Peer Reviewed

IDRC was one of the earliest development agencies to embrace information and communication technologies (ICTs) as powerful tools for reducing poverty, for combating HIV/AIDS, and for fostering good governance.

In Nature China this week, scientists in China have isolated a protein from peanut seeds that has antifungal, antibacterial and anticancer activities while scientists in Hong Kong have demonstrated the possibility of a three-dimensional cloaking device for sound.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Testing time, A new virulence mechanism for MRSA, Genetic mutation in familial aortic aneurysm, Regulating immune suppression, Stalling chemotherapy damage, Controlling protein stability in parasites

Since 2004, China has amended its treatment of foreign investments to attract higher-quality foreign investment and upgrade processing exports in order to transform itself from a world sweatshop to a global manufacturing center. The policies appear to have the intended effects.

Manila – A new international research initiative, linking the private and public sectors for the first time and launched today at the 2007 Asian Seed Congress, aims to boost the research and development of hybrid rice for the tropics.

Researchers have revealed how two closely related proteins trigger opposing effects in developing roots

Japanese researchers have identified a subset of cells they believe may induce the formation of a network of follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in the spleen and lymph nodes.

The new programme quietly introduced by the British government last week affects people from all countries outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Atmospheric science: Detecting ozone intrusions, Planetary science: Saturn’s radio clock, Development: How the body builds an asymmetric aorta, Quantum physics: The perfect couple and finally…Be not afraid

ASEAN is considering an East Asian Free Trade Agreement. Can ASEAN remain in the driver's seat of regional integration and be an effective hub? The FTA proliferation also has important consequences and effects for East Asia and the world trading system.

ALEPPO, Syria: A low-cost technology developed by scientists at ICARDA to treat high level of magnesium in soil by using calcium has demonstrated the potential to double the crop yield in magnesium-rich soils in Central Asia.

In Nature China this week - People at risk of cardiovascular disease can improve the condition of their blood vessels and carotid arteries by consuming soy products and scientists have validated an improved technique for detecting the early stages of kidney disease in Chinese patients

Summaries of newsworthy papers include In vivo folding lights up, RNA interference insecticides, Genetic variants associated with rheumatoid arthritis and Genes for Transplants

The properties of electrons on the surface of an unusual metal will supply clues—and puzzles—to theorists

Immunologists reveal the switch between two components in the signal pathways for two types of immune response

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Fires affect carbon balance in boreal forest, Breaking the silence, Stars spiral into life, Dance for your supper, Time taken to first base, The workhorse picks up speed and Caribbean reefs struggling to recover from ecological sucker punches

Nondrug rewards could be a viable alternative to addictive drugs according to a study published in Neuropsychopharmacology. This finding could have important implications for those seeking treatment for drug addiction.

Treating wheat seeds with lasers can help them grow into plants that are resistant to ultraviolet radiation and drought.

The article analyzes two cases of domestic violence involving Filipino women in Australia, Rosalina Canonizado and Annabel Strzelecki. Interviews of their close relations and newspaper representations reveal sexual and racial "othering" of the women in the discourse of "mail-order bride."

The study examines the content of websites featuring prospective brides from the Philippines and Thailand. It explains how and why the representation of Thai and Filipino women on intermarriage websites involves power and violence thus creating unequal Third World-First World power relations that are embedded in international migration circuits.

Yongxuan from Guangzhou in southern China told the meeting that pollution-control regulations appeared to be doing little to clean up her country’s severely degraded rivers, while Gerald from Accra pointed out that much of the Ghanaian capital’s wastewater is dumped directly into the ocean.

When corrupt business alliances collectively wield more economic clout than some sovereign states, what can be done?

Hunger can be eradicated “in my lifetime,” says the man known as the father of the Green Revolution in India. M.S. Swaminathan speaks about his values, his achievements, and his ambitions.

The AssessUrBook initiative opens up a new dimension in examination and assessment approaches for basic accounting.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Long live transplants!, Phosphorylation on demand and Responding to sepsis

Specialized immune cells orchestrate proper elimination of dead cells to prevent inflammation

RIKEN scientists have developed a way to create incredibly brief bursts of high-frequency light that should help to take better snapshots of atoms

Researchers from Japan have shown that zinc can be used by the cell to transduce extracellular signals into cellular responses by propagating intracellular signaling pathways.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Moonlets create waves around Saturn, Neuroscience: The future’s bright, Cancer: Host of new genes spotted, Explosive spectrometry, Developmental biology: The eyes have it, Physics: See how they run, Auxin’s roots, Nuclear physics: Extending the drip line and Lévy flights called into question

Women with high blood pressure during pregnancy should be monitored closely both during and after birth. Women in this group have an increased chance of developing cardiovascular problems and stroke later in life and the risks are under-recognized.