2010-05-06
Japanese group aims to put humanoid robot on moon by
 Looking largely to inspire dreams of space among the Japanese, a manufacturing cooperative named Astro-Technology SOHLA announced on April 27th that they are planning to create and send a two-legged humanoid robot to the moon, have it draw the Japanese flag on the surface, and then hopefully get it back to the Earth, all by the year 2015. Making inspirational ideas about space technology a reality is not new to the Osaka-based cooperative of six small and medium sized enterprises. SOHLA had previously built a small-scale satellite, named Maido-1, as a demonstration of the ability of SMEs to research and create short-term, low-cost space technology which could help improve local economic activity. |
| Apr 29 | Crested ibis throws out 3rd and last egg from nest (AP) |
| A crested ibis on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, threw the remaining egg out of its nest Thursday afternoon, the Environment Ministry said, dashing hopes for the first birth of an ibis chick in the wild in Japan in 34 years. The ministry said there are no more eggs in the nest of the 4-year-old male and 1-year-old female ibis, which threw out an egg a week ago and another on Monday. |
| Apr 29 | JR Tokai maglev runs into snag (Japan Times) |
|  The launch of maglev services between Tokyo and Nagoya, scheduled for 2025, may be postponed by several years due to financial troubles at Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) stemming from the 2008 global recession, sources said Wednesday. JR Tokai announced in 2007 that it aims to open the Tokyo-Nagoya line for magnetically levitated trains in 2025, but its income from the Tokaido Shinkansen Line has been affected by a drop in business travel following the so-called Lehman shock. |
| Apr 28 | Group of chimpanzees observed treating their deceased children as alive (Mainichi) |
|  A group of chimpanzees in Bossou, Guinea, have been observed on three occasions carrying, grooming, and playing with the remains of deceased baby chimpanzees, suggesting a precursor to humans' care for the dead, according to researchers from Kyoto University. The research team, including professor Tetsuro Matsuzawa and assistant professor Misato Hayashi of Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute, observed the deceased baby chimpanzees being carried around and cared for on multiple occasions. |
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