Latest news with #HokkaidoUniversity
The Mainichi
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Century-old former Russian Consulate in Hokkaido reborn as hotel
HAKODATE, Hokkaido (Kyodo) -- The former Russian Consulate in Hakodate, Hokkaido, built in 1908 by the Russian Empire and featured in the popular manga "Golden Kamuy," will reopen as a luxury hotel in July after remaining vacant for nearly 30 years. The redbrick building, perched on a hill with sweeping views of Hakodate Port, has been reborn as Hotel Biaclyn Hakodate, a six-suite wellness retreat featuring a blend of Western architecture and Japanese design. After serving as a consulate for 36 years, it was acquired by the city following World War II and is the only surviving building of its kind in Japan from the imperial Russia era. The building was used as a youth training facility until 1996 and then remained closed to the public. In 2021, Nagoya-based automotive chemicals wholesaler Sovereign Corp. purchased the property and set the gears of restoration in motion, starting renovations around two years later. The company's president, Hiromasa Murase, and his wife Shiho Tanimura both have a strong connection to Hakodate as they previously lived in the city. They also studied at Hokkaido University. The project was overseen by Tanimura, an author who featured the former Russian Consulate in her novel "Kurokami" (Black Hair). Opening on July 12, Hotel Biaclyn Hakodate will feature two suites in the consulate wing and four in a newly added wellness wing, all equipped with private saunas. A one-night stay with two meals costs 319,000 yen ($2,200) for two adults. The main dining restaurant, which launched in May together with a sushi restaurant and bar, offers dishes paying homage to Hokkaido ingredients, as well as Russian piroshki pies served as an amuse-bouche. Hotel manager Yuichi Haseyama, 56, said that in addition to the building exterior, elements like the original fittings of the bar and wooden wainscoting have also been preserved. "We want to protect and nurture this historical building that is loved by the local community," said Haseyama. "I believe this (hotel) will become a new attraction for Hakodate tourism."
SoraNews24
17 hours ago
- Science
- SoraNews24
Highly toxic plant found for first time in Japan on Hokkaido University campus
Just a little touch will pack a punch. The Hokkaido University campus in Sapporo recently had a brand new visitor in the form of a gigantic and highly toxic plant. It's called the giant hogweed and its name is no exaggeration as the ones found were identified by their height of around three meters (10 feet). The giant hogweed can get even taller, up to around five meters (16 feet), and has a rather innocuous weed-like appearance that belies the dangers that lurk within it. The plant's sap contains a phototoxic substance that, when in contact with the skin and exposed to sunlight, causes severe swelling and blistering. ▼ News report on the discovered giant hogweed Hokkaido University quickly cordoned off the area and cut down the plants, but the unexpected presence of them could suggest that there's giant hogweed elsewhere in Sapporo or even in other parts of Japan. It's unclear how the plants got to the campus in the first place but an expert suggested that seeds may have been accidentally carried on someone's shoes or clothing. News reports have been calling the giant hogweed 'one of the most dangerous plants in the world' and if you google 'most dangerous plants in the world' it actually does appear among hemlock and nightshade in the top nine. However, it's not known to be lethal, with the worst effect being temporary blindness if the sap gets in your eyes and is activated by UV rays. ▼ In The Walking Dead , Aaron gets attacked by a zombie with giant hogweed on it and is blinded by the plant. However, that's a scientific goof because it was at night and he probably wouldn't have been blinded until the following morning when the sun activated the phototoxins. He also would have had to wear sunglasses for a long time afterward (warning: this video contains lots of violence). The other good news is that giant hogweed is only dangerous when the sap is touched. Its phototoxins cannot be spread any other way, such as over the wind, but nevertheless, the effects of touching it are about as unpleasant as it gets. If you happen to come into contact with it, wash the area as soon as possible, doing so carefully to avoid spreading it to other parts of your skin. Also, handle clothing carefully while cleaning it. If skin irritation does occur it can be alleviated with topical steroids, but for the most part you'll just have to wait it out for a few days. Affected areas will also be extra sensitive to sunlight possibly for years after exposure, so sunblock or long sleeves may be needed, even if it does draw the attention of the police. You're better off preventing it from ever happening by keeping your eyes peeled for plants that look like the giant hogweed and reporting them to your local authorities as soon as possible so they can dispose of them safely. There is a good chance it might just be a less hazardous hogweed species, but better safe than blistery. Source: STV News NNN, Itai News, Gouvernement du Quebéc Featured image: Wikipedia/ ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
100-Million-Year-Old Rock Reveals 40 Never-Before-Seen Squid Species
The high seas of the dinosaur era were teeming with a plethora of squids, a new study has found. Using a new technique for analyzing fossils locked away in chunks of rock, paleontologists in Japan and Germany have discovered a huge number of fossilized cephalopod beaks in a 100-million-year-old rock. That included 263 squid samples – and among these samples lurked 40 species of ancient squids that scientists had never seen before. It's a finding that reveals just how numerous squids were in the Cretaceous ocean, even though their fossilized remains are rarely found. Related: "In both number and size, these ancient squids clearly prevailed the seas," says paleobiologist Shin Ikegami of Hokkaido University, first author of the research. "Their body sizes were as large as fish and even bigger than the ammonites we found alongside them. This shows us that squids were thriving as the most abundant swimmers in the ancient ocean." To make a fossil, you generally need body parts that take a long time to decay, so that the long, often rigorous fossilization process has time to take place without destroying the remains. Most fossils are bone, tooth, shell, and claw; soft body parts require exceptional fossilization circumstances. Squids consist mostly of soft body parts. The one exception is their hard, chitinous beak. Squid beaks that manage to survive on the fossil record of Earth's history would be vital for understanding how these fascinating cephalopods – a group of animals that includes octopuses, nautiluses, and cuttlefish – emerged and evolved over their 500 million years on this Earth. Prior to this study, only one single fossilized squid beak had been found. Many small marine fossils, however, are deposited in jumbled assemblages that are difficult to extract and study. To discover their remarkable beak assemblage, the researchers turned to a technique called grinding tomography. Basically, scientists gradually sand away a rock sample, thin layer by thin layer, imaging each layer in high resolution as they go. The sample itself is destroyed. But the resulting images can then be compiled digitally to reveal the interior contents of the rock in three dimensions – including highly detailed, 3D reconstructions of the fossils therein, which usually would only be accessible in two-dimensional slices. Ikegami and his colleagues used this technique to reconstruct a piece of fossil-riddled rock dating back to around 100 million years ago. Inside was a dense assemblage of animal remnants, including some 1,000 cephalopod beaks, among which the squid beaks emerged. These beaks were tiny and thin, ranging in length from 1.23 to 19.32 millimeters, with an average length of 3.87 millimeters, about 6 percent of the size of the only previously known fossil squid beak. The minimum thickness of these beaks was always less than 10 micrometers, the scientists found. "These results show that numerous squid beaks are hidden as millimeter-scaled microfossils and explain why they have been overlooked in previous studies," the scientists write in their paper. Based on these results, the researchers inferred that the Cretaceous squid biomass would have far exceeded the biomasses of fishes and ammonites, and that squid diversification had absolutely exploded by around 100 million years ago. This is in stark contrast to the previous assumption that squids only began to thrive on Earth after the mass extinction that brought about the end of the dinosaur age, some 66 million years ago. "These findings change everything we thought we knew about marine ecosystems in the past," says paleontologist Yasuhiro Iba of Hokkaido University. "Squids were probably the pioneers of fast and intelligent swimmers that dominate the modern ocean." The research has been published in Science. Sea Slugs Steal Body Parts From Prey to Gain Their Powers Earth Is Pulsing Beneath Africa Where The Crust Is Being Torn Apart Strange Cellular Entity Challenges Very Definition of Life Itself
Japan Forward
19-06-2025
- Science
- Japan Forward
New Tyrannosauroid Species Offers Clues to Dino Evolution
A species of tyrannosauroid was discovered among fossils excavated from Late Cretaceous rock layers in Mongolia. The fossil dates back approximately 90 million years. The international research team behind the discovery included researchers from Hokkaido University, the University of Calgary in Canada, and other institutions. They named the species Khankhuuluu mongoliensis and published their findings in the June 12 issue of the British scientific journal Nature . This discovery offers a new perspective on the origin and evolution of tyrannosaurs. The team explained that this new species was actually discovered among fossils collected around 50 years ago in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. Khankhuuluu had a slender body, similar to juvenile tyrannosaurs, and weighed less than 500 kilograms (1102 lbs). Its leg shape and other features were distinct enough from known tyrannosaurs to classify it as a new species. A robot of a Tyrannosaurus at the Ibaraki Nature Museum in 2018. (©Sankei by Takeo Kusashita) Tyrannosauridae is a family of dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies, including the Tyrannosaurus. Until the discovery of Khankhuuluu, it was believed that tyrannosaurs originated in North America. However, the new evidence suggests their ancestors first appeared in Asia and later migrated back and forth between Asia and North America, evolving into larger forms over time. Moreover, Khankhuuluu is thought to be the common ancestor not only of large tyrannosaurs but also of Alioramus , a related species weighing around 750 kilograms, offering important clues about their evolution. Professor Kaiji Kobayashi from the Hokkaido University Museum, part of the research team, said, "The discovery of Khankhuuluu has clarified the origin and evolutionary process of large tyrannosaurs. We plan to continue our research to better understand the migration routes tyrannosaurs took between Asia and North America." ( Read the article in Japanese . ) Author: The Sankei Shimbun
South China Morning Post
10-06-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
In Japan, Nara Park's famed deer could face food crisis in winter as acorn trees cut down
A move to cut down acorn-bearing trees in Japan's Nara Park has sparked concern among researchers about the survival of the attraction's free-roaming deer during the harsh winter. Acorns serve as a vital food source for deer, while the trees also provide critical shelter, with the animals often gathering beneath dense canopies for warmth and protection in the colder months. 'The base of these trees becomes a critical place that determines whether the deer can survive winter,' said Shiro Tatsuzawa, a deer-population expert at Hokkaido University, according to Japanese television news station MBS. Tatsuzawa voiced his concern for the animals after discovering an increasing number of fresh stumps in the park. 'Nobody seems to be considering things from the deer's perspective,' he said. About 1,400 deer live within the 502 hectares of Nara Park. The tree removal is part of Nara Park's broader 2012 Landscape Plan, implemented since 2019, which seeks to restore the park's Meiji-era scenery in 1880 – a landscape designated as a national cultural property in 1922. The scheme involves replacing large trees with traditional species like pine and cherry.
