Japanese banks retreated on concern they need to raise more funds as Asian stocks fell as commodity related companies on concern China will step up the efforts to cool growth. With five shares declining for every four that advanced the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 119.56 as of 1 p. m in Tokyo.

Researchers report bacteria in the gut of Japanese people have acquired the ability to digest seaweed, because of the sushi their human hosts consume. This evolved trait enables their human hosts to digest carbohydrates found in edible seaweed, such as nori, whose tough cell walls ordinarily; the human body could not process on its own.

The discovery of 25 different spots on leukemia cells by Japanese researchers means each of them could be used for designing a new drug to fight the disease.

Scientist publishing their study in Science Translational Medicine said 25 different stretches of DNA especially active in the leukemia cells had been found, with each one having the potential to be targeted by a new drug.

A Japanese team of scientists, whose study appears in the online journal Nature Medicine, have raised the possibility that disturbances in the body’s 24-hour clock have a direct link to cardiovascular disease.

Working on mice, they found a genetic risk factor for high blood pressure to be influenced by the body’s 24-hour or circadian rhythms.

Any mal-functioning in the body clock, directly responsible for influencing much of the body’s chemistry, has been linked to many diseases.

Aaccording to a Japanese study published in Human Reproduction, a European journal, genes in sperm may possibly determine why female mammals outlive the males.

The researchers found female 'bi-maternal' mice produced from the genetic material of two different mothers by manipulating DNA in mouse eggs to make the genes behave like those in sperm, seemed to live significantly longer than those with a normal maternal and paternal gene mix.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK), the British drug manufacturer interested in marketing its Rotarix vaccine has filed for approval of its vaccine for preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis, a leading cause of severe gastroenteritis, including vomiting and diarrhoea in children, in Japan.

According to GSK, the oral vaccine is the first to be filed for approval for preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants in Japan.

According to Japanese doctors, it is just possible older women can increase their chances of successful IVF treatment, simply by splicing their eggs with that of a younger woman.

Using this bold technique to counter age-related damaged eggs, doubles the odds of pregnancy, thereby reducing related costs and ensuring the emotional well-being of the mother is not negatived.

Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma Inc. and San Francisco based Medivation Inc. have signed a global partnership for the development and marketing of the US firm's experimental prostate cancer treatment.

Astellas is to make an immediate cash payment of $110-million to Medivation, including being eligible for $335-million in development and regulatory milestone payments, together with $320-million in commercial milestones, news which saw Medivation shares rise 8.2% to $28.25 in pre-market trading.