Peer Reviewed

Waveguides that combine metallic and semiconductor structures can be made more compact

Exploiting the early immune response in Chikungunya fever promises to provide protection.

A new lithography technique enables the production of nanoscale patterns of titania for high-tech applications.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released some observation images on the Earth acquired by the Global Change Observation Mission 1st – Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-W1).

A*STAR scientists transform vast amounts of data into applications and systems that are able to analyse crowd behaviour, allow remote energy management or even tell where some of the windiest spots in the city centre are.

Greater functional connectivity between two brain regions previously implicated in the experience of pain predicts which back-pain patients will still be in pain a year after reporting problems, according to an article published in Nature Neuroscience this week.

The 2012 G20 Seoul Summit has addressed a number of global challenges. Among them, energy and climate change issues brought about one of the most heated discussions. Through some changes in regulations, Hanyang University (HYU) has been dealing with energy consumption and conservation fast yet effectively.

How do individuals conceive their world and their place in it? In an attempt to identify the worldview of the Batek tribe, a team of researchers from the Academy of Language Studies at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) embarked on a comprehensive study to document the characteristics and elements found in Batek folklore.

The discovery of a new drug for liver cancer by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and local medical practitioner has borne fruit. After completing clinical trials locally, the new drug known as "BCT-100" has become Hong Kong's first "Investigational New Drug" (IND) granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Analysis of the teeth of a 2-million-year-old hominin known as Australopithecus sediba, a relative of modern humans, reveals that they ate leaves, fruits and bark. The results, reported in Nature this week, suggest that these early hominins lived in a woodland environment.

Toyohashi Tech eNewsletter: From the digital generation of true random numbers for computer security, to real-time monitoring the health of milk cows to gallium nitride ultraviolet detector with an integrated silicon amplifier, the Toyohashi Tech e-Newsletter describes a diverse range of research activities.

Speech Translation in 23 Languages will allow up to 5 users to chat simultaneously. International Research Consortium (U-STAR) with members from 23 Countries unveils a Speech Translation Application, “VoiceTra4U-M”.

Nearly one out of 10 people between 21 to 30 years old have astigmatism more than 200 degrees (2.00D), according to the latest findings on a clinical population by optometry experts at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

Singapore’s Data Storage Institute (DSI), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has developed a big data software that enables travel companies and hotels to tap the growth potential of online travel bookings.

This issue is themed “ICT Development and ICT for Development” with the purpose of providing us with an understanding of developing information technologies. It aims to disseminate the vast wealth of knowledge on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to a wider audience and to generate interests beyond core technical components.

The latest edition of Nanotech News showcases new technologies and events for nanotechnology researchers. Please note: in July 2012 Nanotech News will become the new "Nanotechnology Platform Program" under the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT).

Two new drug candidates for treating radiation poisoning are uncovered in a study this week. Hartmut Geiger and colleagues use a genetic screen to identify new regulators of radiation sensitivity in mice and discover that a pathway that controls blood clotting and inflammation unexpectedly provides protection against radiation damage.

An efficient method of producing the biofuel ethanol from oil palm waste is published in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science. Researchers first separated glucose from cellulose in the plant matter, and then used it as a substrate for ethanol production.

Silver nanostructures exhibit a resonance feature that is useful for a multitude of sensing applications.

New design reduces the areal footprint of nanowire transistors by a factor of two. Xiang Li at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and co-workers have now integrated two transistors onto a single vertical silicon nanowire, pushing the areal density limit of nanowire transistors even further.

A Perspective article in this week’s Nature discusses concerns that were raised about making the data from two H5N1-related papers available and emphasizes the importance of ongoing research to advance our understanding of infectious diseases.

Ottawa, Canada, June 20, 2011 - CA$16.5 million for six new international research projects announced.

Kor & Teoh, researchers at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia have developed an Integrative Literature Review Software to help academics and students to write the literature reviews of their research. The template also helps students analyze and synthesize the literature.

A growing proportion of the public in Western democracies deny anthropogenic climate change, and experts assume that climate deniers need to be ‘converted’ to get them acting in support of mitigation policy. A study in Nature Climate Change this week questions such common assumptions.

A pioneering study by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has shed light on the prevention of heat stroke for outdoor workers in a scientific manner. One of the major recommendations is to link up the Very Hot Weather Signal issued by the Hong Kong Observatory with additional breaks for outdoor workers on stuffy work days.

This fertilizer has improved the income of the hard core poor in rural areas.

A large-scale resource for investigating microbial communities throughout the human body and an analysis of these data is reported in two studies in this week’s Nature. Microbial communities that live on and in the human body, collectively known as the ‘microbiome’, are thought to have a critical role in human health and disease.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada has underscored its 35 years of strong and sustained partnership in the 9th ASEAN-Canada Dialogue held on June 7 to 8 in Bangkok, Thailand.

This month’s article is “A Road Toward Sustainable Recovery”, looking at the proposal to establish a large-scale biobank in North East Japan.

With over 10 years of history in educating children with learning disabilities, parents can now turn to Manulife Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities developed by PolyU's Department of Applied Social Sciences for effective early intervention.