Yumi Nakayama

Sep 28, 2024 | asahi.com | Yumi Nakayama

Real estate developers are employing early warning technology that shuts down elevators in their buildings in central Tokyo ahead of the arrival of seismic waves from earthquakes striking in remote regions. The new technology also allows swift damage estimates to be made for a head start on recovery operations.

Jul 25, 2024 | asahi.com | Yumi Nakayama

The first Japanese recorded to have set foot in Tibet was a monk, in 1900, seeking a purer version of Buddhism than the one in his homeland. What remained unclear was the route Ekai Kawaguchi (1866-1945) took to enter Tibet, tucked deep in the mountains and closed to foreigners, at a time when no decent map was available. Now, a Japanese alpinist reckons he has finally filled in the holes on that part of Ekai’s epic journey.

Jul 16, 2024 | asahi.com | Yumi Nakayama

An agave “century plant” said to bloom only once every 100 years has begun to open its bushy yellow blossoms in Hibiya Park in Tokyo. Locals and foreign tourists alike crowded into the park on July 14 to see and photograph the rare flowers. The plant is an agave americana glowing near the pelican fountain in the first flower bed of the park. One park staff member noticed on May 17 that the center stem had started to grow and confirmed that it was blooming on July 10.

Apr 20, 2024 | asahi.com | Yumi Nakayama

Volcanic Miyakejima in the Izu island chain about 180 kilometers south of Tokyo is a piece of paradise as well as a haven for wild birds. Tairo-ike pond in the southern part of the island was formed by volcanic activity around 2,000 years ago, one of countless eruptions there that have occurred since time immemorial. Surrounded by forests with towering trees, the pond attracts Izu thrushes, “mosuke misosazai,” a subspecies of winter wren, Japanese robins and other wild birds.

Apr 4, 2024 | nature.com | David Reiss |Yumi Nakayama |Andrew P Weng |Christian Steidl |David Scott |C. Chris Huang

To the Editor:A hallmark of hematological malignancies such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is heterogeneity, with contribution from the tumor and its microenvironment. Application of next generation sequencing technology to patient tumor biopsies revealed not only genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of tumor intrinsic heterogeneity [1, 2], but also the complexities of the tumor microenvironment (TME).