Kurashi - News From Japan

I'm not sure why these issues keep coming back again and again. Why all kinds of scientific papers are being published without proper guidance and control and peer review. Seems to me it points to some more fundamental problem. I blogged about the South Korean cloning scandal ( Dr. Hwang ) and now we see the same thing happen again in Japan? This time it is another claim that genetically engineered stem cells can cure all kinds of genetic diseases. Did these people not learn a thing? Sorry, we do not believe you. You use genetically modified animals for your studies: mice that have been transmogrified to develop cancer more easily and rapidly for your research purposes. Most people are kept in the dark about their suffering, but you push on, funded by tax payers - and then you don't even take sufficient care to NOT fake images and make claims, just to get published? And you patent your methods, clearly in order to make profits, rather than create benefits for societ...

Let's have a bit of fun and see where this will take us. I'm sure all of you have your favourite film with a reference to Japan. In fact, there are countless. Here is my very tentative list, in no particular order: The Tea House of the August Moon (1956) In which Marlon Brando portrays Sakini, an Okinawan who tries to work with the occupying Americans, reviving some of the island’s tradition and heritage. Pentagon-shaped school house? Not exactly what everyone wants. The local brew and suspicions regarding prostitution said to have caused quite a stir back in America. Should be watched together with: Sayonara (1957) Again, the topic of international marriage is raised, with dire consequences for the couple who defies the US military ban on such practices. Based on a novel by James Michener. The air base is Itami near Kobe, with some great scenes from the hills of that city back in the day. Won several Academy Awards. A decade later, it was technology that seem...