Peer Reviewed

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Comment: Vaccinate for the next H2N2 pandemic now; Palaeoclimate: El Niño variability in the Pliocene warm period; Neuroscience: Making sense of function and connection; Physics: The strongly coupled beat of a quantum drum; And finally… How the penis lost its spines

Enables Smaller, Faster, Lighter and More Thermally-efficient Multi-chip Modules for High Performance Wireless Applications

Singapore, 9 March 2011 - Global experts in nanoformulation will be gathering in Singapore for the first time to exchange ideas and foster collaborations with international partners in NanoFormulation2011, the 2nd of three international events organised under an EU-funded programme called InForm (Integrating Nanomaterials in Formulations).

By Veena Ravichandran The International Development Research Centre has been funding research to study promising innovations that can help disadvantaged women improve their lives and livelihoods.

Some molecules have a single, highly specific function in physiology, while others have a much broader remit. Kinases in the IKK family are of the latter sort, playing a variety of roles. A new report from RIKEN shows that this factor regulates shuttling of endosomes in the tips of growing mechanosensory bristles.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a cluster of genetically determined eye disorders that cause visual defects such as night blindness and narrowing of the field of vision, due to progressive loss of rod photoreceptors. New work by Zi-Bing Jin and colleagues looks to add a set of powerful new tools for those searching for treatments for RP.

A great many cellular processes are switched on or off by the modification of a given enzyme or other protein by addition of a phosphate molecule, known as phosphorylation. In a new study, researchers at RIKEN have shown that phosphorylation of the protein HP1α boosts its ability to bind to heterochromatin resulting in stabilization of chromosomes

Professor Tatsunori Matsui of the Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, looks at the concept of 'career design' and its realization in higher education.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Medicine: Minimally invasive diagnosis of Down syndrome; Genetics: Variants associated with heart disease; Methods: A simple pluripotency test for human stem cells; Chemical Biology: TB in view; Genetics: Variant associated with high risk of sick sinus syndrome; And finally…Biotechnology: Biofuels from proteins

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is proud to announce today (4 March) the opening of the expanded Samsung Digital Lab for Hospitality Technology and the new premises for its School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) in the former site of staff quarters in Tsimshatsui East.

The structure of a greenhouse gas-producing bacterial enzyme may yield insights into the evolution of our earliest oxygen-breathing ancestors

Calculations can now predict when and how spins of electrons and ions arrange in one-dimensional multiferroic materials

An analysis of the interactions of a gene-reading enzyme with an inhibitor protein provides surprising insights

Seafood is known to often contain small quantities of mercury. A team of researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have been investigating the impacts of long term exposure to mercury on the brain, determining its effect on protein expression.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) will host the fifth International Functional Food Symposium, which is themed on “Promoting Good Health and Developing a Sustainable Environment”, on its campus from 10 to 11 March 2011.

Sulaiman Mohd Dom of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA has created "MyRabbitBurrow" to calm rabbits in the lab.

Researchers have measured the genetic diversity of saline tolerant rice from across India. This analysis is used to predict which genotypes should be used to develop higher yields in difficult, salt rich soil conditions, and the work is published in the February edition of Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science (JTAS).

The rapid development of computational tools is shedding light on new genetic and molecular studies, but it is also creating headaches for the scientists involved in this research.

The patterning of templates using ultraviolet light is a promising new method for assembling transparent microwire networks

Researchers have developed a tunable, low-cost laser device that could help advance fiber-optic communications

Short pulses of laser light can crystallize amorphous silicon and create a nanostructured surface texture ideal for solar-cell applications

30 international experts gather for workshop organized jointly by the US Board on Global Science and Technology and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Astrophysics: How the Sun loses its spots; Climate science: Local impact of insolation on climate variation; Quantum physics: Another role for Bose–Einstein condensates; And finally… The double life of annelid worms.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the first university in the region to take the initiative in conducting research on Orang Utan, the most endangered species in the world.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) ‘Sarawak Dolphin Project' (SDP) took a step forward in combating threats to coastal cetaceans in the region through a regional workshop in Permai Rainforest Resort.

A team of plant experts from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, have conducted research on the potential use of the plant growth regulators, paclobutrazol and uniconazole, to enhance flowering in Etlingera elatior.

It is the responsibility of scientists to work closely with government bodies and developers on the best way to prevent biodiversity loss due to development.

The global biofuels market is worth US$240B by 2020 according to Pike Research Cleantech Market Intelligence (2009). The conference is a platform to discuss the next generation of biofuels, algal biofuels and cover opportunities and challenges of building a biofuels industry.

In the wake of China overtaking Japan to become the second largest economy ion the world, Satoshi Amako evaluates the likely course of China's foreign policy.

UiTM food researchers Noriham Abdullah, Marina Zulkifli, Mohd Hilmi Hassan, Wan Nur Zahidah Wan Zainon and Nur Ilmiah Alimin have developed a new process for the formulation of fruit peel based snacks to bridge the gap between fast, on-the-go snacking and meeting consumer health concerns.