On the slopes of Mount Gassan, one of many three sacred peaks of the Dewa Sanzan within the coronary heart of Yamagata Prefecture, colourful patches of snow are piquing the curiosity of Japan’s geoscientists.
That curiosity, nonetheless, doesn’t stem from the vibrancy they convey to a distant, wintry panorama. Instead, it’s how they have an effect on the pure steadiness in weak ecosystems and their potential to perpetuate local weather warming that has scientists conducting analysis on the 1,984 meter peak.
They are a results of snow algae, which thrive on melting snow surfaces. These colourful organisms proliferate all through the snowpack every spring when elevated solar depth, vitamins and water availability present favorable circumstances for his or her development. First, snow algae cells flip from spores into motile cells, after which they swim from the soil to the snow’s floor, the place they photosynthesize and reproduce to type dense “blooms” of inexperienced, orange or pink on the thawing snow.
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World’s first case of tick-borne Oz virus confirmed in Japan
NHK – Jun 24
Japan’s well being ministry says a girl in her 70s who died final yr has been discovered to be the primary case of an infectious illness attributable to the Oz virus within the nation, and likewise the primary on the earth. Hard ticks are believed to be carriers of the virus.

Japan’s 1st lunar lander unveiled to media
NHK – Jun 05
Japan’s area company has unveiled to the media its first lunar explorer at its area middle in Kagoshima Prefecture. The probe is known as the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM.
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