Tag - nature

 
 

NATURE

Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 25, 2019
Post-apocalyptic fossils show fast rise of mammals after dinosaur demise
A revelatory cache of fossils dug up in central Colorado details as never before the rise of mammals from the post-apocalyptic landscape after an asteroid smacked Earth 66 million years ago and annihilated three-quarters of all species, including the dinosaurs.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2019
Reducing herds of wild horses and burros likely to cost U.S. $5 billion over 15 years
Reducing the tens of thousands of wild horses and burros on public lands to a level that is better for both the animals and their habitat will cost U.S. taxpayers $5 billion and take 15 years, a Trump administration official said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 18, 2019
Indonesia urged to use new green fund to protect forests and create carbon trading program, not new infrastructure
A new green fund being set up by Indonesia should prioritize protecting its rainforests and creating a carbon trading program to help the country meet its goals to curb climate change, environmentalists and officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 24, 2019
Art at a science museum: When worlds collide
The premise of 'Illuminating Landscapes: The Integration of Art and Science,' as designer Taku Satoh puts it, is to explore 'art and science together, not separated, as is too common in today's world.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2019
Genetic study implicates humans in demise of prehistoric cave bear 20,000 years ago
Genetic research that reconstructed the past population dynamics of the cave bear, a prominent prehistoric denizen of Europe, implicates Homo sapiens rather than climate cooling in the Ice Age extinction of these brawny plant-loving beasts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 25, 2019
Trump administration and native Alaskans strike deal on road through wildlife refuge
The Trump administration has resurrected a plan to carve a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska, less than four months after a federal judge struck down an earlier plan as illegal.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2019
Gulp! Jurassic mammal was the first one able to eat politely
A shrew-like primitive mammal that inhabited China 165 million years ago represents a milestone in mammalian evolution, scientists said on Thursday, boasting a key anatomical trait in its throat that helped usher in the era of polite table manners.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 8, 2019
'Aphrodisiac' beavers good for food, says Polish minister
Beavers could be a good source of food, Poland's agriculture minister said on Friday, after he outraged animal rights activists by joking the aphrodisiac qualities of the rodents' tails could encourage Poles to eat them.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 5, 2019
Satellite data show Amazon deforestation rising under Brazil's Bolsonaro
Deforestation of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil sped up in May to the fastest rate in a decade, according to data from an early-warning satellite system, as experts pointed to activity by illegal loggers encouraged by the easing of environmental protections under President Jair Bolsonaro.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 1, 2019
U.S. biologists probe deaths of 70 emaciated gray whales
U.S. government biologists have launched a special investigation into the deaths of at least 70 gray whales washed ashore in recent months along the U.S. West Coast, from California to Alaska, many of them emaciated, officials said on Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2019
Decoding of Jomon woman's genome suggests common ancestor unites Japanese and Han Chinese
A research team led by the National Museum of Nature and Science said Monday it has sequenced and analyzed with high accuracy the whole genome of a woman who lived about 3,500 to 3,800 years ago, in the second half of Japan's Jomon Period, for the first time.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 9, 2019
Ex-ministers blast Jair Bolsonaro for dismantling Brazil's environmental protections
Eight former Brazilian environment ministers blasted new right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and his administration in a letter on Wednesday, saying it is dismantling the country's environmental protections.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 27, 2019
Not so fast: Trump's Alaska drilling study slammed by U.S. wildlife regulator
The Trump administration failed to adequately consider oil spills, climate change and the welfare of polar bears in its expedited study of proposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to comments published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
WORLD
Apr 13, 2019
Jair Bolsonaro says Brazil rainforest reserve may be opened to mining
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday the country could open a vast reserve in the Amazon rainforest to mining, a move that his predecessor attempted before backtracking due to an international outcry by environmentalists.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2019
As China pushes traditional medicine globally, illegal wildlife trade flourishes
Chinese traditional medicine is rapidly expanding worldwide as a key pillar of the country's "Belt and Road" initiative, but conservation groups say demand for treatments using animal products is driving a surge in illegal trafficking of wildlife.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 2, 2019
Mountain lion strangled by Colorado man was orphaned cougar cub
The mountain lion strangled by a Colorado man after it attacked him on a jogging trail last month was a young cub, weighing no more than 40 pounds (18 kg) and likely orphaned but not starving, state wildlife officials said on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 21, 2019
Why do zebras have stripes? Because they make bad landing strips for flies
Scientists are providing new evidence to answer the long-standing question about why zebras have stripes. It appears stripes make terrible landing strips, bamboozling the fierce blood-sucking flies that try to feast on zebras and carry deadly diseases.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2019
Can 'Big Brother' technology clean up palm oil's image?
Some of the world's major palm oil users, including Nestle, Unilever, and Mondelez, are trying out new satellite technology to track deforestation, as pressure grows on them to source the ingredient responsibly.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 14, 2019
Tanzanian 'beast' sheds light on gigantic dinosaur group
A relatively complete skeleton of a long-necked, long-tailed plant-eater excavated from a rocky cliff above a Tanzanian river is providing insight into the early evolution of a dinosaur group that later included Earth's largest-ever land animals.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 14, 2019
World awash in sustainable palm oil, but consumers unwilling to pay premium for environmentally friendly supply
The world's biggest growers of palm oil say they're stepping up efforts to produce the contentious commodity more sustainably, but consumers are unwilling to pay more for environmentally friendly supply.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores