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The University of Tokyo just covered a robot finger with real skin. The jokes write themselves…
Skin is also just the first step in combining organic matter with machines, and opens the door for incorporating nerves and sensory organs such as olfactory receptors which can detect scents. https://soranews24.com/2022/06/16/robot-finger-covered-in-living-skin-developed-by-university-of-tokyo/ The original report was published online by the U of Tokyo before it was covered last week by several online sources, including WebMD, […]
Amino acids found in material brought back by Hayabusa-2
More than 20 types of amino acids have been detected in samples Japan’s Hayabusa2 space probe brought to Earth from an asteroid in late 2020, a government official said Monday, showing for the first time the organic compounds exist on asteroids in space. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/06/9a7dbced6c3a-amino-acids-found-in-asteroid-samples-collected-by-hayabusa2-probe.html This lends support to the hypothesis that life on Earth was […]
Madam, I’m ADAM
<It has become more and more difficult to share images and quotes from websites that apparently refuse to allow WordPress to share content, so I am borderline “ef it” at this point.”> This used to be a gif, but apparently I’m not allowed to download it as such, and even as a “webp” (whatever the […]
Top Posts & Pages
- “Japan should rethink gender roles”? Yeah, no kidding
- Ten Years of Taking Leave
- First Year Wall (Part 2) - The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
- The First Year Wall (Part 1) - Gakudo and the Kid
- End of an Era: Goodbye, Nursery School
- Death of a Cherry Tree
- How Do You Talk to Your Kids About Dying?
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© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Category Archives: food
Kaiten Zushi Magic
Last week, my youngest daughter turned 5. Because three of us (both daughters and myself) were recovering from the mumps, we cancelled her birthday party and rescheduled it for the 14th. As a reward to both girls for their hard … Continue reading
O-shougatsu
New Year’s lasts one night of drinks and one day of college football in the US, but in Japan the holidays lasts for three days. Actually, for many the New Year’s holidays start on December 29th, giving the typical worker a … Continue reading
Party Hardy, Daddy & Mommy!
There are lots of parties in Japan. Parties when people get hired. Parties when people retire. Parties when a sporting event is held. Parties when a building is officially opened. Parties to “forget the year,” and parties to start the new one. Even parties to celebrate the release of a new book. Continue reading