Peer Reviewed

In a “normal world,” the female population equals or slightly surpasses the number of males. Except in India, that is, where the situation is just the opposite, where the gender ratio — or the number of females to males — is known to be among the most imbalanced in the world.

This week in Nature China - A combination of DNA vaccination in conjunction with conventional chemotherapy may provide better control of tuberculosis

Summaries of newsworthy papers include The tree rings have it, Oncogenic microRNA and New resources to precisely map mutations in the fly – Nature Methods

This week, some 50 ICT experts from more than 30 countries in Asia Pacific came together in Singapore to brainstorm and network for the Digital Review of Asia Pacific (DirAP) 2009/2010 which is expected to be released early next year.

Research findings relating to a method for diagnosing breast cancer developed by Professor Masami Ando of the DDS Center, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science were announced.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Neuroscience: Building a picture of sight, Biomaterials: Know your hydrogel onions, Information processing: Quantum interface and Where have all the midges gone?

This book is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity, and food security.

In Nature China this week - Researchers have used a marine yeast to successfully reduce the incidence of black rot in cherry tomato harvests

Summaries of newsworthy papers: Biogeography- Cosmopolitan phages, The not-so-sweet side of malaria, An atomic force pencil, Let there be light, Genetic variants predisposing to coeliac disease, Mitochondrial DNA deletions affect lifespan, Smokers insensitive to what might have been, Bone marrow nurturers, Altered stem cells accelerate ageing ...

Researchers map genetic alterations associated with human schizophrenia

RIKEN researchers have shown that electron beams, like light, can be twisted into vortices that have useful functions

Alternating electric current can be used to precisely control tiny vortices of magnetism

Dust mite and cockroach allergens aggravate the symptoms of eczema and similar diseases by disrupting skin barrier function, a study published online this week in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reports. The work provides a crucial step in understanding how the skin’s defenses are weakened by allergens it encounters daily.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Male and female flies wired differently for sex, A threshold for massive star formation, Completing the record, Locating what’s in the larder, An engineering material toughens up and Donning a disguise outside the theatre

Highlights from Nature China include - Scientists in Beijing have identified the gene responsible for cell-corpse degradation, A fossil found in north-eastern China reveals the smallest ever pterosaur and scientists in Beijing have assembled a logic gate using nanocontacts and nanowires made from a metal alloy

MEDIA ADVISORY - The Editorial Board and Authors of “The Digital Review of Asia Pacific ”, comprising some 50 experts from government, academe, industry and civil society, will be meeting in Singapore from March 2-4th at Sentosa’s Silosa Beach Hotel, to start planning for the 2009-2010 version of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Long-distance groundwater flow on Mars, Dust in the wind, Silicon lasers march towards the mid-infrared, Drug detective kit for the cell’s powerhouse, Towards a ‘cloak’ for magnetic fields, Pathway influences human hair growth and texture, Cows as genetic models and more

Tying short RNA molecules into loops gives them a stability boost, which could lead to more effective therapeutic strategies for modulating gene expression

The neurons in the primary visual cortex processing high- and low-frequency images are distinct

RIKEN researchers find link with protein build-up

Other newsworthy papers include Renewable cell therapy for diabetes inches closer from Nature Biotechnology and Treatment-resistant depression might be in the genes from Neuropsychopharmacology.

Summaries of newsworthy papers including Mars: Understanding its water flow, Diabetes: Sugars regulate insulin signalling, Evolutionary Biology: A photosynthetic parasite, Chemistry: Reacting the unreactable, Structural biology: Defining an anti-HIV protein, Tectonics: Deep mantle penetration events, And finally… Bend me, break me

In Nature China this week - A new strain of natural antibiotic could help stop bacterial blight in rice, SARS virus: Rafting into host cells, Anticancer agents: A clue to how they work and more.

Dr. Cesar Mercado, founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Development Center for Asia Africa Pacific (DCAAP) promotes the development of social technologies in the Philippines. He has produced more than fifteen culturally adapted social technologies (CAST) which he continuously shares to interested social scientists and researchers.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Mississippi sinking, Pass the acetyl, please, New syndrome of mental retardation and epilepsy identified, Gene hunters strike oil and Reversing impaired brain function in diabetes – Nature Neuroscience

In-depth interviews with over 100 entrepreneurs in Bangalore suggest that deficiencies in the performance of basic governmental functions (such as in collecting taxes and maintaining land records) play a significant role in discouraging businesses from starting at or expanding to an economically efficient scale of operation.

Although signs have emerged that some of the forces that caused the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis have begun to diminish and progress has been made in macroeconomic affairs, 10 years after the meltdown Indonesia's recovery is still among the slowest in Asian crisis countries.

This paper contributes to the debate on the use of temporary controls on capital outflows as a crisis resolution measure by examining the outcome of Malaysia's radical response to the 1997–98 financial crisis.

This study shows that India's export performance is still far behind that of China. The implication of this study is that India's reform measures need to be bolstered effectively to catch up and to overtake China.

A protein with an important role in regulating gene expression may have other duties relating to chromosome maintenance