News Headlines - 18 January 2019
▽Research on iPS cells now at crucial stage toward their practical use - The Japan News
Research on the treatment of diseases using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can develop into various kinds of human body cells and tissues, is becoming more active.
Besides regenerative medicine, where iPS cells had been expected to prove effective since the early days of their development, the scope of their application is spreading into treatments for cancer and other diseases. The research can be considered to have reached a critical point toward their practical use. The efficacy of such treatments must be firmly ascertained.
Research institute Riken and Chiba University Hospital will jointly attempt to develop the nation’s first cancer treatment using iPS cells. They will start clinical tests as early as this year.
The U.S. military has long experimented with new AI applications, from missile systems to swarms of drones, but the latest focus may be about understanding how the complexities of nature could shape strategies in this field. In a research opportunity posted last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it was "inviting submissions of innovative basic research concepts exploring new computational frameworks and strategies drawn from the impressive computational capabilities of very small flying insects."
▽Saudi teen granted asylum in Canada enjoys red wine and cigarette | Daily Mail Online
A Saudi teenager granted asylum in Canada is continuing to celebrate her freedom and new home - sharing pictures of red wine and a rolled up cigarette.
Rahaf Mohammed, who has renounced her last name al-Qunun after her family disowned her, captured global attention last week after she barricaded herself in an airport hotel room in Bangkok... After being handed over to the UN refugee agency and resettled to Canada, she has spent her first week in her new home enjoying things that were previously forbidden to her in her conservative homeland.
Earlier this week, she shared a snap of her breakfast as she tried Canadian-style bacon for the first time.
▽Heat Waves Are Causing Mass Fish Deaths in Australia - Scientific American
Hundreds of thousands of native fish in Australia’s Darling River have died following a major outbreak of blue–green algae and some severe weather. Two mass die-offs have been reported near Menindee in western New South Wales—the first was late last year, and the second last week.
Outbreaks of blue–green algae (cyanobacteria), which thrive in warm water, are not uncommon during droughts. The algae did not directly cause the mass die-off; rapid cooling and intense rainfall might have disrupted the bloom and depleted the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, killing the fish, said Anthony Townsend, a senior fisheries manager at the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, in a statement.
▽Man City sign defensive midfield hopeful Ko Itakura - Manchester Evening News
he Blues have picked up 21-year-old Ko Itakura from Japanese champions Kawasaki Frontale for a fee reported as being close to £1m, but he has been instantly loaned to Dutch club Groningen for 18 months.
He has been described as a central defender, Itakura has starred for Japan’s under-20 team as a holding midfielder and made all of his starts for Kawasaki as a central midfielder before being moved back into defence during his loan to their J1 League rivals Vegalta Sendai.
A Japan under-21 international, Itakura does not qualify for a UK work permit, but it is understood that he is viewed very much as a City Football Group signing.
