Rare megamouth shark caught off Japan

FILE: Fishermen off the coast of japan pulled in a rare megamouth shark, similar to the one pictured, marking only the 58th time one was encountered by humans, Japanese news outlets reported.Reuters

Fishermen off the coast of Japan hauled in a rare megamouth shark recently, marking the 58th time in history one of its kind were seen or caught by man, Japanese news outlets reported.

The Japan Daily Press reported Thursday that scientists performed an autopsy on the 1,500-pound female shark in front of onlookers at the Marine Science Museum in Shizuoka City. The shark was reportedly caught from a depth of about 2,600 feet. It's unclear precisely when it was nabbed, according to the report.

The first megamouth was discovered in Hawaii in 1976, prompting scientists to create an entirely new family and genus of sharks. The megamouths are docile filter-feeders with wide, blubbery mouths.

RARE GOBLIN SHARK CAUGHT OFF KEY WEST

Others megamouths — considered one of the rarest fish in the world — have been encountered in California, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, Senegal, South Africa, Mexico and Australia. It's known to inhabit the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

"As with the two other filter-feeding sharks, the basking and whale sharks, this species is wide-ranging," according to a profile of the animal on the museum's website. "However, the megamouth is considered to be less active and a poorer swimmer than the basking or whale sharks."

The megamouth primarily feeds on large quantities of krill and its maximum size is at least 17 feet long. The sperm whale is its only known predator, researchers say.

In 2009, fishermen in the Philippines accidentally caught and later ate a megamouth shark. The 1,100-pound, 13-foot megamouth died while struggling in the fishermen's net off Burias island in the central Philippines. It was taken to nearby Donsol in Sorsogon province, where it was butchered and eaten.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Japan experts design superelastic alloy, may resist quakes

By Tan Ee Lyn

HONG KONG | Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:09pm EDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Researchers in Japan have developed a superelastic alloy, which can spring back to its original form in extreme temperatures, they said in a report on Friday, adding that they hope it may be used in buildings to absorb shocks from earthquakes.

The experts, who wrote about their invention in the journal Science, added a small amount of nickel to an iron-based alloy, and found that the new material can recover its original shape at any temperature from -196 to 240 degrees Celsius.

Lead author Toshihiro Omori at the Department of Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering in Tohoku University, said this new material was far more elastic than other superelastic alloys, which cannot revert to their original form outside the -20 to 80 degrees Celsius range.

"Our ferrous alloy has temperature insensitivity by one order of magnitude. This property is very important because materials are subject to change in temperature in most cases," Omori wrote in an email in response to questions from Reuters.

"Another advantage is its low cost. The raw material is cheap ... resulting in the potential for large scale applications," Omori wrote.

The material may be used in environments that are constantly exposed to extreme temperatures, such as joints and controls in cars, planes and spacecraft, Omori and his colleagues said.

It may also help buildings cushion stress and violent movement in earthquakes, the materials science experts added.

MATERIALS SCIENCE RESEARCH TAKES OFF IN ASIA

Research in materials science has taken off in the past 30 years, led by Asia and especially China, according to findings of a study released this week by Thomson Reuters.

The study found that around 1.1 million papers involving materials science have been published annually in recent years.

Much of Asia's sharp rise in materials science research comes from China, which published more than 55,000 papers over the last 5 years, up from fewer than 50 papers in 1981.

By comparison, the United States published 38,189 papers over the same period but since the early 1980s, its world share in this field has fallen by nearly half. A similar decline was also seen in the European Union.

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Nations fail to agree on curbing Japan whale hunt

By Arthur Max, Associated PressAGADIR, Morocco — Japanese officials and environmentalists traded blame Wednesday as nations failed to reach a deal to curb whale hunts by Japan, Norway and Iceland—countries that kill hundreds of whales every year.The 88 nations of the International Whaling Commission held two days of intense closed-door talks on a proposal to ease the 25-year-old ban on commercial whaling in exchange for smaller kills by the three countries that claim exemptions to the moratorium on hunting for profit.

About 1,500 animals are killed each year by Japan, Norway and Iceland. Japan, which kills the majority of whales, insists its hunt is for scientific research — but more whale meat and whale products end up in Japanese restaurants than in laboratories.

A key sticking point appeared to be that the agency declared a whaling sanctuary in 1994 in the Southern Ocean south of Australia, but Japanese ships hunt freely there because the agency has no enforcement powers.

Australia has already launched a complaint against Japanese whaling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the U.N.'s highest court.

Acting IWC chairman Anthony Liverpool said in an open meeting Wednesday that "fundamental positions remained very much apart."

"After nearly three years of discussions, it appears our discussions are at an impasse," said chief U.S. delegate Monica Medina.

Japanese whaling commissioner Yasue Funayama said her country had offered major concessions to reach a compromise and blamed anti-whaling countries that refused to accept the killing of a single animal.

"We must rise above politics and engage in a broader perspective," Funayama said.

Anti-whaling countries sought to end Japan's hunting forays into a southern ocean whaling sanctuary, ban the international trade in whale meat and to set firm quotas for the whaling nations for the next 10 years.

The proposed deal would let Japan kill 400 whales in the southern sanctuary for the next five years, which many countries thought was too high and which Japan saw as a major concession. Japan set a 2009 quota for itself to kill over 900 whales, but did not reach that figure due to harassment from anti-whaling groups

Australia and a group of Latin American countries held firm on zero whaling in the Antarctic ocean, said a delegate from a non-whaling country. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Iceland also refused to consider any deal restricting the international sale of whale products, he added.

Environmentalists blamed Japan for the breakdown.

"If Japan had agreed to a phase out in the southern ocean, there would have been a good chance" for a deal, said Wendy Elliott of WWF.

Other conservationists expressed relief that the 25-year ban on whaling was not lifted.

"Had it been done here, this deal would have lived in infamy," said Patrick Ramage, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

It was unclear if private discussions will continue until the meeting's scheduled close on Friday. Many delegations called for a one-year break in efforts.

Formal talks will center on issues like preventing collisions by whales and ships, the effects of climate change and a discussion on a planned Russian oil exploration in the seasonal feeding grounds of the endangered gray whale.

Some environmentalists have accused Japan of vote-buying, using development aid money and personal favors to swing small, poorer nations to its side in the whaling debate.

But the delegate from St. Kitts and Nevis, Daven Joseph, told the media and environment groups to stop such allegations. "We have been accused of being surrogates. That is not the case," he said.

Liverpool, a diplomat from Antigua and Barbuda and its ambassador to Japan, has been quoted by a British paper as admitting that Japanese interests have paid hotel bills for him and says he sees nothing "odd about that."

The whaling commission was created after World War II to conserve and manage whale stocks. Tens of thousands of animals were killed each year until 1986, when the IWC adopted the moratorium.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.

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Nations fail to agree on curbing Japan whale hunt

By Arthur Max, Associated PressAGADIR, Morocco — Japanese officials and environmentalists traded blame Wednesday as nations failed to reach a deal to curb whale hunts by Japan, Norway and Iceland—countries that kill hundreds of whales every year.The 88 nations of the International Whaling Commission held two days of intense closed-door talks on a proposal to ease the 25-year-old ban on commercial whaling in exchange for smaller kills by the three countries that claim exemptions to the moratorium on hunting for profit.

About 1,500 animals are killed each year by Japan, Norway and Iceland. Japan, which kills the majority of whales, insists its hunt is for scientific research — but more whale meat and whale products end up in Japanese restaurants than in laboratories.

A key sticking point appeared to be that the agency declared a whaling sanctuary in 1994 in the Southern Ocean south of Australia, but Japanese ships hunt freely there because the agency has no enforcement powers.

Australia has already launched a complaint against Japanese whaling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the U.N.'s highest court.

Acting IWC chairman Anthony Liverpool said in an open meeting Wednesday that "fundamental positions remained very much apart."

"After nearly three years of discussions, it appears our discussions are at an impasse," said chief U.S. delegate Monica Medina.

Japanese whaling commissioner Yasue Funayama said her country had offered major concessions to reach a compromise and blamed anti-whaling countries that refused to accept the killing of a single animal.

"We must rise above politics and engage in a broader perspective," Funayama said.

Anti-whaling countries sought to end Japan's hunting forays into a southern ocean whaling sanctuary, ban the international trade in whale meat and to set firm quotas for the whaling nations for the next 10 years.

The proposed deal would let Japan kill 400 whales in the southern sanctuary for the next five years, which many countries thought was too high and which Japan saw as a major concession. Japan set a 2009 quota for itself to kill over 900 whales, but did not reach that figure due to harassment from anti-whaling groups

Australia and a group of Latin American countries held firm on zero whaling in the Antarctic ocean, said a delegate from a non-whaling country. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Iceland also refused to consider any deal restricting the international sale of whale products, he added.

Environmentalists blamed Japan for the breakdown.

"If Japan had agreed to a phase out in the southern ocean, there would have been a good chance" for a deal, said Wendy Elliott of WWF.

Other conservationists expressed relief that the 25-year ban on whaling was not lifted.

"Had it been done here, this deal would have lived in infamy," said Patrick Ramage, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

It was unclear if private discussions will continue until the meeting's scheduled close on Friday. Many delegations called for a one-year break in efforts.

Formal talks will center on issues like preventing collisions by whales and ships, the effects of climate change and a discussion on a planned Russian oil exploration in the seasonal feeding grounds of the endangered gray whale.

Some environmentalists have accused Japan of vote-buying, using development aid money and personal favors to swing small, poorer nations to its side in the whaling debate.

But the delegate from St. Kitts and Nevis, Daven Joseph, told the media and environment groups to stop such allegations. "We have been accused of being surrogates. That is not the case," he said.

Liverpool, a diplomat from Antigua and Barbuda and its ambassador to Japan, has been quoted by a British paper as admitting that Japanese interests have paid hotel bills for him and says he sees nothing "odd about that."

The whaling commission was created after World War II to conserve and manage whale stocks. Tens of thousands of animals were killed each year until 1986, when the IWC adopted the moratorium.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.

View the original article here