Tag - health

 
 

HEALTH

Hiromi Sakai, a professor at Nara Medical University, says his team aims to put artificial red blood cells into practical use by around 2030.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 18, 2024
Clinical trial to reutilize expired blood to start in Japan
The artificial cells produced using this method can be stored for up to about two years at room temperature and up to five years under refrigerated conditions.
Surgeons perform the world’s first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a living human at Massachusetts General Hospital in March.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2024
Hurdles remain in Japan for transplants of pig organs into humans
Among the issues are the risk of previously unknown infectious diseases, animal welfare and the need to protect recipients from discrimination.
South Africa's 49-year-old skateboarding Olympian, Dallas Oberholzer, competes in the men's prelims during the Paris Games on Aug. 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024
The oldest Olympians might hold the key to slowing down aging
As we age, the number of mitochondria in our cells declines, but that happens much more slowly in people who continue to do strenuous exercise.
Former Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (second from right) speaks during a news conference in Osaka on Aug. 8 along with President Satoshi Yamane (third from right).
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma fails to report 11 more suspected deaths
The 11 cases had been classified into a wrong category in the process of sorting out the inquiries made to its call center.
A ward for heatstroke patients at a hospital in Chennai, India, in May. The country experienced a severe heat wave over the spring and summer, raising concerns about the long-term impact of climate change-induced extreme heat on human health.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024
Climate change: A health emergency in the making
Global warming's impact on health is an increasingly urgent issue — just look at excess deaths caused by extreme heat. But are health care systems well-equipped enough?
A new white paper is set to mention that the number of outpatients with mental illnesses such as depression, adjustment disorder and eating disorder, totaled about 5.86 million in 2020, while noting that stressors are diversifying, ranging from online abuse, work, child rearing and caregiving.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 10, 2024
Japan report to show mental health concerns tripled since 2004
According to an outline of the 2024 white paper, the ministry will point out that it is important to face up to mental health at all life stages.
Across Japan, sports fans are sacrificing a good night’s sleep to catch their favorite Olympics events and beloved athletes.
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2024
Sleepless in Japan: How to recover from ‘Olympic fever’
The Paris Olympics are just about done, so sleep-deprived sports junkies can take comfort in the fact that they’ll soon be able to get a full night’s rest.
Former Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (right) and Satoshi Yamane, the new president, bow in apology over health problems caused by its beni kōji products, during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 8, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma to withdraw from beni kōji product segment
The firm said it would offer compensation to those who suffered health problems linked to their products and prevent a recurrence of the incident.
English actress Daisy Ridley is seen arriving for the world premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in Hollywood on Dec. 16, 2019.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 8, 2024
'Star Wars' star Daisy Ridley diagnosed with Graves' disease
The actress said she initially dismissed her symptoms, attributing them to residual stress from a role in the 2023 thriller "Magpie."
In recent years, the number of ambulance dispatches has been on the rise, amid concerns that those who need urgent care may not be receiving it.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2024
Japan municipalities take tougher stance on nonurgent ambulance calls
The proliferation of nonurgent calls and related requests for ambulances have been giving local municipalities a headache.
Bottles of Coca-Cola inside a fridge in the Olympic Village.
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2024
Health experts urge Olympics to cut ties with Coca-Cola
Events at the Paris Games have been lined with advertising for the ubiquitous fizzy drinks of Coca-Cola, which has been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928.
An ambulance dispatched in Tokyo on Friday. The Tokyo Fire Department issued an ambulance shortage alert 19 times last month, up from five a year before.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Heatstroke cases behind record number of ambulance dispatches in Tokyo
The 542,256 instances for the January to July period this year was the highest since the statistics began in 1936.
Temperatures are soaring across Japan, making getting to sleep at night a constant battle between your body and the right setting for your air conditioner to help you nod off.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 2, 2024
An ideal AC temperature for sleep? Science says yes ... and no.
Keeping your room at 26 degrees Celsius can help you sleep through summer’s steamy nights — but how long should you leave the AC on?
A health ministry panel has approved Eli Lilly's donanemab drug for Alzheimer's patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2024
Japan's health ministry set to approve second Alzheimer's drug
Donanemab, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has been backed by a ministry panel.
President Shinji Kaneko (left) and other executives of Keikyu Department Store bow in apology during a news conference in Yokohama on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2024
Grilled eel leaves one dead and 140 sick in Japan
The products included eel cooked in the traditional kabayaki style
A doctor consults with a COVID-19 patient at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney in 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024
Excess deaths in Australia reveal COVID-19's long, lethal tail
Excess mortality — the increase above the expected toll had the pandemic not occurred — was 5% for Australia in 2023.
The latest research indicates that heat stress is likely to worsen the condition of people with Alzheimer’s disease — which accounts for over half of all dementia cases in Japan — by making them more irritated or exacerbating their cognitive decline.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 29, 2024
For aging Japan, a troubling link between heat and dementia
The latest research indicates that heat can exacerbate cognitive decline and worsen dementia symptoms.
Leqembi, which was developed by U.S. multinational Biogen and Japanese-based Eisai, is the brand name of an active substance called lecanemab, which is used to treat adults with mild memory and cognitive problems resulting from the early stages of the common type of dementia.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2024
European medicines watchdog rejects Eisai's new Alzheimer's drug
The watchdog said the risks of side effects, including potential brain bleeding, outweighed the benefits.
The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Jul 26, 2024
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports
At risk of sunburns and heatstroke, principals across Japan are trying to protect students' health as well as their athletic opportunities.
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2024
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
The rise in life expectancy may possibly be a reflection of a drop in fatality rates for COVID-19 patients.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past