Japan, Korea develop prototype nuclear batteries

The uranium battery concept (Image: JAEA)The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed what it says is the world's first "uranium rechargeable battery" and that tests have verified its performance in charging and discharging. Meanwhile, South Korean researchers have developed a prototype betavoltaic battery powered by the carbon-14 isotope.The uranium storage battery utilises depleted uranium (DU) as the negative electrode active material and iron as the positive one, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) said. The single-cell voltage of the prototype uranium rechargeable battery is 1.3 volts, which is close to that of a common alkaline battery (1.5 volts).The battery was charged and discharged 10 times, and the performance of the battery was almost unchanged, indicating relatively stable cycling characteristics."To utilise DU as a new resource, the concept of rechargeable batteries using uranium as an active material was proposed in the early 2000s," JAEA noted. "However, no studies were reporting the specific performance of the assembled uranium rechargeable batteries."It added: "If uranium rechargeable batteries are increased in capacity and put to practical use, the large amount of DU stored in Japan will become a new resource for output controls in the electricity supply grid derived from renewable energy, thereby contributing...

Read More........→June 25, 2025

Scientists in Japan Develop Non-Toxic Plastic That Dissolves in Seawater Within Hours

Japanese scientists were thrilled to receive significant interest from the packaging industry over their new seawater-degradable plastic.Breaking apart into nutritious compounds for ocean-borne bacteria in just 2 to 3 hours depending on the size and thickness, the invention could be a major solution to reducing plastic waste in the environment.GNN has previously reported that the amount of plastic waste in the ocean is currently overestimated by 3,000%, making the remaining total a much-more addressable challenge.To that end, researchers at a lab in Wako city near Tokyo used two ionic monomers to form a salt bond for the basis of the polymer plastic. Despite being strong and flexible like normal petroleum-based plastics, the material is highly vulnerable to salt and immersion in salty ocean water dissolves the plastic in short order.Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo who developed the plastic don’t have any detailed plans for commercialization, but they have been contacted by members of the packaging industry with significant interest.The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and doesn’t emit CO2. It won’t leach chemicals and microplastics into one’s body as is the case with normal plastic water bottles, packaging, take-away containers, and so on.Additionally, because there are...

Read More........→June 12, 2025

Japan to Begin Clinical Trials for Artificial Blood This Year

credit – Adrian Sulyok on UnsplashJapan is the first country to begin clinical trials of artificial blood, a medical innovation which if proven successful, would solve one of the largest hospital challenges of our age.Beginning back in March, a clinical trial organized by Nara Medical University will look to build on the success of an early-stage trial in 2022 of hemoglobin vesicles, small artificial blood cells that were confirmed to be safe and capable of delivering oxygen as normal.The trial will administer 100 to 400 milliliters of the artificial blood cells to further test safety before moving onto broader performance and efficacy targets, all in the hopes that by 2030, the artificial blood could enter clinical use.Whether high-income or low-income, every country has challenges meeting the necessity necessary amounts of stockpiled blood donations for emergency medical procedures.In high-income countries where the 90% of blood stockpiles comes from voluntary donors, the challenge is getting enough of these donations, and crucially, enough from those with rare blood types.In low-income countries where only 40% of needs are met with donations, the challenge lies in importation from abroad when donated blood packs are only safe for use for a few months. A useful proxy to understanding this shortfall is that of 175 countries included...

Read More........→May 29, 2025

Japan starts discharging treated water into the sea : Regulation & Safety

The process for releasing the ALPS-treated water (Image: Tepco)Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced it has begun releasing treated water currently stored at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. The operation - expected to take up to 30 years to complete - is being closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).At the Fukushima Daiichi site, contaminated water - in part used to cool melted nuclear fuel - is treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removes most of the radioactive contamination, with the exception of tritium. This treated water is currently stored in more than 1000 tanks on site. The total tank storage capacity amounts to about 1.37 million cubic metres and all the tanks are expected to reach full capacity in late 2023 or early 2024.Japan announced in April 2021 it planned to discharge treated water stored at the site into the sea over a period of about 30 years.On 22 August, the government announced that it had decided to request Tepco begin preparations for the release of ALPS-treated water into the sea.On the same day, the company transferred a very small amount of ALPS-treated water - about 1 cubic metre - to the dilution facility using the transfer facilities. This water was then diluted with about 1200 cubic metres of seawater and...

Read More........→October 12, 2023

Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Scientists in Japan on Tuesday began analysing a capsule sent back to Earth by a probe, hoping to find asteroid material that could offer clues on how the universe was formed.Officials from Japan’s space agency said they were jubilant about the successful return of the capsule, which landed in Australia on Sunday after separating from the Hayabusa-2 probe.“I’m genuinely appreciative of the fact that the capsule came back, after a 5.24 billion-kilometre round-trip,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters.Scientists hope it will yield up to 0.1 grams of material collected from the asteroid Ryugu some 300 million kilometres from Earth — though they won’t know for sure until they look inside.“I’m really looking forward to seeing (the samples) with my own eyes,” Tsuda said.But that isn’t expected to happen before at least next week, with a series of steps required first to ensure the material is not contaminated.For now, the capsule is “in a secure location” at a space centre in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, agency director general Hitoshi Kuninaka said.“Now we move to the matter-analysis phase,” he said. The samples — collected last year — are hoped to include both surface dust and pristine material stirred up when Hayabusa-2 fired an “impactor” into Ryugu.Scientists hope they can shed light on how the formation of the universe unfolded,...

Read More........→January 03, 2021

SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience” docks with ISS

A SpaceX Crew Dragon carrying four astronauts docked with the International Space Station Monday, the first of what NASA hopes will be many routine missions ending US reliance on Russian rockets.“Dragon SpaceX, soft capture confirmed,” said an announcer as the capsule completed its 27.5 hour journey at 11:01 pm (0401 GMT Tuesday), with the second part of the procedure, “hard capture,” occurring a few minutes later.The spacecraft, named “Resilience,” docked autonomously with the space station some 260 miles (400 kilometers) above the Midwestern US state of Ohio.The crew is comprised of three Americans — Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker — and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi.Earlier, mission commander Hopkins gave pilot Glover his “gold pin,” a NASA tradition when an astronaut first crosses the 100-kilometer Karman line marking the official boundary of space.Glover is the first Black astronaut to make an extended stay at the ISS, while Noguchi is the first non-American to fly to orbit on a private spaceship.The crew joins two Russians and one American aboard the station, and will stay for six months.Along the way, there was a problem with the cabin temperature control system, but it was quickly solved.SpaceX briefly transmitted live images from inside the capsule showing the astronauts in their seats, something neither the...

Read More........→December 29, 2020

Realistic masks made in Japan

Super-realistic face masks made by a tiny company in rural Japan are in demand from the domestic tech and entertainment industries and from countries as far away as Saudi Arabia.The 300,000-yen ($2,650) masks, made of resin and plastic by five employees at REAL-f Co., attempt to accurately duplicate an individual’s face down to fine wrinkles and skin texture.Company founder Osamu Kitagawa came up with the idea while working at a printing machine manufacturer.But it took him two years of experimentation before he found a way to use three-dimensional facial data from high quality photographs to make the masks, and started selling them in 2011.The company, based in the western prefecture of Shiga, receives about 100 orders every year from entertainment, automobile, technology and security companies, mainly in Japan.For example, a Japanese car company ordered a mask of a sleeping face to improve its facial recognition technology to detect if a driver had dozed off, Kitagawa said.“I am proud that my product is helping further development of facial recognition technology,” he added.“I hope that the developers would enhance face identification accuracy using these realistic masks.”Kitagawa, 60, said he had also received orders from organizations linked to the Saudi government to create masks for the king and princes.“I was told the masks...

Read More........→December 18, 2020

Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sampleScientists in Japan on Tuesday began analysing a capsule sent back to Earth by a probe, hoping to find asteroid material that could offer clues on how the universe was formed.Officials from Japan’s space agency said they were jubilant about the successful return of the capsule, which landed in Australia on Sunday after separating from the Hayabusa-2 probe.“I’m genuinely appreciative of the fact that the capsule came back, after a 5.24 billion-kilometre round-trip,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters.Scientists hope it will yield up to 0.1 grams of material collected from the asteroid Ryugu some 300 million kilometres from Earth — though they won’t know for sure until they look inside.“I’m really looking forward to seeing (the samples) with my own eyes,” Tsuda said.But that isn’t expected to happen before at least next week, with a series of steps required first to ensure the material is not contaminated.For now, the capsule is “in a secure location” at a space centre in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, agency director general Hitoshi Kuninaka said.“Now we move to the matter-analysis phase,” he said. The samples — collected last year — are hoped to include both surface dust and pristine material stirred up when Hayabusa-2 fired an “impactor” into Ryugu.Scientists hope...

Read More........→December 08, 2020

First element discovered in Asia named ‘nihonium’, after Japan

Kyushu University professor Kosuke Morita, head of a team of scientists who discovered element 113, points to the superheavy synthetic element on a periodic table at a news conference at the RIKEN institute''s research centre in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on June 9, 2016. Reuters TOKYO: Japanese scientists behind the discovery of element 113, the first atomic element found in Asia — indeed, the first found outside Europe or the United States — have dubbed it "nihonium" after the Japanese-language name for their country. "I believe the fact that we, in Japan, found one of only 118 known atomic elements gives this discovery great meaning," said Kosuke Morita, a university professor who led the discovery team from the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science. "Another important meaning is that until now, all the elements in the periodic table have been discovered in Europe and the United States," he told a news conference on Thursday. "There has not been a single atomic element found in Asia, Oceania or Africa." Element 113 was first found in 2004, and the number refers to its atomic number, or the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. It does not exist naturally and has had to be synthesised. Though the element was publicly recognised by the International Union...

Read More........→November 18, 2016

Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi wins Nobel Prize in Physiology

Stockholm: Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist specialising in autophagy and a professor in Tokyo Institute of Technology's Frontier Research Centre, was on Monday awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of the mechanism for autophagy, a process that deals with destruction of cells in the body. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet decided to award the prize to Ohsumi, 71, as his discoveries led to a new paradigm in the "understanding of how the cell recycles its content". "His discoveries opened the path to understanding the fundamental importance of autophagy in many physiological processes, such as in the adaptation to starvation or response to infection," astatement on the official website of the Nobel Prize said. Because of Japan's 23rd Nobel Laureate Ohsumi's works, it is now known that autophagy -- self eating -- controls important physiological functions where cellular components need to be degraded and recycled. The concept emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, forming sack-like vesicles that were transported to a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for degradation. Ohsumi reasoned that if he could disrupt the degradation process in the vacuole while the process of autophagy...

Read More........→October 04, 2016

Solar-powered plane breaks solo flight record

The solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, flying from Japan to Hawaii, on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid, has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organisers said yesterday. They admitted though that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was exhausted after over four days of continuous flying, which made the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging. The plane was set to land this morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Honolulu. By 7:30pm GMT (1am IST, Friday) on Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 per cent of the way to the tropical US state, after flying 7,075 kilometers. However, it was in the process of crossing a cold front that required careful navigation on the part of Borschberg, which would significantly increase stress levels for the 62-year-old. Borschberg had so far flown over 97 hours easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight undertaken in 2006. The Japan to Hawaii trip was expected to take 120 hours. The Swiss aviator was napping for only 20 minutes at a time so as to maintain control of the pioneering plane and has on the plane a parachute and life raft, in case he needed to ditch in the Pacific. The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 6pm GMT (11:30pm IST) on Sunday...

Read More........→July 05, 2015

In your face projection mapping delivers virtual make-up

Japanese artist, director and producer Nobumichi Asai has unveiled Omote, his latest project that uses projection mapping techniques to create stunning illusions on a model’s face. In his recently released video the model moves her head while projected graphics constantly transform how she appears; creating masks and cyber influenced visuals. He was inspired by the Japanese Noh mask. Laser scanning was used to create a mesh that followed the contours of the model’s face and it’s rumoured that Asai is now looking to create a system the covers the whole body. Asai has built up a large portfolio of work that includes a number of projection mapping projects, usually featuring huge backdrops including buildings, a dockyard and a large stage show for Subaru. Source: InAVate, Image-Courtesy: https://33.media.tumblr.co...

Read More........→September 11, 2014

Docomo turns surfaces interactive with smart glasses

Docomo showed off a Google Glass rival that transforms any surface into a touchscreen at Japan's Ceatec show last week. The company demonstrated a number of applications including manipulation of virtual content on any surface using the 'intelligent-glasses' and a ring sensor. Ceatec ran from October 1 to 5, 2013 at the Makuhari Messe convention center outside Tokyo. Other uses on show included facial recognition capabilities, which pulled up relevant profile information on the person being viewed and character recognition enabling instant language translation. Technology news site Slashgear reported on the technology showcased at  the mobile industry trade show, posting the video featured above. The concept builds on existing Docomo developments. At last year’s Ceatec show Docomo demonstrated. glasses that enabled hands-free video calling. Source: InAVat...

Read More........→October 13, 2013

Scientists grow primitive liver from pluripotent stem cells

Japanese scientists may have found the way to address the global organ transplant shortage. According to new research published by Yokohama City Unversity Graduate School of Medicine, scientists have succeeding in growing primitive livers from pluripotent stem cells. The nascent livers, dubbed by the scientists “liver buds”, are the product of mixing three different cell kinds - liver, endothelial and mesenchymal- in a fashion akin to what happens in developing human foetuses. To the surprise of the researchers the cells bound together and developed into a primitive liver. Researchers transplanted the buds into mice with liver failure, and found that the primitive organs helped the mice to survive. In addition, the buds began secreting liver-specific proteins, producing human-specific metabolites and after hooking up with nearby blood vessels. They continued to grow after transplantation. Co-author Takanori Takebe was pleased but circumspect. He said that while the technique looks "very promising" and represents a huge step forward, "there is much unknown and it will take years before it could be applied in regenerative medicine." The research has made headlines around the world. Matthew Smalley of the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute believes that it holds "real promise for a viable alternative approach to human...

Read More........→September 24, 2013

World's 1st talking robot astronaut set to go to space

Wellington, June 27 (ANI): Japan is set to send the world's first talking robot-astronaut to space. Yorichika Nishijima, the Kirobo project manager - named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese and "robot - said in Tokyo that Russia was the first to travel outer space, the US was the first to reach moon, but they wanted Japan to the first to send a robot-astronaut, which has the ability to communicate with humans, the University of Tokyo, Robo Garage and Toyota. CEO of Robo Garage and associate professor at the University of Tokyo, Tomotaka Takahashi, said that he hopes that robots like Kirobo, which can hold conversations, will eventually be used to assist astronauts who work in the space. Kirobo is just about 34 centimetres tall and weighs about 1 kilogram and is set to be launched from the TanegashimaSpace Center on August 4, this year. (ANI),  Source: News Track Indi...

Read More........→June 27, 2013

Dream reading: Scientists in Japan decode sleeping minds

RESEARCHERS have found a way to "read" people's dreams for the first time, according to a breakthrough study published in the journal Science. A team of scientists from Japan's ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology used MRI scanners to work out what images people were seeing in their dreams as they fell into sleep. Seconds after the scientists' three volunteers began to doze off inside the machines, they were woken up by researchers, and asked to describe what they had seen. Scientists recorded every detail of the images they mentioned, from bronze statues to ice picks, and the experiment was repeated more than 200 times for each participant. The answers were then compared with the brain maps the MRI scans had produced and scientists built a database for each participant based on the results. Researchers then scanned volunteers again while they were awake and looking at different images on a computer. The results showed what parts of their brains were active when they looked at each picture. When they next scanned the volunteers during sleep, they found they could predict what participants were dreaming about 60 per cent of the time. Although the experiment did allow researchers to "read" some dreams, ATR's Professor Yukiyasu Kamitani, who headed-up the team, explained...

Read More........→April 07, 2013

Hoax - Picture of 'World's Largest Tortoise'

The Wolrd largest Tortise found in Amazon river its age around 529 /Hieght-59/Weight- 800 Pounds Outline : Social media message claims that an attached photograph depicts the world's largest tortoise, found in the Amazon River, being transported along a roadway strapped to the bed of a large truck. Brief Analysis: The "tortoise" is not real. The picture is a scene from the 2006 Japanese movie "Gamera the Brave" which features a giant turtle creature. At one point in the movie, the wounded Gamera is transported via a military truck to a research facility. The circulating image is apparently taken from this part of the movie. Detailed Analysis: According to this message, which has circulated widely via Facebook and other social media websites, an accompanying photograph depicts the world's largest tortoise being transported on the bed of a truck. The message claims that the massive tortoise was found Galapagos Tortoise ( Image credit: Matthew Field, Wikimedia Commons) in the Amazon River, weighs 800 pounds and is 529 years old. Not surprisingly, the picture does not depict a real tortoise or turtle or even a "tortise". The picture is in fact taken from a 2006 Japanese movie titled "Gamera the Brave". The movie is one in a series of titles that feature a gigantic turtle with special powers. In...

Read More........→March 09, 2013

Giant underwater isopod fasts for 4 years, feels great

A creature known as “the scavenger of the deep” has surprised its keepers at an aquarium by “fasting” for more than four years. The giant male isopod, called No. 1 to distinguish it from the two other giant isopods kept at Toba Aquarium in Mie Prefecture, last ate in January 2009, when it was fed a whole horse mackerel. The isopod devoured the fish, bones and all, in just five minutes. But it has not eaten anything since, with Feb. 10 marking 1,500 days without food. The crustacean was brought to the aquarium from the Gulf of Mexico in September 2007, measuring 29 cm and weighing 1 kg, and despite its lack of food still looks perfectly healthy, the keepers say. “We have done all we possibly can,” said Takeya Moritaki, who is responsible for the creature. Moritaki said he has tried an assortment of food items, including squid tentacles and saury, but the isopod has ignored them all. Little is known about the biology of the creatures, which live in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean and which live off dead creatures and fish. It remains a mystery why the isopod suddenly stopped eating and why it has remained healthy. “Giant isopods are always in a state of semihibernation because they don’t know when they can eat, so they limit their energy on breathing and other activities,” said Taeko Kimura, a...

Read More........→February 27, 2013

AR robot brings avatars to life

An augmented reality robot that adds life to virtual characters could be commercialised after being taken on by Japanese start-up, Different Dimension. The solution was originally called U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi and developed in 2006 by Michihiko Shoji, a researcher at NTT DoCoMo Labs and then Yokohama National University. The "mixed reality" system synchronises a robot, covered in green-screen material, and a virtual avatar, which is viewed as an interactive figure through a head mounted display (HMD). The robot is controlled by a force-feedback system that provides realistic physical interaction for the user. Potential applications for the solution could include very realistic, immersive telepresence solutions. Source: InAVate, Image: Screen Shot On Vide...

Read More........→February 17, 2013

New Honda 'Asimo' Robot Now Smarter, Faster

     . Click To Watch An Exclusive Update Honda's human - shaped  robot  can  now run  faster,  balance  itself  on  uneven surfaces, hop on one foot and pour a drink. Some of its technology may even be used to help out with clean-up operations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Honda's demonstration of the revamped "Asimo" on Tuesday at its Tokyo suburban research facility was not only to prove that the bubble-headed childlike machine was  more  limber and  a  bit  smarter. It was a way to try to answer some critics that Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, proving to be nothing more than a glorified toy and cute showcase for the Honda Motor Co. brand. Honda President Takanobu Ito told reporters some of Asimo's technology was used to develop a robotic arm in just six months with the intention of helping with the nuclear crisis in northeastern Japan. The mechanical arm can open and close valves  at  Fukushima Dai - ichi  nuclear  power  plant, which went  into meltdown after the March tsunami, according to Honda. The automaker is working with the utility behind the problem plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to try to meet demands to bring the plant under...

Read More........→February 11, 2013