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The Speech Therapy Unit newly set up by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University was officially opened on 3 March. The opening ceremony was followed by the signing of the MoUwith Tung Wah Group of Hospitals on the PolyU campus.

The signing of a tripartite MoU has paved the way for The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to work together with the King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and the Expressway Authority of Thailand on the establishment of a Research Centre on Transportation Technology and Railway Engineering.

Latest news from Nature 15 March 2012

Dr. Masanori Kohno, a MANA Scientist at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), theoretically clarified the nature of the metal-insulator transition due to electronic correlation (Mott transition).

Researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC) have successfully developed and demonstrated a new experimental technique for producing cells with specific functions. As an alternative to induced pluripotent stem cells, the technique promises to enable faster production of functional cells for use in cancer therapy and other areas.

The latest microfluidic chip can generate microbubbles to break open cells for biochemical analysis

Researchers have devised a simple and inexpensive approach to making soft magnetic films for microwave applications

Dye-sensitized solar cells that use carbon nanotube thin films as transparent electrodes offer significant cost savings

By Yoshihiro Kanno, Composer and Professor at Waseda University, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Intermedia Art and Science

Comment on one year anniversary by Waseda University President Kaoru Kamata

Mathematical Model Describes the Collaboration of Individual Neurons

Latest news for Nature journals 12 March 2012

Success in getting gas atoms to emit light collectively, rather than individually, may lead to better imaging technologies

Biologists are uncovering intricate pathways underlying the chemical modification of a functionally important class of plant molecules

Fluorescence-yield x-ray spectroscopy provides a view into how organic transistors work at the molecular scale

Masayuki Manabe from Waseda University in Japan discusses the changing relationship between humans and animals.

Have we given a thought to the nurses' anxiety and pressure at workplace? Researchers at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Malaysia have been studying how being burnt out at work affects nurses' job performance.

Latest news from Nature 8 March 2012

Farmers in Malaysia, especially rice farmers, can now take advantage of mobile technology, with information related to planting and other farming practices available at their fingertips, thanks to an initiative set up by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

Researchers at the RIKEN SPring-8 Center in Japan have clarified for the first time how chromatin in archaea, one of the three evolutionary branches of organisms in nature, binds to DNA. The results offer valuable clues into the evolution of chromatin structure and promise insights into how abnormalities contribute to cancers and gene disorders.

Joint R&D Centre is first dedicated facility of its kind focused on developing next-generation packaging technologies to feed the explosive growth of mobile devices

An analysis of earthquake and tsunami risks presented this month in the Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology suggests that mangrove forests have a protective role in the event of a tsunami.

The formation of planets occurs under constant bombardment from particles ranging from a few nanometres to tens of kilometres in size, according to recent analyses of asteroid samples by scientists at Okayama University. The study is the first reported analysis of grains taken directly from a solar body in space.

Fumio Futami at Tamagawa University, Quantum ICT Research Institute, announced the world first transmission of the stream cipher by Yuen 2000 protocol (Y-00) at the bit rate of 40 Gbit/sec over 120 km.

Tokyo Tech’s Hiroshi Handa and colleagues have identified a key protein— cereblon —involved in the development of birth defects associated with thalidomide using unique sub-micrometer functionalized magnetic nanobeads. The discovery opens up possibilities for the development of safer drugs for the treatment of multiple myeloma and leprosy.

More than 100 social workers, occupational/rehabilitation therapists, medical/nursing personnel, researchers and clothing designers gathered at Hotel ICON on 26 February to attend the Symposium and Workshop on Apparel for the Elderly and the Disabled with Special Needs, organized by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will focus on sharing the best practices of indigenous knowledge so That the impoverished 'bottom billion' of the world's population can benefit from more affordable technology, said USM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dato 'Omar Osman.

Latest news from Nature journals 5 March 2012

March 11 marks the one year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan. The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) is organising a briefing for journalists entitled 'Fukushima - one year on' on Tuesday 6 March 2012. The briefing will be available in both English and Japanese.

PSU had the honor to host the 9th ASEAN Learning Network Council (ALNC) on February 16, 2012. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Surna Tjahja Djajadiningrat, from the Institute of Technology Bundung, Indonesia, and Prof. Chong Li Choy, Director of Asia Research Center at St. Gallen University, Switzerland.