SCIENCE Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma said on Monday it was seeking approval for an additional application of its key transplant drug in Japan. [REUTERS]

SCIENCE Why do millions of people repeatedly fail to stick to their diets despite longing for slim, good-looking bodies? Mostly because they can’t withstand the hunger, according to a 2007 survey of 693 people conducted by Asahi Breweries, who claim to have developed a secret protein powder that could put a halt to diet futility. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

SCIENCE University of Tokyo researchers said Wednesday they have succeeded in generating kidneys and pancreases in mice that had been reprogrammed to grow without such organs, by injecting embryonic stem cells from healthy mice into fertilized eggs. (1) [THE JAPAN TIMES]

SCIENCE People who have limited support in society, such as those without friends or family members who make them feel at ease, have a greater risk of succumbing to a stroke, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team has found. [MAINICHI]

SCIENCE A research team that includes University of Tokyo scientists has succeeded in genetically disarming the deadly Ebola virus for the first time, they said in the Tuesday issue of a U.S. science journal. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

SCIENCE A study tracking children over several years indicates that lack of sleep at a young age can lead to obesity as they get older. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

SCIENCE Images obtained by a JAXA land-observation satellite are of lower quality than expected, meaning the image data cannot be used to create maps, which was the primary purpose of the satellite. [YOMIURI]

SCIENCE A team of Japanese and American researchers has identified a gene associated with Kawasaki disease, which begins with a high fever and skin rashes and can lead to coronary artery aneurysms if left untreated. [KYODO]

SCIENCE Leftover school lunches will not go to waste in a joint experiment to be held in a Tokyo ward to turn the food into biofuel. [YOMIURI]

SCIENCE Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won. [MAINICHI]

SCIENCE The German Cancer Research Center on Monday presented its annual Meyenburg German Cancer Award to Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka, who has succeeded in reprogramming human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells. [KYODO]

SCIENCE Geophysicist Hiroo Kanamori, professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded this year’s Kyoto Prize for his pioneering research into earthquakes throughout the world. [YOMIURI]

SCIENCE A Japanese research vessel carrying the world’s largest deep-sea drill has completed its first expedition after collecting data it hopes will help discover more about earthquakes, officials said Saturday. [MAINICHI]

SCIENCE The National Research Institute of Police Science is working on developing a new DNA analysis method to identify individuals through skeletal remains or old bloodstains, informed sources said Saturday. [KYODO]

SCIENCE Mother dolphins dramatically reduce their sleeping hours for one week after giving birth in order to focus on rearing their newborn calfs, a study by a group of Japanese researchers showed Saturday. [KYODO]

SCIENCE How old is too old for a woman to have a baby? The recent revelation that a 60-year-old Japanese woman was impregnated with a fertilized egg in the United States has highlighted several issues, including the risk of delivering a child at such an advanced age, and possible complications in the traditional parent-child relationship. [YOMIURI]

SCIENCE While colored contact lenses can be a fun and easy way to change your look, these popular fashion accessories are not always easy on the eye. [ASAHI]

SCIENCE A research team has found evidence suggesting soybeans were cultivated in Japan about 5,000 years ago. [YOMIURI]

SCIENCE Japan’s first lunar probe, SELENE, has been positioned into a lunar observation orbit and is ready to start its mission, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Sunday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

SCIENCE Children whose mothers smoke have about 4.5 times more cotinine–a nicotine by-product and a marker for nicotine exposure–in their urine than those exposed to secondhand smoke from their fathers, according to a survey recently conducted by a group of researchers. [YOMIURI]