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August 31, 2025
 

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MEDICINE

Mecobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 sold as a remedy for peripheral neuropathy and other conditions. It was initially proposed for pharmaceutical approval as a treatment for ALS in 2015 by drugmaker Eisai Co. after its clinical trial found a certain level of efficacy.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 24, 2024
Japan approves sale of new ALS drug, raising hopes among patients
The drug, mecobalamin, extended the survival period of patients within a year of the onset of ALS by over 500 days, surpassing existing drugs.
A scientist looks at brain scans of a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease in Geneva in 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2024
Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
For defenders, the drugs represent a real chance to fight the disease. For detractors, they are a disappointment after a long line of costly failures.
The number of people who were in contact with the hospitalized bird flu patient in Missouri and developed symptoms is now up to three, officials said. All three have recovered.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2024
U.S. health worker who had contact with bird flu patient develops symptoms
The number of people who were in contact with the hospitalized bird flu patient in Missouri and developed symptoms is now three, officials said. All three have recovered.
A vaccine that can protect against six types of cancer is available: the human papillomavirus vaccine. Despite its proven effectiveness, many parents and others remain hesitant over its use.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2024
Boys need the HPV cancer vaccine as much as girls
The virus doesn’t only cause cervical cancer, it’s the culprit behind numerous other cancers
Researchers from Waseda University have revealed the possibility of using urine for the early detection of cervical cancer.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 17, 2024
HPV proteins detected in potential cervical cancer patients' urine
Researchers highlighted the possibility of using urine for early detection of the type of cancer.
A technician holds an agar plate containing bacteria cell culture in Bengaluru, India, in 2018.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 17, 2024
Superbugs death toll could swell by millions over coming years
Over 1 million people have died each year between 1990 and 2021 as a direct result of antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when germs become resistant to drugs.
Daiichi Sankyo is working on the next generation of targeted cancer drugs.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 17, 2024
Daiichi wants to go it alone in search for targeted cancer drugs
Investors are betting on Daiichi’s continued success, with its share price up 122% in the last five years.
People walk past the AstraZeneca booth during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Nov. 28, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2024
AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug scores major win in combatting bladder cancer
In patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the drug Imfinzi reduced the risk of disease recurring by 32% when given alongside the current standard of care.
A green wireframe model covers an actor's lower face during the creation of a synthetic facial reanimation video, known as a deepfake, in London in 2019.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 16, 2024
Beware 'deepfakes' of famous doctors promoting scams, experts warn
The AI videos typically target older audiences by faking the identity of doctors who appear regularly on daytime television.
From October, patients who choose the original versions of drugs with expired patents over their generic counterparts will shoulder higher costs.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2024
Out-of-pocket costs for off-patent drugs to rise in October
Moisturizing ointments and patches are among the 1,095 items to be affected by the revision.
Takanori Takebe (behind the lectern) speaks after his team of researchers and he were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2024
Scientists win Ig Nobel for discovering anal breathing in mammals
The research team of Japanese and American scientists hope the discovery will help treat people with COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.
The government is considering asking more people age 75 or over to pay 30% of their medical costs.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 13, 2024
Japan may require more elderly people to foot 30% of their medical costs
Currently, those age 75 or older pay in principle 10%, while those with preretirement levels of income pay 30%.
Hiroyuki Mano, director of the National Cancer Center Japan's (NCC) research institute, explains on Wednesday the use of mice bearing patients' cancer tissues to screen drug candidates for their efficacy.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2024
New mouse models can boost Japan's drug development: National Cancer Center
The tumor-bearing mice retain many of the characteristics of the patients' cancer tissues, so favorable drug test results are likelier to be replicated in human trials.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rate fell to 20% in a weekly tracking poll released Friday by Gallup Korea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 13, 2024
Yoon’s support rate at new low amid concerns over medical crisis
The government has offered some concessions to bring the doctors back to work but they have shown little signs of returning.
A Palestinian girl walks near a puddle of wastewater and piles of garbage and debris amid the spread of skin infections in the northern Gaza Strip on Aug. 5.
WORLD
Sep 11, 2024
Sickness a 'death sentence' in Gaza with a health care system in ruins
"We have no medical system," a general practitioner with the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza said.
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 5, 2024
Polio vaccines give Gaza families an all-too-brief respite from war
One Gazan mother wondered what good the polio vaccination campaign could do when her children would soon face more air strikes and shelling.
The third straight annual rise in medical fees reflected Japan's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 4, 2024
Japan medical costs hit record high in fiscal year 2023
The third straight annual rise reflected the country's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
A colony of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells established from fibroblasts. Kyoto University Hospital is looking to develop a treatment for Type 1 diabetes using iPS cells.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2024
Kyoto University Hospital seeks to treat Type 1 diabetes using iPS cells
Researchers will begin clinical trial of a treatment as early as next year, which they hope will become available in the 2030s.
Patients wait for medical treatment in Incheon, South Korea, on April 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2024
South Korea denies hospital emergency rooms collapsing as army doctors deployed
The government will send 15 military doctors to hard-hit emergency rooms and rotate 235 military and community doctors into troubled hospitals starting Sept. 9.
Although Truvada has been used globally as an HIV prevention drug for years, the movement toward expanding its use as preexposure prophylaxis in Japan has been slow.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2024
Health ministry approves Truvada as HIV prevention drug
Truvada is the first drug approved in Japan for both the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Top Japan trade negotiator canceled U.S. trip over rice, report says
Ryosei Akazawa
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Most Trump tariffs are not legal, U.S. appeals court rules
Workers hang a large poster of U.S. President Donald Trump on the facade of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington on Wednesday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Japan is warming up to tattoos — just not permanent ones
Tattoos have a complex history in Japan, but new types of temporary ink are letting locals curious about body art experiment without the commitment.
YouTube Music Weekend is where Japan’s internet-born performers go global
Headlining the second day of YouTube Music Weekend is Vocaloid artist Kikuo, who, with 1.46 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most popular artists in the genre.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.

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