Announcement

Geb Impact aims to scale up microalgae production to provide novel super food ingredient by cost-effective mass cultivation of microalgae

Geneva, 28 September 2021 – The Stop TB Partnership today released new data showing how the COVID-19 pandemic and dismally low levels of funding represent the main barriers to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of ending TB by 2030.

Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) will confer Honorary Fellowships upon four distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their professions and valuable contributions to society. The Honorary Fellowship recipients are: Hong Kong-based Teochew entrepreneur Mr Chan Wai-nam, BBS（陳偉南先生）, legal expert Mr Simon Ip Shing-hing（葉成慶先生）, philanthropist Ms Christina Maisenne Lee（李美辰女士）, and advocate for disability inclusion Mr Nelson Yip Siu-hong, MH（葉少康先生）.

Dell Technologies Malaysia (Dell) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a milestone industry-academia move to produce more industry-ready graduates. The MoU provides a platform for Dell and USM to work hand-in-hand to groom and equip USM undergraduates to be highly employable graduates under the USM LIFE Programme, a new academic initiative that advocates creative and experiential learning.

As part of its aim to improve business and government agency efficiencies through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI), a research and development institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has signed a 3-year partnership with Bizooku Philippines on 27 August 2021.

The Kisakata Earthquake devastated Akita and Yamagata Prefectures. More details about this Edo period disaster have been revealed thanks to a collaborative project between researchers and locals.

New research published in Stem Cell Reports has found elevated cholesterol supply from astrocytes to neurons in the model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, suggesting that modulating brain cholesterol could be explored in the search of treatment options for the devastating, degenerative disease.

Miyagi Prefecture and Tohoku University Hospital have set up an Antibody Cocktail Therapy Centre in Sendai. The treatment, which involves artificial monoclonal antibodies administered through an intravenous drip, is aimed at preventing patients with mild COVID-19 from becoming seriously ill.

Prof. Jae Youn Hwang's team, DGIST, develops deep learning technology to segment buildings from aerial images

Distinguished Professor Reiko Kishi of the Hokkaido University Center for Environmental and Health Sciences was honored with the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE)’s prestigious 2021 John Goldsmith Award, on August 26, 2021.

Dr. Hyunki Lee's team selected for developing a system that precisely measures human movements

Scientists design an innovative file system that overcomes current performance bottlenecks when using solid state drives

Korea’s DGIST collaborates for mass production of semiconductor-based optical switches.

The university has unveiled a few more details of its new Green Goals Initiative, which includes developing green technology and promoting resilience and social Innovation. It also hopes to achieve carbon neutrality on campus by 2040.

Kavli IPMU's Kai Martens and Masaki Yamashita are two of many researchers who have signed an MOU to work together to design, construct, and operate a new, single, multi-tonne scale xenon observatory to explore dark matter.

Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents. The high yield, high selective process has CO2 blown at atmospheric pressure to evaporate excess water by-product allowing for a catalytic process that can be used with any substrate with a boiling point higher than water.

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Open University (Shenzhen OU) on the Mainland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen inter-university cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Researchers from Osaka City University show the benefits of mixing alginic acid with calcium phosphate cement (CPC), a common bone replacement material, with in vitro and in vivo studies. The biopolymer is shown to improve the setting time and compressive strength of CPC, as well as help it acquire porosity – which allows cells to enter the defected area and grow new bone.

Researchers analyze bone marrow-derived and peripheral blood-derived fibrin clots showing that the former contains more growth factors. They then show that bone marrow-derived fibrin clots can be used for meniscus suturing, even in the inner-most avascular regions, and with a 2-year post-operative follow-up, they show bone marrow-derived fibrin clots support healing better than their peripheral blood counterparts.

Assistant Professor Mai Ishihara is the first female full-time researcher at Hokkaido University’s Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (CAIS) and is the first female faculty member who openly reveals her Ainu ancestry. As a quarter-Ainu, Ishihara talked about how she had been subdued by her own ignorance, and later by silence, of her Ainu ancestry. She transformed her struggle and her views on the pain faced by her Ainu (indigenous people of Hokkaido) ancestors into a book based on her long-term research.

Paris, June 11 – Spending on science worldwide increased (+19%) between 2014 and 2018, as did the number of scientists (+13.7%). This trend has been further boosted by the COVID crisis, according to UNESCO’s new Science Report, The Race against Time for Smarter Development.

Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2021 – COVID-19 International Innovation Awards returns from 14-18 June 2021 with a virtual show, allowing immersive experience for visitors with live interactions.

• Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive type of brain cancer. Even with current standard of care, 50% of patients die within 15 months of diagnosis. • This complex cancer is difficult to treat due to its location, structure, ability to spread quickly, high recurrence rate and severely limited treatment options. • GBM tumours can look identical under the microscope but respond differently to the same treatment. • With a national grant of about S$10 million, researchers in Singapore are working with overseas collaborators to address these challenges and develop new diagnostic and treatment options so patients can receive effective targeted therapy.

Researchers from Osaka City University find that when the larva nematode C. elegans is fed a diet of Bacillus subtilis var. natto, a bacteria used to ferment soy beans into the traditional Japanese food natto, upon reaching adulthood these worms are able to survive infections from the gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis longer than when fed a standard diet of non-pathogenic E. coli.

The Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS) of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong recently organised a STEM-design competition for secondary school students to develop gerontechnology products tailor-made for rural elders to improve their quality of life. Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School students’ “smart shopping cart”, equipped with an infrared-based, automatic motion-tracking system that helps seniors transport a large amount of goods with less effort, won the Overall Championship Award and the Age-friendly Innovation Award.

Scientists develop degradation-mitigating additives that vastly extend the lifespan of Nafion-based fuel cells

In collaboration with Kanazawa University, researchers from Osaka City University used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize at the nanometer level the movement of individual particles within the parasitic bacterium Mycoplasma mobile. After confirming the outline on the surface of the cell structure in an immobilized state with previous data gathered from electron microscopy, the team succeeded in visualizing the real-time movements of the internal structure by scanning the outside of the cell with HS-AFM.

The UK’s COP26 Universities Network and leading research centres in Singapore have announced a partnership to develop four reports that provide policy recommendations for climate action in the ASEAN region.

Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) has launched a brandnew Distinguished Freshmen Package and introduced additional scholarships to high academic achievers admitted in 2021-22. Students with a total score of 22 or above, without subject weightings, in their best five subjects in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE), as well as those with a total score of 28 or above in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and those with grade B or above in three A-level subjects in the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCEAL) examinations will be offered the Distinguished Freshmen Package. School leavers with an HKDSE score of 25 or above in their best five subjects (including level 4 or above in English Language), or a total score of 32 or above in the IB Diploma, will be offered full tuition fee scholarships for up to four years.

First-of-its-kind in Singapore, the clinical trial will test a technology that enables specific cell therapy products to be manufactured for use in patients.