I was going to write up my Grassroots Summit post, but earlier this week, some exciting news came in the form of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Sir John B. Gurdon and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka received this year's prize for their discovery of a specialized cell's ability to be reprogrammed into an immature state that allows it to develop ( Read more... )

It has been a while since I've updated with earthquake and tsunami relief information. The news in America has all but ceased coverage, and life in some areas have returned to normal. However, rebuilding entire towns takes years so this post serves a dual purpose of showing that every little bit does count for something and of keeping you updated ( Read more... )

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Miyagi around 11:30 PM Thursday. Power has been down in the cities my friends are located. The good news is that there doesn't seem to be much damage or more casualties, and the tsunami warning was called off. Gambatte, Nippon!Unfortunately, there was bad news earlier this week. The body of missing JET Monty ( Read more... )

I was thinking about making a more light-hearted post, but the disasters in Japan still weigh heavily on my mind and heart. Plus, I want to recognize the hard work people have put into raising money for the victims and bring your attention to more charity events, as well as the Taylor Anderson '04 Memorial Fund. It is very admirable that her high ( Read more... )

I wound up not making too many updates on the earthquake. It was just too difficult to keep up with the news while worrying about the well-being of my friends and students. On March 11, I got interviewed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and here's the article. I'm only posting the link here because some of the information is inaccurate. Most of ( Read more... )

I made a quick news post on my Wordpress blog last night, and I have just updated it with information on where you can donate money. Check it out here: Huge earthquake, tsunamis hit Japan.

Added March 12, 2011
Made an update post: Earthquake updates and a word from Gackt

I'm lazy/running short on time right now so I'm just going to link you to my latest blog post on Wordpress: Tokyo scientists make Sudoku-solving E.coli

You've probably seen the article already, but none of them really explain how and the Youtube videos are chock full of jargon. I try my best to relay what's going on without getting too technical.

Mainichi Japan has released the top baby names for 2010 in Japan, according to a survey conducted by Benesse Corp.

Before I unveil the top 3, what are your favorite Japanese names? 
Would you ever give you child a Japanese name?

( It was Sophia and Aiden in America... )

This is a quick post, as I came across this cool piece of news yesterday.

One American and two Japanese scientists took the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, and Akira Suzuki received the award for their developments in the synthesis of organic molecules through palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings.  In non-scientist ( Read more... )

I had no idea under which day I should categorize this English-language web series since it starred Jonathan Sherr of recent My Darling is a Foreigner fame and reminded me of my experiences as an assistant language teacher.  Not that the day matters since I'm behind on posting entries.  I stuck it under my miscellaneous "Tokidoki Tuesdays" because ( Read more... )