Why music makes us groove, and more...
Mutant super-powers give Korean sea women diving abilitiesThe Haenyeo, or sea women, of the Korean island of Jeju have been celebrated historically for their remarkable diving abilities. For hour after hour they dive in frigid waters harvesting sea-life, through pregnancy and into old age. A new study has shown they are able to do this because of specific genetic adaptations that appeared in their ancestors more than a thousand years ago. These genes make them more tolerant to the cold, and decrease diastolic blood pressure. The women also spend a lifetime training, beginning to dive at age 15 and continuing on until their 80s or even 90s. Melissa Ilardo of Utah University and her team published their findings in the journal Cell Reports. This dessert is automatic and autonomous Care for a slice of robo-cake? Scientists in Europe have baked up a cake with pneumatically powered animated gummy bears, and candles lit by chocolate batteries. They think their edible robotics could develop in the future to food that could bring itself to the hungry and medicine could deliver itself to the sick. Mario Caironi of the Italian Institute of Technology and his colleagues presented their creation at Expo 2025 Osaka. Shrinking Nemo — heat is causing clownfish to downsizeScientists have found that clownfish, made famous by the Disney movie Finding Nemo, have an ability never seen before in fish in the coral reefs. When the water they live in gets warmer, they are able to shrink their bodies — becoming a few per cent of their body length shorter — to cope with the stress of the heat. Melissa Versteeg of Newcastle University says the size of the clown anemonefish is important for their survival and their ranking within their hierarchical society. The research was published in the journal Science Advances. When the music moves you — the brain science of grooveYou know that groove feeling you get when you listen to certain music that compels you to shake your bootie? Scientists in France investigated how our brains experience groovy music to better understand how we anticipate rhythms in time. They discovered that we perceive time in the motor region that controls movement. Benjamin Morillion from Aix Marseille Université said they also found a specific rhythm in the brain that helps us process information in time, that could predict if a person thought the music was groovy. The study was published in the journal Science Advances. Scientists hope a new storm lab will help us understand destructive weatherExtreme weather is far less predictable than it used to be, and now a new research centre at Western University wants to transform our understanding of Canada's unique weather systems. The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory will collect nation-wide data on extreme weather, including hailstorms, tornadoes, and flash flooding, and look for patterns to help predict where they'll be hitting and how to prevent the most damage. Producer Amanda Buckiewicz spoke with: Greg Kopp, ImpactWX Chair in Severe Storms Engineering and CSSL founding director at Western UniversityHarold Brooks, senior research scientist at NOAA's National Severe Storms LaboratoryJohn Allen, associate professor of meteorology at Central Michigan UniversityPaul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction at Western University.Tanya Brown-Giammanco, director of Disaster and Failure Studies at NIST
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CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Snakes on a plane: Indian smuggler caught with venomous vipers
In this Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 photo, an aircraft flies above the slums near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) A passenger smuggling dozens of venomous vipers was stopped after flying into the financial capital Mumbai from Thailand, Indian customs officials said. The snakes, which included 44 Indonesian pit vipers, were 'concealed in checked-in baggage', Mumbai Customs said in a statement late Sunday. 'An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested,' it added. The passenger, details of whom were not released, also had three Spider-tailed horned vipers -- which are venomous, but usually only target small prey such as birds -- as well as five Asian leaf turtles. Mumbai Customs issued photographs of the seized snakes, including blue and yellow reptiles squirming in a bucket. On 01.06.2025, officers at CSMIA seized 3 Spider-Tailed Horned Vipers & 5 Asian Leaf Turtles (CITES Appendix-II), along with 44 Indonesian Pit Vipers, concealed in checked-in baggage. An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested. — Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) June 1, 2025 The snakes are a relatively unusual seizure in Mumbai, with customs officers more regularly posting pictures of hauls of smuggled gold, cash, cannabis or pills of suspected cocaine swallowed by passengers. However, in February, customs officials at Mumbai airport also stopped a smuggler with five Siamang gibbons, a small ape native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Those small creatures, listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were 'ingeniously concealed' in a plastic crate placed inside the passenger's trolley bag, customs officers said. In November, customs officers seized a passenger carrying a wriggling live cargo of 12 turtles, and a month before, four hornbill birds, all on planes arriving from Thailand. In September, two passengers were arrested with five juvenile caimans, a reptile in the alligator family.
CTV News
14 hours ago
- CTV News
Japan is a model of cleanliness. So where are all the trash cans?
The new solar-powered trash cans on a street in CNN Newsource Professor Chris McMorran teaches Japanese studies at the National University of Singapore, where his work focuses on serious and important topics like labour, gender and marginalized communities. But when he takes his students to Japan, one major question invariably emerges: why aren't there any trash cans? It's a common refrain, especially among the Western travelers who flock to Japan in increasing numbers every year: how can the country be so clean and organized when there doesn't seem to be a way to dispose of garbage in public places? McMorran's students are not the only ones with that question. Earlier this year, the Japanese National Tourism Organization (JNTO) conducted a survey of passengers leaving Japan and asked what logistical challenges they faced during their trip. The number one response? A lack of trash cans. Twenty-two percent of tourists cited the difficulty of finding a place to throw away garbage as the single biggest issue they'd dealt with during their trip, ahead of a lack of English speakers (15%) and overcrowding at popular attractions (13%). There are a few different ways to address the trash disposal question, but they generally involve the unique cadences of Japanese etiquette. 'This (lack of trash cans) can be a nuisance particularly for budget-conscious young travelers,' says McMorran. 'Instead of sitting down for a meal at a restaurant, they are more likely to grab an onigiri at a convenience store or an Instagrammable dessert at a stall. Once they finish eating, they search in vain for a place to throw the waste.' He notes that while local Japanese people also buy food and drinks from vending machines or kombini (convenience stores), the difference is that they don't necessarily consume these products on the street. It's considered bad manners to eat while walking — to the point where some cities in Japan have outright barred the practice. Instead, it's more common to take these grab-and-go foods to their home or office, eat it there, and then dispose of the trash. If they do eat while out on the go, most people keep a small bag with them where they can stow trash until they get home. The effect of tourism growth Mass tourism is causing problems with Japan's public trash situation. For example, travelers come from around the world to visit the UNESCO-listed city of Nara, a 45-minute bullet train ride east of Osaka. While the city is home to historic temples and Buddhist artifacts, its most famous residents are wild deer which are known for taking crackers from visitors and 'bowing' to say thank you. Trash, though, has become a life-or-death issue for the deer: nine died in 2019 after eating plastic waste that was left on the ground by tourists. Trash cans were removed from Nara's parks in 1985 to prevent deer from trying to eat out of them. Signs throughout the city cautioned people not to litter as eating trash or food outside of their diet could be harmful for the deer. As the number of travelers increased, it became clear that the posted signs weren't enough, and people weren't following the local custom of taking their trash away with them. The city has since reconsidered its policy and installed several trash bins near the busiest tourist areas. The solar-powered trash cans are printed with 'Save the deer' in English. Tokyo's cool Shibuya neighborhood has also struggled to cope with tourists and the trash they leave behind. Local politicians have cracked down on the notoriously riotous Halloween celebrations and made it illegal to consume alcohol on the street — partly to reduce noise complaints, but also to curb the amount of litter. On TikTok, videos about Japanese etiquette for tourists abound, with some travelers comparing Japan favorably to Canada and the US in its approach to public hygiene or offering tips about where to find a trash can when you really need one (many vending machines have a small one next to them). For some tourists, the lack of easily findable rubbish bins is another charming quirk of Japanese culture. For other visitors, it's a nuisance that dimishes the enjoyment of their vacation. Hong Kong resident Ruben Verebes is in the latter camp. He visited Japan for the first time in September 2024 and said he was annoyed by the difficulty of finding a place to throw litter away. 'It is infuriating to walk around Tokyo the whole day, racking up 20,000-plus steps on your feet, and not find a single bin to throw away your plastic wrapping from your sandwich,' he says. 'Some 7-Eleven, Family Mart or Lawson stores didn't even have rubbish bins to use, so you are left to hold these dirty wrappers or bottles all day until you get back to your hotel. (It's) great that the streets are clean, but it is annoying having to hold (trash) all day long.' Paul Christie, CEO of travel company Walk Japan, says he focuses on the values of respect and community when he fields questions from clients about the lack of trash cans. 'The Japanese prize cleanliness and cooperate as a society to make it so, the result being that their country rates highly in the neat and tidy stakes,' he tells CNN. 'In the end,' Christie says, 'Japanese communities have made the decision to avoid the nuisance and cost of public garbage cans, and Japanese consumers have accepted the burden of having a disposal plan when they purchase something.' Japan has made a huge push for its citizens to recycle, which is another reason for the small sizes of trash cans. McMorran, the Japanese studies professor, says that some municipalities have as many as 20 different categories of recyclable items, and even some locals can find it challenging to sort them all and throw out everything correctly. 'The spotless public transport system is an excellent example where all passengers treat the stations, trains, buses and fellow travelers with respect and act accordingly.' A darker undercurrent Beyond the topics of cleanliness and hygiene, there's a bleaker reason behind the lack of trash cans in public areas. On March 20, 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult carried out sarin gas attacks on several Tokyo subway trains, killing 14 people and injuring at least 5,500 more. The cult members brought plastic packets of sarin onto subway cars, dropped them on the floor, and then punctured the bags with umbrella tips as they left the train. Several subway workers who attempted to clean up the spill and help passengers escape were among those who died. The incident shocked Japan and changed the country forever. One aftereffect was the removal of trash cans from subway and train stations. While some still exist, they feature clear plastic bags that enable police officers to easily see what's inside, rather than the dark metal cylinders used in the past. And this phenomenon isn't isolated to Japan. Many trash cans were removed from London Underground stations and major intersections throughout the UK capital following several bombings by the paramilitary Irish Republican Army in the 1970s. Japanese authorities also closely monitor terror incidents overseas. Two Japanese rail lines stopped maintaining trash cans after train bombings in Madrid in 2004, citing concerns about terrorism. There is a creative solution for travelers worried about how to carry their waste during the day. Furoshiki are square pieces of cloth used to wrap items, and nearly every souvenir shop in Japan will have some. They can work in the short term for carrying trash until finding a bin, then can serve decorative purposes back home after the vacation.
National Post
18 hours ago
- National Post
ImmunAbs Announces FDA Phase 2 IND Approval of IM-101, a Novel Complement C5 Inhibitor, for Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis
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