Peer Reviewed

Identification of genetic variations that increase the risk of adult asthma will lead to better understanding of this disease

Planetary science update from Nature

Novel polymers release their drug cargo in response to body temperature

Plasmonic nanocrosses that heat up when illuminated can be used to kill cancer.

Vertical silicon nanowires prove to be an excellent platform for nonvolatile memory devices without the need for doped junctions.

Bamboo and rattan plants are at the centre of major initiatives in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that are combatting global warming, fighting soil erosion, protecting forests, and enhancing communities’ access to water.

The research team of Associate Professor Koji Arimitsu at Tokyo University of Science has developed photobase generators capable of highly efficient production of strong bases. This will enable the practical use of photopolymers that utilize photobase generators - something which has hitherto not been considered possible.

News from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Latest news ftom Nature 22 December 2011

A tree-planting activity at the back of the Carillon Plaza on December 14 launched the Washington SyCip Garden of Native Trees (WSGNT), a project between University of the Philippines Diliman and Bridgebury Realty Corporation (BRC, developer of the Zuellig Building in Ayala Avenue, Makati City).

A young scientist from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Food Safety and Technology Research Centre (FSTRC) has successfully prepared highly stable selenium nanoparticles by using the polysaccharide-protein complex extracted from the African Tiger Milk mushroom.

Professor Fujishima, President of Tokyo University of Science talked about experience in photocatalysts

Latest news from Nature journals 18 December 2011

Ichiro Taniuchi at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology is carrying out research to understand the mysteries of organism evolution by investigating the mechanism responsible for the differentiation of T cells.

Insights obtained from a structural and functional analysis of an ion-pumping protein could benefit future drug discovery efforts

Modifications to chromosomal proteins help ensure that brain-specific sugars are produced only in the appropriate tissues.

Tax cuts and a streamlined registration process are just some of the measures that reflect a new attitude toward small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. Support from IDRC and the Canadian International Development Agency have helped Egypt’s Ministry of Finance pave the way for these improvements.

Latest news from Nature 14 December 2011

Breaking news from Nature Neuropsychopharmacology

The pilot shipment of silicon optic device fabricated using novel MEMS technology developed by A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) for LinkStar Microtronics Pte. Ltd. (LinkStar), a one year old company which is a spin-off from IME, has been qualified by LinkStar’s customers for mass production.

Local startup develops handheld plug-and-play file sharing device in A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research laboratories

The possibility of designing a cubic stator in a rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator is intriguing and technically challenging. Theoretically, the vibrational behaviour of cubic stators remains unclear when modeled using the finite element method (FEM).

In late years, the development of a human robot and the use of the portable information terminal have become popular. Sound interface plays a very important role in this.

Insights in neuroscience research from the Toyohashi Tech Bulletin

The prevalence of computer networks for sharing resources places increasingly high requirements on the reliability of data centres. The simplest way to diagnose abnormalities in these systems is to monitor the output of each component but this is not always effective.

In everyday life humans use speech, gestures, facial expressions, touch to communicate. And, over long distances we resort to text messages and other such modern technology. Notably, when we interact with computers we rely exclusively on text and touch in the form of the keyboard/mouse and touch screens.

River Engineering Research Center and Urban Drainage (REDAC), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is a leader in research on water management in Malaysia and has helped the country toward solving the various issues related to it.

A first-of-its-kind research facility in South-east Asia

Latest news from the Nature journals 11 December 2011

Systematic study of the switching behavior in differential dual spin valves reveals the role of interlayer couplings