Environment

Japanese general contractor Taisei has developed a technology to lock up carbon dioxide from the air in the process of making concrete, significantly reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas, Nikkei has learned.

The growth of rice stems is controlled by two genes that work like gas and brake pedals, researchers here have discovered, a finding that could lead to the birth of a new flood-resistant, productive crop.

While most snakes swallow their prey whole, one species of snake on Borneo island in Malaysia uses its left and right lower jaws like a knife and fork to separate the nonedible parts. Yosuke Kojima, a research fellow at Toho University, was among a research team that fed river snails to blunthead slug snakes to study how they eat their prey.

Typhoons striking or approaching Japan from the Pacific side of the archipelago have increased by 20 percent over the past 40 years, notably in the Kanto, Tokai, Kinki and Shikoku regions, researchers found.

Japan’s Environment Ministry in cooperation with automakers will begin test development in fiscal 2021 on electric trucks used in logistics operations for convenience stores and other businesses as part an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists say Japanese eels can likely climb a waterfall that drops 46 meters, a finding that could offer clues in helping to combat dwindling numbers of the endangered species.

Faced with declining numbers of honeybees, farmers in Japan are turning to a special breed of flies to pollinate crops.

A high school teacher trying to solve the mystery of why queen Vespula wasps mate with many different males thinks the practice might have evolved to stave off a catastrophic colony collapse.

Tropical corals are increasing and seaweed beds nurturing sea creatures have disappeared in the sea south of Tokyo Bay, local divers and fishers have found, showing the impact of global warming on Japanese waters.

Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, has seen the launch of a string of offshore wind farm projects, as fishing communities hit by declining catches look for other ways to earn a livelihood.