Underground Earth corridor museum in central Japan to close at end of March
March 9, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
A skeletal model of Diplodocus is seen on display in an underground trench filled with the roar of dinosaurs in Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture, on Feb. 20, 2021. (Mainichi/Koji Hyodo) MIZUNAMI, Gifu The Earth Corridor museum in this central Japan city, established in 1993 using the remains of an underground factory dug during the Pacific War, will close at the end of March due to deterioration, and local people who regret the end of an era are visiting the facility one after another. The theme of the museum is to get people thinking about the Earth. While walking through the 240-meter-long underground trench, visitors can learn about the history of the Earth from its birth 4.6 billion years ago to the emergence of mankind through panels and videos. The dimly lit facility is divided into different periods, and in the dinosaur paradise area, where the roars of di
Experts urge caution over escape mutations found in coronavirus variants in Japan
March 9, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
A transmission electron microscope photo of SARS-CoV-2 provided by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is shown here. TOKYO A series of coronavirus variants appearing to have an escape mutation, which decreases the efficacy of immunity against the virus, have been found in and outside Japan. According to Japan s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), a rampant spread of the mutation within the country can pose risks for controlling infections in the mid- and long term, but does not make the vaccine ineffective at the present stage. This mutation differs from a new strain of the virus from Britain, which is said to be more transmissible than the original. What kind of risks can be feared from the escape mutation ?
70% of wild gorillas in Japan-led study found to be right-handed
January 30, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
A western lowland gorilla is seen eating the pith of an African ginger stem while extracting it with his right hand in this photo provided by Masaya Tamura. KYOTO A team led by a Kyoto University researcher observing a group of western lowland gorillas in the wild found that about 70% of the mammals were right-handed. The findings were published on Jan. 11 in the online edition of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Although there have been numerous reports on the dominant hand of tamed primates in zoos and other places on an individual basis, there have been few instances where analysis was conducted on a whole group living in the wild. According to the research team, the recent findings were the result of observing a specific group, and thereby cannot be used to conclude that gorillas are right-handed in general. However, the discovery could contribute