Japanese researchers have succeeded in creating sperm from mice tissue samples. Takehiko Ogawa then used the sperm to fertilize eggs using IVF techniques, which produced 12 pups who went on to have mice families of their own. 

The research promises to open up the possibility of fatherhood for infertile men. In particular, when pre-pubescent men are treated for cancer (radiation or chemotherapy), they often lose the ability to have children when they grow up. Older men don't suffer this problem because they can freeze their sperm for later use.  

Dr. Ogawa stresses that his research is still in its early stages:

"[He] cautioned that the research is still at an early stage – and while it is clear the baby mice produced from the test-tube sperm were fertile, it is unclear if they were healthy in other ways."

In response to the triple disasters in Japan (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear reactors), AT&T is making all calls and text messages to Japan free through the month of March.

“We want to help our customers connect with loved ones in Japan in anyway we can,” said Mark Collins, senior vice president, Voice and Data Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Connecting with family and friends is most important at times like this— we want to make it as easy and worry free as possible for our customers.”

Still available, AT&T wireless customers can text “redcross” to 90999 to give a $10 donation to help the Red Cross with disaster support efforts in the area.  No text message fees apply.

Also, U-verse subscribers will get access to TV Japan, a 24 hour news channel free through March 17. TV Japan can be found on channel 3680

This post will be Logic-Cool's only post today.  Please follow the live coverage and do whatever you feel inspired to do to help.  Our best wishes and prayers to the good people of Japan.

-WZ

Check out the picture down below. See the guy on the right? He's not a guy. His name is Geminoid DK, the third of a series of androids created by professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University and his team at Japan's Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute.

Geminoid DK was constructed to resemble Henrik Scharfe, an associate professor of Aalborg University in Denmark.

Ishiguro maintains that the group's purpose for the Geminoid is to further understand the "emotional affordances" in human-robot interaction.

Oh Japan, is there no end to the robotic awesome you produce?

Scientists at the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan found that by immersing iron compound pellots in alcohol such as red wine, sake and shochu they could induce superconductivity.

Superconductivity occurs when electricity passes through materials with zero resistance. Breakthroughs in superconduction will lead to Science Fiction goodies like levitating skateboards and other such devices. It would revolutionize electric motors and the energy industry. Currently, superconducting magnets are used in particle accelerators, like the Large Hadron Collider, MRI and NMR machines, and mass spectrometers.

Professor Yoshihiko Takano, Nano Frontier Materials Group at the National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, said, "The iron compound becomes superconductive by air exposure but the sample needs to be exposed to air for a few months to show superconductivity. This is a very, very long time.

"However, the sample immersed in the red wine becomes superconductive only in one day, much faster than air-exposure."

Japanese engineers have created a doll-shaped smartphone for all consumers who wish to be seen speaking to a tiny person. Dubbed the "Elfoid", the phone is a collaboration between Osaka University and mobile telephone operator NTT DoCoMo.

The creep factor doesn't just end with appearances. The Elfoid will wiggle and boast human skin style texture, and be able to mimic gestures of the person on the other end.

Alas, any one excited by this moving, gesturing, vibrating, androgynous phone doll must wait about 5 years before it gets to market. The creators need more time to build in image and voice recognition functions.

I can see the B-movie happening now...ROBOT PHONE DEMONS 4: THE DISCONNECTION

After days of non-stop racing, a humanoid machine named Robovie-PC finished the world's 1st 26 mile marathon for robots. Standing a whopping 16 inches tall and weighing 5.3 lbs, "Robovie - PC" managed to finish the course in roughly 55 hours.  

Spectators were treated to a thrilling finish as the marathon's previous strong horse "Robovie - PC Lite" seemed to lock-up and freeze after building a comfortable lead over the robots.  This allowed the 2nd ranked "Robovie - PC" to race ahead to the finish line.

As one might guess, "Robovie - PC" and "Robovie - PC Lite" are created by the same company Vstone Co.

 

Narv turned me onto this really cool Japanese stageplay. Enjoy

The Japanese multinational Sharp Corporation has created a power conditioner that enables the batteries of an electric car to store power.  Then, when needed, the power can be used to supply the home. During their proof-of-concept trials, Sharp succeeded in using a car battery pack to deliver a steady 8 kilowatts, enough power to use electrical appliances in an average household.

Japan leads the way once again in crazy lifestyles. People in the city of Nagoya now have the option of going to an "IV bar" for a refreshing "cocktail" of nutrient supplements delivered straight to the bloodstream. The most popular drink is a combination of Vitamin C, amino acids and five other supplements priced at 12,000 yen. There is a catch, of course. The IV bar is run by a fully licensed medical clinic, which probably sets a regulatory high bar for entrepreneurs wishing to enter the IV bar business.

Mmmmmm, yummy!

Oh, Japan...Is there nothing you can't get a robot to do?  Four robot athletes will vie head-to-head along a 26 mile endurance "course" in Osaka, February 24th. The video shows the four contenders running practice laps for the media. You even get to see one of the little guys fall over and pick himself up.

Japan's space agency JAXA has announced plans to send a robot companion to the International Space Station who will provide "comfort and companionship" to lonely astronauts and use Twitter to communicate with the ground. When it's not chatting up a storm, the Japanese android will be responsible for creepily watching the astronauts while they sleep, as well as monitoring their health and anxiety levels. 

Dear Japan, as a frequent consumer of your culture (particularly Anime) I know you're capable of making the robot look like this.

Please don't make it look like this. Here in America, this is the best we can do.

Here's some more science news, Kids. An international research effort involving UC Santa Barbara professors Andrew Cleland and John Martinis, along with scientists from Zhejiang University in China and NEC Corporation in Japan, has resulted in a crucial breakthrough towards the construction of a quantum computer.

Quantum computers are the holy grail of computing technology. A mature one can theoretically perform more calculations per second than there are atoms in the universe, as well as outstripping human intelligence by many, many orders of magnitude.

My understanding of quantum physics is quite limited to explain this article, but what they seem to have done is create a logic circuit, an ability to produce a 1 or 0, which is the fundamental requisite for all computing functions. However, since we're dealing in quantum physics, there exists a little twist. The teams had set up two areas and manipulated them in ...

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Rather than blasting your food with scorching steam (the normal way), Japanese researchers in Beppu are recommending that food should be cooked by using steam from boiling water set below 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit). Instead, they suggest using 60C to 90C for over 10 hours, which will even make meat edible down to the bone. According to their findings, this cooking method will dramatically increase the flavor of food. You can find a Celsius-Fahrenheit converter here.

Now the nerd in me wonders, how do you steam food below 100C / 212 F? That's the boiling point of water. The only answer I can think of is that Beppu probably is high altitude which would allow for a lower boiling temperature. Either that or they're using some special steaming gizmo.

While U.S. patent filings remained mostly level from the previous year at 44,855, Japan, China and South Korea saw a dramatic increase, continuing their trends from recent years. China in particular can boast a 56.2% meteoric increase from the previous year to 12,337. 2nd Place Japan reported a 7.9% increase.

The new stats published by the World Intellectual Property Organization underscore Asia's overall rise in economic and technologic power. Other upcoming economic players didn't fare as well. India remained mostly level at 1,109 filings, up ~%15 from 2009 but fairly level with their 2008 performance. Brazil declined  ~11% to 442

The total digital communications-related patents dominated growth with a 17.3% increase probably reflecting a bit of the results from Moore's Law and the high speed of electronics advancement in general. A 17% rate equates to a doubling every ~5 years ...

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American J-philes may now rejoice. Today, TK Digital launched JapanFlix.com hoping to access larger markets in the United States with a digital distribution platform akin to Netflix and Hulu. Customers may browse, buy and rent titles through the iTunes store.

This post is for Solomon who...inexplicably...and incomprehensibly...feels entertained by these kinds of J-Pop videos.  "Beginner" is the first song in Japan to sell over 1 million copies in the last 3 and 1/2 years. The previous song to pass the million mark was released back in 2007.

These girl singers must be awesome, right?!

I think this is the official video, just in case the above one gets yanked.

I feel this is a pretty big story, but more like a continuation of an inevitable trend than any kind of news scoop. Three companies from around the world are now offering robots capable of some secretarial work.  

Why buy a robot? Easy. No healthcare, no vacation, no sick days, no sexual harassment lawsuits (from the hot female robots), no goofing off on Facebook or fantasy football...oh yeah and I almost forgot...no salary.  Robots do require regular maintenance though. 

On January 28th, Tokyo-based Kawada Industries will offer to research institutions and universities their newest model HRP-4, a robot that can recognize faces, deliver mail and pour coffee. Mind-blowing, yes...and at the paltry cost of only $350,000. The amount might seem like much, but keep in mind human employees usually cost a huge portion of money over their salary to employ. Also, searching for and training new ...

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Here in the United States, we come-of-age at 21 by getting hosed in a bar. But on January 10, thousands of young Japanese archers took part in the annual "Toshiya" arrow-shooting event to celebrate their coming-of-age...

...and that's all I got.  I'm really just posting this for the cool photo.  Look how big those bows are!

Please, please, PLEASE let this project be an adaptation of the manga/TV show and not the live-action Japanese movie.  DEATH NOTE is one of the most incredible stories to come out of Japan. Literally presenting the situation of the "pen being mightier than the sword", Death Note is a masterpiece of crime and political intrigue. The story follows a young man Light who finds a mysterious notebook. Whenever he writes a name on its pages, that person dies soon after. Even my wife couldn't pull away from this series, and she's no geek by a long shot. 

Shane Black is the writer of LETHAL WEAPON, along with a myriad of other strong Action movies. He's also reportedly a huge fan of the series as well. The script will be penned by Anthony Bagarozzi.  No matter how good or bad this film will be, I highly recommend ...

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