hooper - The Japan Times

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Rowan Hooper

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Rowan Hooper

Rowan Hooper has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from Sheffield University, UK, and he worked as an insect biologist in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, for five years before spending a two-year period at The Japan Times in Tokyo. He is now news editor for New Scientist magazine, based in London.

For Rowan Hooper's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jan 16, 2016

Murakami is right about jazz and the brain

"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering."

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Dec 19, 2015

Cherishing Okinawa's diverse marine life

Diving in Okinawa this summer, I came face to face with my favorite undersea creature: the octopus.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Nov 14, 2015

Zzzz — a novel way to manipulate sleep

The Milinda Panha is a Buddhist text written more than 2,000 years ago. It takes the form of a dialogue between Indo-Greek King Menander I and a Buddhist sage.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Oct 17, 2015

How male killers transform into caring parents

When animals kill babies of their own species, it's brutal and shocking. Infanticide goes against everything we think adults should be in terms of looking after younger members of the species. Surprisingly, however, it happens fairly frequently in the wild. What's going on?

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Sep 19, 2015

How grandma drives human evolution

Speak to professionals from various disciplines and you will notice something funny: Even when they are off duty, they tend to view the world through the lens of their professional background. For example, a psychiatrist at a dinner party might pause to think a bit about the possible neuroses of the guests. A police officer might scrutinize an ordinary scene — and the people present — for any sign of illegal activity. It's not that they will do anything about it or even speak their mind, but I bet that's what goes on in their heads — it's the same with evolutionary biologists.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Aug 15, 2015

Psychology is where real radiation risks lie

Misinformation breeds discrimination. As if it wasn't enough to experience the trauma of a nuclear bomb, many hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) also faced appalling discrimination.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jul 18, 2015

Surfing the waves between two worlds

In a Tokyo lab, a remarkable experiment is exploring the meeting of worlds. This is not a boring old metaphor for a meeting between East and West, it's a description of the interface between the world we live in and the frankly insane world of quantum objects.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jun 20, 2015

Medaka: the fish that helps us understand gender

The diminutive medaka (Japanese rice fish) have been kept as pets since the Edo Period (1603-1868). They are hardy animals, an important quality for a pet, and they naturally occur in a variety of colors, including gold. They have distinctive, some say attractive, eyes (for a fish) — indeed, medaka in Japanese means "with high eyes."

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

May 16, 2015

Language of science key to wisdom

Today I'm going to try something a little different — at first, anyway. First, let me tell you a bit about my job.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Apr 18, 2015

On the pleasing violence of fairy tales

Traditional fairy tales are so steeped in blood it's astonishing that children didn't all grow up to become deranged in days gone by. Take, for example, the popular Japanese fable "Shita-kiri Suzume" (literally, "Tongue-Cut Sparrow"), which tells the tale of a kind old man, his avaricious wife and an injured sparrow. Some versions of the fable end with the greedy woman being tortured to death by demons, serpents and skeletons.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Mar 14, 2015

When nature evolves to be awesome

A few years ago, an anthropologist told me an amazing story about a wild chimpanzee she had observed in Senegal. A bushfire had ignited in the summer heat, and she saw a chimp stand upright on its hind legs, face the fire and perform "a really exaggerated slow-motion display."

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Feb 14, 2015

Japanese are quick to embrace robots

"Hello and welcome. I can tell you about money exchange, ATMs, opening a bank account or overseas remittance. Which one would you like?"

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jan 17, 2015

Longevity, genetics and the whale

The oldest person in the world — and the oldest ever Japanese person — is Misao Okawa. She lives in Osaka and is 116. She'll be 117 in March.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Dec 20, 2014

Love of robots may pave way for better treatment of animals

If chimps had history books, a few individuals would have important chapters devoted to them. One would be David Greybeard, the chimp who in 1960 was observed by Jane Goodall using a piece of grass as a tool.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Nov 15, 2014

Eels face the slippery slope to extinction

Last week I was crossing the River Thames on the way to work in London, and I happened to see a cormorant emerge from the water with a thrashing eel in its mouth. The bird juggled the fish, skillfully managing to position it so it could swallow the wriggling animal headfirst.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Oct 18, 2014

Suicidal cells and the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks

You may not have heard of Henrietta Lacks — an African-American woman from Baltimore who died of cervical cancer in 1951 — but you have benefited from her.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Sep 20, 2014

The feral felines of Cat Heaven Island

Cat heaven is a place on Earth — and it's just 20 minutes by ferry from Fukuoka.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Aug 16, 2014

What kind of life could live in the clouds?

Do you remember seeing clouds from an airplane for the first time? Even if that first time was as an adult, you were probably struck by the appearance of solidity. Seen from above, a cloudscape looks like a landscape — it looks like a place where things might live.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jul 19, 2014

If chimps inherit their intelligence, does that prove humans do, too?

Some people are smarter than others. And though animal intelligence is far less well studied, it turns out that within a particular population, say of chimpanzees, some animals are smarter than others, too — and these differences are heritable. To put it another way, some chimps' mothers are smarter than other chimps' mothers.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS

Jun 14, 2014

The hormone behind man's best friend

The other day I saw a picture of a dead dog on Twitter. Gross, right? Not at all, for this wasn't just any old dog: This was Hachiko, perhaps the most famous dog in the world, and certainly the most famous in Japan.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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