Japan publisher to review Fukushima nosebleed comic
Tokyo (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
The Japanese publisher of a comic that came under fire for linking radiation exposure at Fukushima to nosebleeds acknowledged Monday it had caused alarm and promised a review after the prime minister stepped into a growing row.
The popular "Oishinbo" ("Gourmets") drew criticism in late April when it showed its main character, a newspaper reporter, having a nosebleed after visiting the tsunam ...
more
China winds could carry childhood disease to Japan: study
Washington (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
An airborne toxin that is blown into Japan from northeast China could be the cause of the mysterious Kawasaki disease, a childhood illness that mostly affects the very young, researchers said Monday.
Kawasaki disease occurs worldwide but is most common in Japan and causes fever, rash, peeling fingernails and in about 25 percent of cases it can also lead to coronary aneurysm, a life-threateni ...
more
Madagascar unleashes poisoned rain to break locust plague
Amparihibe, Madagascar (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
The choppers swoop in, dumping insecticide over a plague-stricken village in Madagascar's stunning central highlands.
"The goal is to break the invasion," explains Tsitohaina Andriamaroahina, head of a UN mission to end a locust plague threatening the crops of 13 million farmers on this island nation.
In their countless billions the insatiable hordes cloud the skies as they spread across ...
more
Solomons police out in force after rioting
Honiara (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
Solomon Islands police were out in force on the streets of the capital Honiara on Monday after rioting among the victims of recent devastating floods, authorities said.
Deputy Police Commissioner Juanita Matanga called for calm and advised citizens to stay at home amid fears of renewed violence in the impoverished city.
Matanga said the rioting on Friday and Saturday nights, which left s ...
more
New dinosaur species, largest ever, unearthed in Argentina
Trelew, Argentina (UPI) May 19, 2013 -
Scientists have unearthed several fossils from a new species of dinosaur called the Titanosaur - the biggest yet discovered.
Researchers from Argentina's Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio announced their discovery last week, and released photos of the newly-found fossils over the weekend.
Although there is no official scientific paper yet released on the dino, early details ...
more
Marine fossil bed along Africa's South Atlantic coast dated to 71.5 mya
Dallas TX (SPX) May 20, 2014 -
Paleontologists at Southern Methodist University have measured the carbon isotopes in marine fossils to precisely date for the first time 30 million years of sediments along Africa's South Atlantic shoreline.
The researchers matched the pattern of ratios of carbon-13 and carbon-12 isotopes in marine fossils from Africa's South Atlantic shoreline to known patterns of carbon ratios in fossil ...
more
International standards reducing insect stowaways in wood packaging material
East Lansing MI (SPX) May 20, 2014 -
A new international standard for wood packaging material used in international trade is significantly slowing the inadvertent export of stowaway invasive bark- and wood-boring insects, according to a study by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS).
Lead author Robert Haack, a research entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in East L ...
more
