In this blog post, we will examine the role of β-amyloid, which is believed to be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, and the current state of neuroscientific research to understand why a cure is so difficult to find. What is neuroscience? Many people today do not know what neuroscience is. In a nutshell, neuroscience is the study of the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and...
In this blog post, we introduce the principle of natural cooling utilising the unique ventilation structure of termite mounds and examples of energy-saving architecture that imitate this principle. Mick Pearce, an environmental architect from Zimbabwe, built the East Gate Shopping Centre, a naturally air-conditioned building without air conditioners, in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe...
In this blog post, we will look at how the Iron Man suit, which is a fictional creation in the movies, is connected to actual technological developments, as well as the current capabilities and limitations of the technology. Humans cannot evolve their bodies any further through natural means, so we must combine with machines to evolve our bodies. -Stephen Hawking Nowadays, with advanced...
In this blog post, we take a balanced look at the positive impact of the Ice Bucket Challenge, as well as its limitations and the controversy surrounding its authenticity. Do you remember the Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in the summer of 2014? The Ice Bucket Challenge was a relay donation campaign to raise awareness of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a rare disease, and to...
In this blog post, we will examine how Ananke, the goddess of fate in ancient Greek mythology, expanded into the concepts of mechanism and teleology in the development of philosophy. In ancient Greek mythology, Ananke is a goddess who symbolises inevitable fate and necessity. At a time when the mythological imagination dominated the way people viewed the world, Ananke had the meaning of...
In this blog post, we will analyse the causes of sinkholes from a geological perspective and examine whether they are natural disasters or man-made disasters. One of the unfamiliar terms that has been appearing frequently in the news lately is ‘sinkhole.’ A sinkhole is a phenomenon in which the ground collapses due to a change in the state of the earth’s crust, weakening the force...
In this blog post, we will explore how deep-sea sediments can provide scientific clues about past marine environments and climate change. Among the various sediments found on the deep seabed, those created by the skeletons and fragments of organisms are called biogenic sediments. The most common biogenic sediment on the deep seabed is ooze. It is mainly formed by the shells and skeletons...
In this blog post, we will explore the physiological mechanism by which newborns utilise brown adipose tissue to maintain their body temperature, as well as its medical potential. When adults feel cold, they generate heat through actions such as shivering to maintain their body temperature. This is a natural response of the body. When the external temperature drops, the nervous system...
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at how visual information received through the eyes is processed in the brain and how we perceive the world. We can obtain external information about objects within the range of our eyes, such as their colour, texture, thickness, and size. By recognising the objective and external characteristics of the objects around us, we obtain clues that...
In this blog post, we look at how advances in sports technology have affected performance and fairness, using the example of high-tech swimsuits. In 2008, when the swimwear company Speedo developed and unveiled a swimsuit using cutting-edge materials and technology called ‘Laser Racer,’ the term ‘technological doping’ began to be used in the swimming world. Of the 25 world records set at...