It’s an un-wasteful effort to bring back the oyster to the waters of New York. Porcelain from recycled toilets mixed with clam shells are getting dumped into Jamaica Bay where the species has been extinct for decades. The materials will form a nursery bed for oyster larvae to grow on, explains John McLaughlin, of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, “Those are receiver beds that is just a blank slate that is about 8,000 square feet […]
Life
Invasive insects cause tens of billions in damage: study
by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Invasive insects cause at least $77 billion (69 billion euros) in damage every year, according to a study released Tuesday that says this figure is “grossly underestimated” because it covers only a fraction of the globe. Climate change is on track to boost the area affected by nearly 20 percent before mid-century, the authors reported in the journal Nature Communications. Canvassing more than 700 recent scientific studies, researchers […]
Fast E. coli water detection kit developed
An E. coli detection kit that allows users to detect the deadly disease quickly while at the water source, rather than in a laboratory has been developed by Canadian scientists.
Japanese scientist wins Nobel Medicine Prize for work on ‘self-eating’ cells
TOKYO, Japan — Japan’s Yoshinori Ohsumi won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for his discovery of how cells break down and recycles their content, which could lead to a better understanding of diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s and Type 2 diabetes. “The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discoveries on mechanisms for Autophagy,” Thomas Perlmann, Nobel […]
On Philippine indie films, part 2
QUEZON City, Philippines (October 4) – I remember I was once a cross-enrollee for a back subject last semester, which is World Literature. I am a Mass Communication student but during enrollment, the only available class for the said subject is under the College of Business Administration. The feeling of being alienated struck me hard. I was the only communication student in the class, and it was so unfortunate that it was a block section, that […]
On Philippine indie films – part 1
QUEZON City, Philippines (October 4) – Film is considered as one of the youngest art form here in the Philippines. It can also claim to be the most popular of them all. From its introduction in 1897, films in the Philippines have evolved. From silent to talkies, from black and white to colored. Films reflect the culture and beliefs of the people it caters to and sometimes helps shape their consciousness. Aside from being a source of […]
Cells’ garbage disposal may hold key to healthier life
PARIS, France (AFP) – by Mariëtte Le Roux Autophagy, the little-understood method by which human cells dispose of harmful waste and unwelcome intruders, may one day be central to therapies for longer, healthier living, experts said. Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Medicine Prize Monday for discovering genes involved in autophagy, a non-stop housecleaning process that keeps cells healthy, and is thought to spur ageing and disease when disrupted. Scientists are […]
Japan sushi chain stung by ‘wasabi terrorism’ claims
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese sushi chain is being accused of ‘wasabi terrorism’ after it admitted to heaping excess dollops of the pungent root into foreign customers’ food. Osaka-based Ichibazushi issued an apology on its website Sunday, owning up to the charges but denying discrimination was at play. It insisted that the wasabi-laced sushi was a response to many foreign-born patrons ordering extra portions of the fiery green paste used a condiment for the raw […]
Toyota unveils mini robot to interact with Japan’s lonely
(Reuters) — Toyota Motors will begin selling the KIROBO mini robot in Japan next year, potentially appealing to an ageing, shrinking population where human interactions for some have decreased. Although project manager and engineer Fuminori Kataoka says KIROBO mini isn’t targeting a specific demographic, its sale comes at a time when official data showed that Japan has 34.6 million people aged 65 and older, or 27.3 percent of the population – the highest proportion […]
Thermal bat detection gets scientists in a flutter
BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK (Reuters) — Monitoring bat populations using thermal imaging is allowing conservationists to keep tabs on the threatened mammal. There are 18 resident species of bat in the United Kingdom, and some are on course to become endangered, according to the Bat Conservation Trust. Numbers have declined due to loss of habitats like woodlands, changes in farming practices and disturbances from construction work. “Bats have declined in numbers significantly over the last 50 […]
Valentino flaunts Spring-Summer collection at Paris fashion week
PARIS, France (Reuters) — Frills, florals and full-length were the order of the day as Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli presented the label’s Spring/Summer 2017 women’s ready-to-wear in Paris on Sunday (October 2). Models hit the catwalk in the French capital’s Hotel de Rothschild wearing high-necked, long-sleeved ensembles in warm pinks and yellows. The demure air extended to hair and make up, which was kept soft and natural. Piccioli’s inspiration was a “punk idea of humanism” […]
Valentino flaunts Spring-Summer collection at Paris fashion week
Frills, florals and full-length were the order of the day as Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli presented the label’s Spring/Summer 2017 women’s ready-to-wear in Paris on Sunday (October 2). Models hit the catwalk in the French capital’s Hotel de Rothschild wearing high-necked, long-sleeved ensembles in warm pinks and yellows. The demure air extended to hair and make up, which was kept soft and natural. Piccioli’s inspiration was a “punk idea of humanism” according to the […]
