As mines around the world slow output in response to the coronavirus pandemic, threatening tighter supplies of precious metals, one resource-poor country is ready to step into the void: Japan.
The rocket engine roared to life with a burst of bright orange flame, firing at 70% of full power for five seconds in a test that featured fuel used to power much of the planet but not harassed to reach outer space: liquefied natural gas.
Japanese scientists doing groundbreaking research in Antarctica say warm seawater flowing deep beneath a glacier may hold the key to rising sea levels rather than warmer air melting the ice sheets.
Researchers have developed a new way to locate habitats of the elusive dugong, an endangered type of sea cow, by analyzing DNA left behind in the water from its skin and saliva.
If it proves effective, it could lead to better preservation of a species nearing extinction.
The new technique, created by scientists from the Ryukoku University’s Graduate School of Science and Technology in Otsu and the Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie Prefecture, is expected to lead to a better understanding of the marine mammal’s ecology and distribution.