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Japan

REVIEW: Bloodlaced – Courtney Maguire

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Bloodlaced - Courtney Maguire

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Historical, Dark LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Transgender Reviewer: Maryann Get It On Amazon About The Book Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different. Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman. In the wake of his failure to protect a boy he saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous. Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi … Read more

REVIEW: Blood Bound – Courtney Maguire

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Blood Bound cover reveal - Courtney Maguire

Genre: Paranormal, Historical, Romance LGBTQ+ Category: Gay Reviewer: Maryann Get It On Amazon About The Book Two hundred years can strain even the seemingly eternal love of the youkai. When Hideyoshi’s coldness drives them apart, Hiro finds comfort in his friendship with Takanori, a vociferous human man he met at a ramen shop and can’t seem to keep away from.. Everything Hiro had to fight for from Hideyoshi, Takanori gives freely, making it all too easy to turn away from his responsibilities–and Hideyoshi–in favor of something sweeter. But while Hiro is off playing human, danger is brewing among the Youkai. … Read more

NEW RELEASE/GIVEAWAY: Blood Bound – Courtney Maguire

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Blood Bound cover reveal - Courtney Maguire

Courtney Maguire has a new MM paranormal historical romance out, Youkai Bloodlines book 3: Blood Bound. And there’s a giveaway! Two hundred years can strain even the seemingly eternal love of the youkai. When Hideyoshi’s coldness drives them apart, Hiro finds comfort in his friendship with Takanori, a vociferous human man he met at a ramen shop and can’t seem to keep away from.. Everything Hiro had to fight for from Hideyoshi, Takanori gives freely, making it all too easy to turn away from his responsibilities–and Hideyoshi–in favor of something sweeter. But while Hiro is off playing human, danger is brewing among … Read more

REVIEW: Blood Pact – Courtney Maguire

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Blood Pact - Courtney Maguire

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Alt History LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Pan, Non-Binary Reviewer: Maryann Get It On Amazon About The Book In Hiro’s world, youkai are a supernatural story used to scare children into obedience, and to keep men out of back alleys and brothels. Until Sakurai Hideyoshi walks through his door with a fantastical tale of a samurai who had killed a thousand men and drank the blood of his enemies, a man that lived in darkness but sought beauty to keep it at bay. A story both terrifying and romantic…and completely ridiculous. Unless it is true. Convinced something softer … Read more

COVER REVEAL: Blood Bound – Courtney Maguire

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Blood Bound cover reveal - Courtney Maguire

Courtney Maguire has a new MM paranormal historical romance out, and we have the cover reveal: Blood Bound. And there’s a giveaway! Two hundred years can strain even the seemingly eternal love of the youkai.When Hideyoshi’s coldness drives them apart, Hiro finds comfort in his friendship with Takanori, a vociferous human man he met at a ramen shop and can’t seem to keep away from.. Everything Hiro had to fight for from Hideyoshi, Takanori gives freely, making it all too easy to turn away from his responsibilities–and Hideyoshi–in favor of something sweeter. But while Hiro is off playing human, danger … Read more

SCIENCE: Are We Ready for Human/Animal Hybrids?

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mouse costume - deposit photos

Some unusual embryos may soon be growing in Japan: those of human-mouse and human-rat hybrids, news sources are reporting. A research group in Japan received approval from a committee in the Japanese government on July 24 to move forward with an experiment that will put a type of human stem cells (cells that can grow into almost any cell) into animal embryos. Once inside the embryos, the human cells — called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells — may grow into specific organs. If all goes well, the researchers plan to eventually grow human organs in other animals, such as pigs. … Read more

SPACE: Japan Copper Bombs an Asteroid

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A Japanese spacecraft deployed a heavy, explosive-packed copper plate toward the asteroid Ryugu in an attempt to create an artificial crater last night (April 4), but it’s still unclear how the dramatic operation went. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which has been studying the 3,000-foot-wide (900 meters) Ryugu up close since last June, released a 4.4-lb. (2 kilograms) hunk of copper late last night, along with a camera known as DCAM3 to record this “Small Carry-on Impactor” (SCI) operation. “The spacecraft state is normal and it was confirmed that the evacuation operation, the separation of the SCI and DCAM3 went as planned. The … Read more

SPACE: The Hopping Landers of Ryugu

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Hoppy Laner - Ryugu - Live Science

The suspense is over: Two tiny hopping robots have successfully landed on an asteroid called Ryugu — and they’ve even sent back some wild postcards from their new home. The tiny rovers are part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission. Engineers with the agency deployed the robots early Friday (Sept. 21), but JAXA waited until today (Sept. 22) to confirm the operation was successful and both rovers made the landing safely. The rovers are part of the MINERVA-II1 program, and are designed to hop along the asteroid’s surface, taking photographs and gathering data. In fact, one … Read more

TECH: Japan’s Next Robot News Anchor

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Robot News Anchor

At a mere 23 years old, Japan’s latest news anchor would make her parents proud — if she had any. Erica, a lifelike android designed to look like a 23-year-old woman, may soon become a TV news anchor in Japan, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka Universityand Erica’s creator, the android will replace a human news anchor on the airwaves as soon as April, the Daily Mail said. Erica the android may be well suited for this desk job. For starters, she can capably recite scripted writing and sit … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Ibuki, by Kathryn Sommerlot

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Ibuki

Kathryn Sommerlot has a new FF fantasy book out: Ibuki: the gift of healing through breath. Chiasa has possessed the ability since childhood and shares it with her father as they care for their Inuru community. Chiasa has never doubted the stability of her simple life. That is, until Namika, a water-gifted priestess, shows up outside the Ibuki shrine gates with information promising Chiasa’s doom. With Namika’s help, Chiasa is determined to find the secrets behind the ritual that will claim her life, but her growing feelings toward the other woman reach beyond her control, adding to the confusion. Time … Read more