Peer Reviewed

University Teknologi MARA researchers conducted a study on Norovirus (NoV) in lettuces. The virus causes outbreaks of Gastroenteritis among children below age 5 in Malaysia.

Will the tiger go the way of the passenger pigeon or be saved from extinction like the American bison? Extinction or Survival? List Released at the World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Korea. Species can be saved if Asian Governments take "Three Rs" approach

Researchers from France and Thailand have trialled a dengue vaccine in over 4000 Thai children. While overall there was no difference between the number of dengue cases recorded following vaccination, secondary tests showed that the vaccine was effective against three of the four dengue viruses.

Genetic studies of Myotis muricola, otherwise known as the Wall-roosting Mouse-eared bat or Nepalese Whiskered Myotis , suggest that it consists of not one, but two distinct species.

A study on the emotional and behavioural adjustments of children from inter-ethnic and mono-ethnic families in Malaysia challenges traditional assumptions about inter-ethnic families.

A report on productive aquifers in hard rock on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia suggests greater water supply than has previously been recognised.

The August issue of the monthly newsletter from the Science & Innovation Section of the British Embassy has been released. This month's article is "The Japan Revitalisation Plan". The newsletter also includes news headlines from Japanese S&I press and details of forthcoming events.

A gene therapy approach for restoring cilia development and olfactory responses is reported online this week in Nature Medicine. These findings provide a proof-of-principle that gene therapy may be used in certain genetic disorders to rescue cilia development and restore sensory function.

The improved process enables formation of high quality titanium alloy coating films, which had been difficult with the conventional technique.

The low cost, high efficiency electric pump offers an environmentally friendly alternative to mechanical counterparts. Aisin Seki Co., Ltd has now successfully developed a smaller, cheaper electric cooling pump through some effective efficiency optimisations.

Institute of Microelectronics (IME) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MOSIS, a provider of low-cost prototyping and small volume production services for custom ICs, to offer its multiple-project wafer (MPW) service to MOSIS’ customers.

The latest advance in imaging technology helps optimize catalysts for use in onboard fuel processing. A*STAR researchers have identified the subtle, atomic-scale structural transformations that can activate and de-activate gold nanoparticle catalysts, a finding that may lead to longer-lasting hydrogen fuel cells.

Flat panel displays and many digital devices require thin, efficient and low-cost light-emitters for applications. The pixels that make up the different colors on the display are typically wired to complex electronic circuits, but now researchers at A*STAR have developed a display technology that requires a much simpler architecture for operation.

Graphene-based materials kill bacteria through one of two possible mechanisms. Researchers at A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and co-workers have now compared the antibacterial activity of graphite, graphite oxide, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide using the model bacterium Escherichia coli.

Japanese scientists have succeeded in fabricating a crystalline thin film with a film thickness of nanometer order, in which molecules of a 3-dimensionally strong porous coordination polymer (PCP) are oriented in a designated direction, and demonstrated that this thin film has a reversible gas adsorption/desorption reaction function.

A research group including the NIMS Superconducting Properties Unit and others, in joint work with the University of Fukui, discovered a new material, NaCr2O4, which was developed by ultra-high pressure synthesis and displays a novel type of colossal magnetoresistance effect.

RIKEN, the University of Tokyo, and NIMS succeeded in forming a skyrmion crystal, in which electron spin is aligned in a vortex shape, in a microdevice using the helimagnet FeGe, and driving the skyrmion crystal with an ultra-low current density less than 1/100,000 that of the current necessary to drive magnetic domain walls in ferromagnets.

Toronto, Ontario; Ithaca, NY; Singapore, August 28th, 2012 - Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has attracted interest from the medical imaging community for its ability to provide live 3D images at near microscopic levels, offering an ‘optical ultrasound’ alternative for doctors.

(Aichi, Japan, 28, 2012) - Aisin Seki Co., Ltd, Japan, has developed an eyelid monitor and identified symptoms in eyelid behaviour that indicate drowsiness in motorists. The new automated technology (Intelligent Transport System (ITS)) eliminates the fallibility of human judgement in gauging when drowsiness is becoming a driving hazard.

Singapore, 28 Aug 2012 ― Researchers from A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed the first compact high performance silicon-based cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna that operates at 135 GHz.

(Tokyo, 27 August 2012) Tokyo Tech ‘s Yoshihiro Miyake and colleagues have developed an innovative, non-invasive therapeutic intervention that may improve the mobility, stability, and quality of life of Parkinson’s disease patients.

(Tokyo, 27 August 2012) The bulletin contains cutting research from fish collagen for cosmetics and medical applications to multi-petaflop supercomputing, and environmentally responsive organic materials.

(Tokyo, 24 August 2012) Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers show simpler versions of the universal genetic code can still function in protein synthesis. In addition to understanding early primordial organisms, the research could lead to applications preventing non-natural genetically modified materials from entering the natural world.

Children of older fathers have a higher rate of new mutations according to a large genome-sequencing study published in this week’s Nature. The effect is an increase of roughly two new mutations per year for every additional year of father’s age at conception.

Medical scientists at Tokai University School of Medicine in Japan announce the development of a new cancer therapy using ultra violet C (UVC) pulses of light. Details of these findings will be described by Johbu Itoh at the International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry (ICHC 2012), 26–29 August, 2012, Kyoto.

The process by which male fruit flies learn to focus their courtship away from females that have already mated and towards eligible partners is deciphered in Nature this week. It seems that the mantra is simple: be promiscuous at first, but become more selective if a mating attempt fails.

The finding that nitrogen can combine with oxygen in zirconia to form NO molecules may lead to safer materials for nuclear reactors

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) was this year's recipient of the McCool Breakthrough Award from the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE), the world's largest organisation of hospitality and tourism educators.

Studies reveal a new way to make superhydrophobic surfaces with better self-cleaning capabilities

Researchers from A*STAR IME have developed an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that uses only 400 nW, the lowest power consumption reported to date amongst today’s standard processing technology.