Oto-Shigure, a high-tech umbrella that functions as a personal audio speaker system, gives music lovers a reason to dance in the rain. Developed by Keio University and IT company Toa Engineering, Oto-Shigure looks like an ordinary traditional Japanese umbrella made of bamboo and oiled paper, but the entire object emits sound when connected to an iPod or other portable audio device, thanks to a tiny built-in amplifier and four small vibrating motors mounted along the periphery, which effectively turn the canopy into a large speaker cone. The umbrella produces a highly localized three-dimensional sound space audible only to the people underneath, so it can be used in public without disturbing the peace.
After filing a patent application for Oto-Shigure last September, inventors Yusuke Kamiyama and Mai Tanaka worked with Toa Engineering to complete a prototype earlier this year. They are now showing it off to the public to gauge user interest. If the response is positive, they plan to begin selling the audio umbrella next year for under 10,000 yen ($100).
Eleven winners of the "Japanese New Souvenir" competition -- a public contest to recognize novel souvenir concepts that creatively express elements of Japanese culture -- were exhibited last weekend as part of the Design Touch festivities at the Tokyo Midtown complex. Coming soon to a souvenir shop near you.
Moustache Fuji (Mariko Takeuchi)
"Moustache Fuji," a fake moustache resembling a snow-capped Mt. Fuji, is a subtle but bold fashion statement that pays homage to Japan's most sacred landmark. Described as a "moustache communication tool," this fun-to-wear facial accessory lets you inject a little Japanese flair into meetings, parties and summits.
Air-Bonsai (Wabisabi)
"Air-Bonsai," a vinyl toy shaped like a potted dwarf pine, gives the traditional Japanese art of bonsai a pop-culture makeover. The soft vinyl tree packs flat into your suitcase for easy transport home.
Japanese, Face (Kozue Kojima)
These "Japanese, Face" beauty masks moisturize the skin while giving you a traditional Japanese kabuki-esque appearance.
139 Views of Mt. Fuji (Keita Suzuki)
Inspired by Hokusai's famous "36 Views of Mount Fuji" series of woodblock prints, the "139 Views of Mt. Fuji" drinking glass lets you reflect on the ephemeral beauty of Mt. Fuji and the Japanese seasons while you drink. Enjoy a different "view" of the mountain with each new type of beverage you pour.
Other top souvenir concepts (not pictured) include "Kutsu-kutsushita" socks colored to look like shoes, incense sticks tied into traditional mizuhiki knots, and a round red "Hinomaru" paperweight that instantly transforms a stack of paper into the Japanese flag.
In addition to cash prizes, the winning designers will receive active support to help turn their concepts into marketable products. The contest was organized by Tokyo Midtown Design Hub, a consortium of industrial designers, graphic designers and educators focused on promoting Japanese design.
Is the second coming of the woolly mammoth near? Possibly, say researchers at Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), who have successfully cloned mice from carcasses that spent years in a deep freezer.
A RIKEN research team led by genetic scientist Teruhiko Wakayama successfully demonstrated a promising new cloning technique by replicating frozen laboratory mice whose cells were severely damaged after 16 years in permafrost-like conditions (-20 degrees Celsius). The technique might one day be used to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species, according to the researchers.
Scientists have long discussed the possibility of resurrecting extinct animal species by cloning carcasses preserved in ice, but existing techniques do not work with dead, freeze-damaged cell tissue. However, the RIKEN researchers were able to extract nuclei from the ruptured brain cells of the frozen mice after breaking down the tissue in a culture solution. Then, using the conventional nuclear transfer technique (which involves inserting cellular material from the frozen mice into the egg cells of healthy mice), the researchers created embryonic clones from the extracted brain cell nuclei. After that, the researchers established embryonic stem cell lines from the cloned embryos, which they used to produce four cloned mice.
When the clones reached maturity, they mated with other mice to produce healthy offspring.
Healthy offspring of cloned mice
The ability of clones to reproduce is a promising development for those interested in resurrecting extinct species.
Mammoths top the list of extinct animals that scientists will try to clone, primarily because many preserved specimens have been found buried in ice. In July 2007, a well-preserved frozen baby mammoth discovered in the Siberian Arctic was shipped to researchers in Japan.
"There are many technical challenges involved in resurrecting a mammoth," says Wakayama. "But we have shown that the nuclear transfer method can be used to create healthy clones, even when the animal's cells have been damaged by permafrost-like conditions."
Meanwhile, Kinki University biology professor Akira Iritani is pleased with the development. Iritani, a leading member of the Mammoth Creation Project -- a Japanese organization that aims to resurrect the woolly mammoth by cloning frozen specimens -- estimates as many as 10,000 frozen mammoth specimens lie buried in ice around the world, waiting to be cloned.
Iritani also coordinates the "Pleistocene Park" project, which aims to set up a Jurassic Park-like sanctuary in northern Siberia populated with resurrected mammoths and other creatures that roamed the Earth 20,000 years ago. The envisioned park would cover an area twice the size of Japan and include woolly rhinos, Siberian tigers, steppe lions, giant deer, ancient foxes, and ancestors of the Siberian horse.
