Peer Reviewed

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abd Razak The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. He can be contacted at [email protected] This article was published in the 'New Sunday Times' on 4th July 2010

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abd Razak The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. He can be contacted at [email protected] This article was published in the 'New Sunday Times' on 28th June 2010

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abd Razak The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. He can be contacted at [email protected] This article was published in 'The Edge Malaysia on 21st June 2010

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: Skin patch delivers influenza vaccination; Lumiracoxib-related liver injury; Pathway linked to leukaemia progression; Uneven climate modification; Tracking oncology diversity; Following the expression of a single human gene

Vascular development in plants is controlled by a newly identified gene regulator that can block the formation of water-transporting vessels

A large-scale genetic analysis provides a molecular atlas of a complex brain structure, the hypothalamus

The maturation of inhibitory synapses in the visual cortex is modulated by visual experience

Singapore, 16 July - Groundbreaking of A*STAR’s Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC) paves the way for cutting-edge R&D to develop Singapore as a ‘living laboratory’ for smart grid solutions. Four companies, namely, Rolls Royce, Vestas, SP PowerGrid and CEI Contract Manufacturing entered into strategic partnerships with A*STAR today.

A database released by RIKEN and Keio University researchers has information on over three thousand phosphorylated proteins and phosphorylation sites in rice which opens new doors in the study and engineering of plants.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: A massive star is born; Outlook: HIV/AIDS; Understanding deep tremor; Electronic surface states that pass through barriers; The viral genome of faeces

The discovery of the fossilized remains of a previously unknown primate from Saudi Arabia could bring us one step closer to dating the divergence between hominoids and Old World monkeys. The findings are reported in a paper in this week’s Nature.

Adolescent male mice are particularly susceptible to cannabis-induced psychosis, reports a study published online this week in Neuropsychopharmacology, indicating that age at exposure and genotype are important factors.

The third Biennial Conference of the China-Europa Forum kicked off yesterday (12 July) at the Jockey Club Auditorium of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

Tokyo, 13 July - RIKEN scientists have developed a genetically-encoded fluorescent sensor that can act as a direct optical indicator of signaling activity in the living brain.

Singapore, 9 July 2010 - The Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) announced the winners of Science Chronicles 2010 at an Awards Ceremony held in Fusionopolis on Thursday, 8 July.

Ottawa, July 12 – The Think Tank Initiative has selected 16 think tanks, or independent policy research institutions, in South Asia to receive a total of US$21 million to strengthen their roles as influential players in national policymaking.

Mexico- DDT use was eliminated with no increase in malaria, Guatemala - Chagas disease has been addressed through improvements to house construction, Amazon - Mercury poisoning was halted, by finding alternatives to the slash and burn agriculture, Malawi - Children’s health has been improved by growing legumes instead of corn.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has opened doors to 5,103 new students through 60 courses offered for the first semester session 2010/2011 on the 3rd and 4th of July, just recently.

Partners in Health (PIH), Canada’s IDRC and the I-TECH program (University of Washington), is working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to support the strengthening of Electronic Medical Records interoperability in Haiti.

Canada’s International Development Research Centre will collaborate with the Next Einstein Initiative as part of a $20 million investment by the Government of Canada in building science and technology capacity in Africa.

OPINION: Recently, I made a presentation entitled Reinventing Science at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia Inaugural Lectures.

OPINION: World Environment Day, which is celebrated every June 5, took the theme Biodiversity -- Ecosystems Management and the Green Economy this year.

OPINION: In a May 30 interview on a weekly public affairs show hosted by journalist and author Fareed Zakaria on CNN, Microsoft Corp chairman Bill Gates mentioned the need "to reorder the priorities of the innovation system" in making changes in the health­care sector.

OPINION: It was immensely satisfying to listen to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad speak on a subject as tricky as "technology-based innovation"...

Students’ achievement in co-curricular activities is important although in terms of weightage for university admission, it only contributes 10% compared to the 90 % for academic achievement.

The registration of new students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the 2010/2011 Academic Session ran smoothly and witnessed more than 4000 students registering themselves at the three USM campuses.

Tropical cyclones obey the law; Evolutionary genomics: Chicken surprise; Sea-level patterns in the Indian
Ocean; A successful pathogen; Seeing uranium nitride in a new light; GPCR
assemblies in view

A large-scale genetic screen reveals a factor that makes rheumatoid arthritis patients’ joints vulnerable to immune attack

Sheets of cells stick together by monitoring and responding to the pull of their neighbors