Latest news with #NagasakiUniversity
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Science
- Asahi Shimbun
Study: Water bugs with wider paternal care get more mates
A male giant water bug with eggs on its back and a female bug (Provided by Shinya Oba, an associate professor of biology at Nagasaki University) Men desperate for affection from females could learn a lesson from the mating habits of giant water bugs. According to a study by researchers from Hiroshima Shudo University, Nagasaki University and Shinshu University, male giant water bugs that show tenderness and care for a wider number of potential offspring--even those of other fathers--are particularly popular among female bugs. Giant water bugs are about 2 centimeters long and found primarily in rice paddies and reservoirs. Females of the aquatic species lay their eggs on males' backs during breeding season from spring to summer. The variant, closely related to the shield bug, is called 'kooimushi' (baby-carrying insect) in Japanese. It takes about 10 days to two weeks for the eggs to hatch. Males are occasionally loaded with more than 100 eggs during the process. This heavy burden makes it impossible for males to fly. Despite the escalated risk of predation, the males regularly rise to the water surface to provide oxygen to the eggs. The devoted insect fathers also stretch their legs over their backs to brush dirt off the eggs and keep them in good condition. The study to determine bug popularity was started in 2012 by Tomoya Suzuki, an assistant professor of biology at Hiroshima Shudo University. Suzuki belonged to the graduate school of Shinshu University at the time. Twenty male and 20 female giant water bugs were collected in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and placed in a breeding cage for voluntary mating. The team of scientists determined the parentage of 390 of the 2,640 hatched larvae through DNA data. The genetic analysis found that males that carried more eggs tended to produce more descendants in their lifetimes. The scientists also found that an average of 35 percent of the eggs carried by the males were offspring of other males. The results confirmed the hypothesis in previous research by Shinya Oba, an associate professor of biology at Nagasaki University and a member of the team. Oba theorized that 'males who closely care for eggs are more often chosen by females for mating partners.' 'It has been confirmed that even if the eggs come from other males, bearing more of them on their backs increases the likelihood that they will further propagate,' Suzuki said. PATERNAL BUG CARE According to the research team, male insects rarely care for eggs or larvae on their own. This behavioral pattern, called paternal care, has also been observed in bird and fish species. As paternal care naturally takes a heavy toll on males, such behavior was believed limited to circumstances in which the biological relationship between fathers and children was certain. The water bug research has cast doubt on this conventional notion. The team's findings were published in the international academic journal Ecology and Evolution in late April. The researchers plan to examine paternal care styles in the Japanese giant salamander and millipede species.
Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Neuroscience of Zen: How gardens help our brains
By Stephen Beech Well-designed gardens help people relax straight away, as we look at them differently, suggests new research. Our gaze shifts quicker and more often in specially devised green spaces, say scientists. They believe it could be "key" to understanding the relaxing effects gardens can have on viewers. The international research team believes their findings help people affected by neurodegenerative diseases. They explained that observation gardens are specifically designed to let the viewer's gaze wander, but can also fulfil other functions, such as providing aid for meditation. The team investigated what it is about those gardens that makes people feel more relaxed when they sit down to observe them. They assessed the impact of the Murin-an garden in Kyoto, Japan, and compared it to a less vigorously maintained garden. Study first author Professor Seiko Goto said: "Well-designed Japanese gardens have evocative and abstract sceneries designed in great detail. "These sceneries encourage the viewer to observe longer to understand the composition and meaning of the scenery, while the gaze wanders more and faster." Study senior author Professor Karl Herrup, a neurobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh said: "We found a correlation of rapid gaze shifts and a reduction in heart rate and improved mood. "The reduction in stress experienced by viewers of a well-crafted Japanese garden is largely due to the design features that lead the viewer to engage in frequent, rapid horizontal shifts in gaze." During a day of maintenance in 2023, the research team was able to get undisturbed access to the Murin-an garden. Similarly, the garden located at Kyoto University was visited little during the time they conducted the experiment there. A total of 16 students observed both gardens for seven minutes. The researchers recorded eye movements, heart rates before and during the observation, and mood before and after viewing the gardens. Unlike in the university garden, in the Murin-an garden, viewers' fixation points were spread more widely, covering the entirety of the field of view. Goto, a researcher at Nagasaki University in Japan who specialises in landscape architecture, said: "To induce such close attention of the viewer, not only the quality of design but also the quality of the maintenance is important. "Viewers' gaze keeps moving to seek more fascination on the well-pruned trees and speckless ground." All the participants also indicated that they felt more relaxed, liked, and wanted to revisit the Murin-an garden more than the university garden. The Murin-an garden also produced a calming effect on heart rate and improved mood. The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, could have some similarities to other therapies that utilise eye movement to reduce stress. They say other gardens could have a similar effect on onlookers, but the positioning of design elements is "crucial". While both gardens incorporated water features, stones, trees, and a bridge, in the Murin-an garden, the viewer's gaze is guided through horizontally arranged elements. But in the university garden, the objects of greatest interest are in the centre of the visual field. Herrup said: "The Murin-an garden was designed as a viewing garden that should be appreciated from a specific vantage point relative to the design elements. "It is this attention to detail that coaxes the eyes into the patterns that relieve stress." The researchers said their work might help people affected by neurodegenerative diseases. Goto said: "Gardens are generally seen as a hobby for the wealthy, but if appreciating Japanese gardens can induce a relaxing effect, which intuitively everyone feels, it could be used as a form of therapy in hospitals and welfare facilities." She added, "I think it would be good if Japanese gardens are built not just as a luxury but as a means of mental care in our aging society." The post Neuroscience of Zen: How gardens help our brains appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
NHK
15-05-2025
- Health
- NHK
Scientists examine wild bats in Vietnam to prepare for future pandemic
A team from the University of Tokyo has begun a survey of wild bats in Vietnam to look for a virus with the potential to cause another pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is thought to have been caused by a virus that jumped from a wild animal to humans. Health experts have warned that another previously unknown virus could spread from wild animals to humans. A research team at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science plans to take samples in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Malaysia. On Monday, the group started work in a cave in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai, targeting a particular species of wild bat known to host COVID-19 and other viruses. The survey is being conducted with Japan's Nagasaki University and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. Samples taken from the bats are being analyzed at a laboratory in Vietnam to see what kinds of pathogen they contain and whether any of them may be infectious to humans. The team hopes the data could be used to develop vaccines or treatments. Professor Sato Kei, the head of the project team, says identifying and analyzing previously unknown high-risk viruses from wild animals will go a long way toward preparing for a future pandemic.
South China Morning Post
08-02-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
In Japan, fears of ‘hellish pandemic' mount over virus lab in Nagasaki
An advanced laboratory at Japan 's Nagasaki University specialising in the study of the deadliest viruses known to man has triggered widespread safety concerns about the facility's security despite official assurances. Advertisement The Japanese ministry of health confirmed last month that the biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) laboratory at the university's Sakamoto campus has met the required standards for researching lethal haemorrhagic fever viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, Crimean-Congo, Lasa and South American. Scientists have started training at the laboratory. BSL-4 is the highest level of biosafety precautions such as for facilities designed to study agents for which there are no available treatments or vaccines. Equipment in a BSL-4 laboratory is designed to have no sharp edges that could snag a scientist's protective suit. Such a facility is equipped with systems to prevent agents from escaping into the surrounding environment and decontamination showers for personnel. Eiichiro Watanabe, a director of the BSL-4 liaison office, said every precaution had been taken to ensure the security of the facility and that discussions were ongoing with people living nearby. 'The facility is in the trial phase at the moment and no level-4 pathogens have been brought in yet,' Watanabe told This Week in Asia. 'We are currently carrying out training before we go into full operation.' Advertisement The university has been seeking approval to open the facility for 15 years, a delay that has led to other countries racing ahead of Japan to study pathogens and develop effective vaccines. At present, more than 20 countries operate about 60 BSL-4 facilities, many at universities.
