Japanese Use Wild Monkeys To Track Radiation

PolygamousRanchKid writes "Scientists in Japan are taking a novel approach to measuring the impact of radiation in a forest affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis: enlisting the help of local wild monkeys. Takayuki Takahashi, a professor of robotic technology at Fukushima University, told CNN Wednesday his team was working on a collar fitted with a dosimeter to measure radiation levels that could be fitted to the monkeys before they are released back into the wild. Takahashi said the experiment would help researchers understand how radiation in the forest can affect human beings, as well as wild animals. While human scientists have been monitoring radiation levels from the air, the use of monkey 'assistants' will give them a clearer idea of conditions on the ground."

Comments

I think I've seen the movie

[FairAndHateful]

Isn't this kind of where King Kong comes from?

Where have I heard this story before?

[MrEricSir]

Where have I heard this story before? Monkeys, nuclear radiation...

Oh yeah, every Japanese monster movie ever made!

Re:Where have I heard this story before?

[nedlohs]

So which bit don't you like?

The bit where they catch a monkey already in the forest in question and let it go again?

Or the bit where instead of having recatch the monkey they make it so that the collar just falls off?

Re:Where have I heard this story before?

[khallow]

Make the cunts responsible for the catastrophe go in.

As long as we send in everyone responsible. For example, the nuclear luddites would need to be sent as well. After all, they're the ones who prevented fuel rod recycling or the construction of new reactors.

But I imagine that somehow you'll only consider "responsible" some subset of people who you happen to disagree with. Responsibility only sticks to the enemy.

Re:Where have I heard this story before?

[nojayuk]

Japan reprocesses fuel rods. It has just completed building a large facility at Rokkaisho to deal with about 800 tonnes of fuel rods a year. Previously it sent fuel rods to Britain to be reprocessed as well as processing rods at a smaller prototype plant at Tokai. It does have a backlog of rods in store to deal with though.

Several reactors in Japan were built from the 1980s onwards -- the newest Japanese reactor, Tomari-3, a type-3 PWR in Hokkaido only started up for the first time in December 2009.

Re:Where have I heard this story before?

[DrBoumBoum]

After all, they're the ones who prevented fuel rod recycling or the construction of new reactors.

Any citation to back that crap up? From what I understand fuel recycling has been hampered by technical complexity (breeder reactors), fear of uncontrollable proliferation in a full-scale Pu economy and non-competitivity in face of cheap uranium and oil. And the first obstacle in the construction of new reactors has always been that extending the operational life of existing ones, as was done in Japan and is currently done in Russia, is by far the most profitable move.

From my point of view one of the most serious obstacle against the credibility of nuclear energy is probably the smug and haughty attitude of those innumerable assholes ready to deny at any cost the shortcomings of their pet technology and to wipe off any legitimate concern as necessarily coming from so-called "ludites" and "joe-six-packs". Are you certain that you are not the blind idiot here?

Re:Where have I heard this story before?

[khallow]

Any citation to back that crap up?

Five plants under planning or construction were abandoned from 1994-2003. The decision to extend the life of the Fukushima plant came later. It's also worth noting that the next generation fast breeder plant at Rokkasho has experienced significant opposition to its opening despite being the only real way to recycle fuel rods in Japan (aside from the prototype plant at Joyo, which apparently is much smaller). And that the waste ponds at Fukushima did contribute to the severity of the accident.

From my point of view one of the most serious obstacle against the credibility of nuclear energy is probably the smug and haughty attitude of those innumerable assholes ready to deny at any cost the shortcomings of their pet technology and to wipe off any legitimate concern as necessarily coming from so-called "ludites" and "joe-six-packs". Are you certain that you are not the blind idiot here?

And why does that indicate anything other than a problem on your part? You might not have noticed, but this is Slashdot. We have a fine tradition of smug and haughty argument. The world manages to survive somehow. I don't see anything magical about nuclear power that should exclude it from public discourse or a treatment by the attitude.

Witness for example, the very post I was replying to. A smug and haughty AC demands that the very people "responsible" for the Fukushima accident be the subjects of testing rather than cute, fluffy monkeyys. I merely pointed out, in kind, the fundamental error in that statement, namely, that responsibility adheres to far more than the villains of the day.

Why don't you go ahead and complain to everyone doing this? Not just the people you disagree with? I see no reason why I should disarm my rhetoric, just because I happen to be on the wrong side in a public debate.

So, no Shakespeare then?

[PopeAlien]

I'm guessing if they gave them a room full of a million typewriters they'd actually just scream and hurl feces.

That's probably what I'd do too.

Re:So, no Shakespeare then?

[GoodNewsJimDotCom]

Nice to meet you Mr. Burns.

Re:So, no Shakespeare then?

[ozmanjusri]

if they gave them a room full of a million typewriters they'd actually just scream and hurl feces. That's probably what I'd do too.

You win my vote for most concise explanation for Slashdot ever.

Re:Think of the [monkey] children!

[walkerp1]

Anyone else want to gather about 100 irradiated monkeys and send them to PETA for some tlc?

Ha! Old school

[dhungan]

Our wild monkeys track money. And rule us too.

This is real, people.

[jtnix]

Excuse me, but how is this tagged 'Idle'? And what's with the Planet Of The Ape jokes which is derivative of complete fiction?

This is a real country with a real populace.

Seems like a significant research technique for an original scenario, mutation jokes be damned.

Lighten up

[Riktov]

Bah. I live in Japan, was born here, and will probably die here; hopefully from old age, perhaps from radiation or from earthquakes, who knows?

But hey, monkeys are funny. They are also fascinating.

And I love stupid Planet of the Apes jokes. Even stupid Godzilla and radiation jokes don't bother me. They probably don't bother the researchers either, and they sure as hell don't bother the monkeys. After all, they're monkeys! And get your stinking paws off me you damned dirty apes!

Re:Why monkeys?

[bahstid]

As someone who lives in a mountainous area of Japan, I will hazard a guess:
Japan is not exactly teaming with wildlife choices are:

Bear
Deer
Rabbit
Fox
Tanuki (a dictionary will tell you its a racoon-dog, more to the racoon end of the scale though)
Kamoshika (Hairy mountain goat thing)
Monkey

Throw everything out that hibernates.
Throw out everything that has terrain limitations in very dense bush, or steepness.
Throw out things that are difficult to catch or dangerous.
Think Kamoshika's are protected/endangered are pretty elusive and don't leave the mountains....

Monkeys seem like a good choice, and are probably slightly more similar to us (in case they start showing full blown radiation sickness) than an Andrias japonicus

wait until the radiation starts to affect them...

[Tastecicles]

...you know we're all fucked when the first one says "NO!"

Brilliant strategy

[cvtan]

And the monkey unemployment problem is solved!

Re:umm, the monkeys were already there

[ae1294]

Everybody's doing it! Therefore, it's objectively okay for us to do it!

Seems logical...

Re:Why monkeys?

[bahstid]

The umbrella's get in the way of accurate readings unfortunately.