Researcher Satoshi Ohmura wins Nobel Prize The 2015 Nobel prize for Medicine has been awarded to Japanese researcher Satoshi Omura of Kita Sato University and Dr. William Campbell of Ireland. Dr. Ohmura is an expert in bio-organic chemistry and macrolide antibiotics. He and Dr. Campbell developed a compound that helps to eliminate the roundworm infections which cause diseases such as river blindness. The compound they created, called avermectins/ivermectin, is marketed by Merck, and is used by over 300,000,000 people annually.

roundworm: 回虫

Honda develops hydrogen fuel to replace gasoline Honda has produced a concept car that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to charge the car's battery. When the released hydrogen energy is transferred to the battery, the only exhaust is water. Honda claims that the new concept will be included in a new production vehicle from 2016/2017. A representative for Honda said at a leading Japanese motor show that the new car makes very little noise, and can go 700km on a 3-minute refueling of hydrogen. At present however, there are only a handful of hydrogen fueling stations in Japan.

hydrogen: 水素
concept car: コンセプトカー
a handful of (X): 一握り

do a U-turn / make a U-turn

Vanessa: Is Rob going to spend the holidays at a ski resort again?

Brett: He said that he was going to spend the whole vacation at a luxury winter resort, but when he found out how expense if would be, he made a U-turn and decided to spend the holidays at home with his relatives.

Explanation: The phrase "make a U-turn" means to turn 180 degrees and go in the opposite direction. It can be used to describe cars on the road, or people who change their opinions completely and do the opposite of what they originally said.

U-turn: Ｕターン・政策転換
opposite: 向こう・逆

draw a correlation

Patient: Do you think that there is any connection between soft drinks and young people getting fat?

Doctor Huang: Yes, a recent study by a respected hospital research center drew a correlation between consumption of sugary soft drinks and childhood obesity.

Explanation: The phrase "draw a correlation" between A and B means to show by research that A is related directly to B.

correlation (noun): 相関関係
childhood obesity(noun): 小児肥満

opinions are split

Hello Barbara:

Some people in management want our company to expand into other industries. Others want us to concentrate on our core business of aircraft engines. So far, opinions are split on how we should move the company forward. What is your opinion on the matter?

Explanation: The phrase "opinions are split" means that roughly half of the people think one way, while half think the opposite way.

split (noun): 割り目・割る
opposite (noun): 向こう・逆