Lancelet

The genome sequence of lancelet (Branchiostoma floridae) was reported in the current issue of Nature. Both tunicates and lancelets have been considered to be organisms closely related to the vertebrates. In this report, the authors compared whole-genomes among the three chordate groups (tunicates, lancelets and vertebrates) and revealed that Cephalochordata (i.e. lancelets) is the ancestral organisms of the vertebrates, and the Urochordata (i.e. tunicate) is only a sister group. Lancelets have Wnt family, an important molecules for axial development, while tunicate lost these genes during evolution.
I tried to find lancelet genes homologous to genes that I have investigated in my research work. I failed to find it, and felt that I was cheated by my ancestor.

I bought two sea pineapples ("Hoya"), an edible ascidian, last night. Sea pineapple is a grotesque creature, but I like it. I saw a picture of lancelets on the front cover of the journal. They are cute. Lancelets seem to be edible too, but I have no experience of having them.

My brother's wedding ceremony

On May 31, we attended the wedding ceremony of my older brother. Since we were asked to go to the wedding place, Sendai, by 11:00 a.m., we left our home at 7:30 a.m. It was raining, and we took a taxi to go to the station. Ken fell down into a puddle and cried out. We found that we lost our train tickets. Mari was in a bad mood throughout the day.
We waited the ceremony for 2 hours in a room together with related persons. Ken played scribbling on a whiteboard with my little brother and his girlfriend. The ceremony started at 1:00 p.m. in a French restaurant. The dishes were quite delicious, but Ken had fallen asleep during the course. We were provided a frame with HoloSpex lenses, which add an illusion of hearts to a bright point of light. The bridal couple lighted a small firework on the table. A number of hearts flied in all directions. The sight amazed us.
After the ceremony, we were given a package of souvenir. Glasses? But it was heavy. I took it to my home and saw two full-bottles of wine. I tasted them and thought that I was happier if they had given them to us by delivery.

Mari and I got married four years ago without wedding ceremony. We have no plan to do. In fact, Mari forgot our wedding day.

My mother with HoloSpex glasses.

iPhone

The videos were made by Cardo Systems for the purpose of marketing. But I found more amazing video. Popcorn popped an iPhone !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_KFQqmhGq8

Apple released iPhone 3G. I do not have iPhone yet, but I want to get iBeer.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=edveFkK1ff0
SoftBank to sell iPhone in Japan this year. Can I get iPhone ?

Popcorn

In some Youtube videos, three or four cell phones popped popcorn in a minute. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=lg_dyD0Nsjw
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AcLS2WJERQ0
These seem to be fake, but how were these made ? By electromagnetic wave ? Or, using vibration alert ? I want to know how the trick was done.

Last Sunday, I saw a cactus, Cereus peruvianus, for sale in a shop. The description of the item said that the cactus grows by eating electromagnetic wave. I did not buy the cactus, but I will get it next time. Whatever the videos are true or not, the correlation between brain tumor risk and cell phone use is still under discussion.

I'm the swimmer.

Recently, a Japanese Olympic champion swimmer, Kitajima, broke the world record of men's 200-meter breaststroke. He wore the Speedo LZR Racer and the effectiveness was on the news. His feat did not attract media attention.
He also wore a T-shirt with words "I'm the swimmer", but he should have had the words as follows: "The swimmer is me" (not the swimsuit).

Murder in Akihabara

An indiscriminate murder attacked a crowd on the street of Akihabara with a rented truck and a dagger knife. It was the day of 7th anniversary of the incident of Ikeda elementary school, in which a crazy killer killed 7 children. The arrested criminal said that he came to Akihabara from Shizuoka to kill people. He was a temporary worker in an auto factory and felt himself as a social failure. Did he want to show his presence by committing such a heinous crime ?

Recently, incidents by street assailants have frequently occurred in Japan. Japan is no longer a safety country as ever. I should find a way to protect my family. But what can I do ? it is very fortunate that there is little of shooting incident in Japan.

Flight

I had my head in the clouds on the roof of a department store.

"..I do not wish I were a bird. But humans should fly. They made a number of high buildings and are going up and down. It is a fruitless activity. Why do not they fly from window to window ? If so, they were far from disasters or traffic accidents..."

Yes, I wish to fly like a bird. I often saw dreams that I was flying freely. In the dreams, I could fly if I forgot falling down.

Photo is a cat in a pet shop. Does he wish to fly as a bird ?

Donation

I saw a couple of guys collecting contributions on a street for the suffers in China and in Myanmar. But there was no information about the fund-raiser and so I did not make donation to them.
Alternatively I contributed some money to a fund that was raised by Chinese researchers in my research institute. Since I heard some news that Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had stolen relief supplies and sold it illegally, I do not know whether my contribution will reach to the sufferers.

Earthquake in China

On May 12, a major earthquake hit Sichuan of China and killed more than 50000 people. Numerous school buildings collapsed due to a corner-cutting construction called "tofuzha (tofu dregs)" construction.
The night I heard the news, I had a bad dream that I was struck by a huge earthquake in Japan. I woke up from the nightmare during I am trying to go to Ken's daycare. Sometimes I have had bad dreams that I got caught in an earthquake, landslide, flood, or tsunami and I had nothing to do. The horrible sight in China is like a scene from my nightmare.
Japan is an earthquake-ridden country and Tokyo has a high risk of earthquake. If a major earthquake strikes Tokyo, it will suffer serious damage and the traffic network will be destroyed entirely. It was estimated that 6 millions and a half of people will strand and unable to return their home. I read an assessment for disaster prevention that if one is more than 20 km away from home in a time of disaster, it is better to give up to go back there. Can I get Mari and Ken in the disaster ?

In May

On Mar 1, an alumni reunion for the laboratory in my graduating University was held; but I was unable to participate in it due to a meeting. The RSVP invitation had a form to inform about how I was doing. I wrote it that I got fired and will be on an unemployment line.
On May 14, I received a letter from the professor of the laboratory and found that the information about me was forwarded to all graduates of the laboratory.

On May 19, I was scheduled to make a presentation in my laboratory about my research work; but it was suddenly postponed by a month. I made little progress in my research lately. Spring has gone so fast.