Peer Reviewed

Land once used for shrimp farming in Thailand has been rehabilitated by the planting of Nipa Palm trees. The project, initiated by a researcher at Prince of Songkla University, has shown that the trees can give high yields of sugar which can be converted into alcohol and used as an alternative energy source.

Through a system for organizing new strategic research at Waseda University, the “Center for Research on “Buddhism” as a Civilization of East Asia” has been established. The horizontal links between Asian researchers the Center allows has lead to an abundance of new research.

Jet lag poses a problem for athletes flying to international competitions. Sunao Uchida summarises the lessons learned in trying to reduce the negative impact of jet lag on athletes - lessons that are relevant to all air travellers.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Nanotechnology: Some nanoparticles affect pregnant mice; Geoscience: Large carbon stocks in mangroves; Medicine: Keeping bone from forming in the wrong place; Photonics: Extremely stable optical lattice clocks; Chemical Biology: Cannabis without hallucinations; And finally…Neuroscience: Itching for answers

Neural activity representing intuitive responses in the brains of professional board game players shows what sets experts apart

In the absence of vitamin A, the body loses immune cells that put the brakes on the earliest stages of infection

Free-floating electrons on top of liquid helium yield insights into their transport behavior

Using a simple glass capillary, atomic physicists at RIKEN are developing an ultra-narrow ion beam that pinpoints a part of organelles in a living cell, enabling biologists to visualize how the damage affects cell activities.

Artists should think of ways to diversify and widen the reach of their art products so that they can benefit the ‘bottom billion.’

The Wall Street Journal Asia announced that it is now accepting entries for the Asian Innovation Awards 2011. Presented in sole partnership with Credit Suisse for the second year running, the Awards are committed to finding the next big ideas in Asia Pacific, from entirely new inventions to the advancement of a classic idea.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Comment: Time to rethink the NIH; Biochemistry: Making the 22nd amino acid from scratch; Ageing: Dye promotes protein health and longevity; Astrophysics: Distinguishing between red giants; Physics: Ultrafast magnetism — an unexpected twist; And finally… Build me up, buttercup?

Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that a puzzling gap in the electronic structures of some high-temperature superconductors could indicate a new phase of matter.

Organized by the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the Fourth International Symposium of Intimate Apparel was held today (29 March) on the PolyU campus to promote the exchange of the latest knowledge and development of intimate apparel among academics and industrialists.

The Graduate School of Business of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is ranked 61st in the world, 3rd in Asia and 2nd in Hong Kong according to the latest University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Top 100 World Rankings of Business Schools 2006-2010.

By successfully changing the spin of a molecule, researchers have been able to perform an on/off operation for a molecular magnet. Such reversible switching paves the way for single molecule memory.

The fabrication of organic thin-film solar cells has been simplified due to new research findings. Where previously two types of organic semiconductors were required, doping the semiconductor fullerene with molybdenum oxide renders the use of phthalocyanine unneccessary.

The Fermi level position and band structure of gallium manganese arsenide has been determined for the first time, shedding light on the precise mechanism behind ferromagnetism in the material.

An international team of researchers have developed a versatile and high-sensitivity sensor for detecting analytes ranging from gaseous to biological molecules.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Genetics: Genetic interactions in HIV-1 drug resistance; Chemical Biology: Harmful protein misfolding in cancer; Cell Biology: A microRNA that regulates insulin resistance; Immunology: The regulatory function of intact tissues; Geoscience: Long-distance earthquake triggering restricted to small events.

Masashi Mochizuki looks back at the life of Eizo Matsui, a star baseball player and student of Waseda University, in light of a soon to open exhibition on Matsui's life up until his death in WWII.

With the support of Consulate-Generals and Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong as well as active participation of all faculty and school members, students and alumni, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has launched its first-ever International Weeks with a theme on "Appreciating and Embracing Global Diversity".

Professor Hidenori Tomozoe of Waseda University examines the controversial topic of match-fixing in grand sumo, asking whether fixing can be reconciled to sumo's dual status as a sport and a form of entertainment.

Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other conservation and research groups have discovered that groups of dolphins in the western Indian Ocean do not mix freely with one another. In fact, dolphin populations are kept separate by currents and other unseen factors.

Machine translation from Iban to English and vice versa may soon be available if a research project at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) is successful.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) Sarawak Language Technology (SaLT) Research Group is undertaking research and development in information and communication technology (ICT) to preserve and revitalise the state's indigenous languages.

Experimental work proves the theory that a circadian body clock requires a delay to function properly

Ensembles of neurons in the brain’s hippocampus inform about future as well as past experiences

Solar-powered ‘nanoalloys’ can convert polluting nitrates into ammonia fertilizer without releasing carbon dioxide

New findings reveal how layered metallic hydroxide crystals can trap carbon dioxide gas at elevated temperatures

Ultrasmall silicon wires could detect subtle changes in estrogen receptor-binding DNA sequences that are implicated in breast cancer