Peer Reviewed

Summaries of newsworthy papers in Nature and Nature research journals including: Turning decision-making on its head, Weaving a web of tiny reactors and Neuroscience: Forming first impressions.

SERDANG, 2 March – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has entered into collaboration with Solution Engineering Holdings Bhd. (SEH) in designing and producing a pilot plant in Puchong, Malaysia worth RM4 mil (USD1.1 mil) that will be capable to produce bio based vegetable oil.

PETALING JAYA, February 16 - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Dutch Lady Milk Industries (M) join hands in a research project to study on milk nutrition and mental performance of Malaysian pre- school children.

The powerful x-rays from a RIKEN synchrotron can provide high-contrast images of biological specimens

A new theory predicts an unusual excitation spectrum for a chain of ultracold gas atoms

Genomic studies have now provided enough understanding to design clock genes

HONG KONG, 4 March - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has signed an agreement with the CareLife Healthcare Limited (CareLife) today and received a strong boost of HK$30 million from the company to support further research and development of its patented, award-winning "Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Meter".

LEMBAH BUJANG, 4 March. – Researchers from the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (PPAG) Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have once again created history by discovering the remains of an iron smelting site, dating back to the 3rd Century AD, at Sungai Batu, Lembah Bujang, Kedah.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: HIV: Microbicide curbs virus transmission in monkeys; Astrophysics: Binary black hole system discovered; Microbiology: Antibiotic design questioned and We cannot live by scepticism alone

Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin launched the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX) Transformation Plan for University Science Malaysia (USM)

Summaries of newsworthy papers include ‘PiggyBac’ to pluripotency; Where decisions are made; Microtubes made easy; First-rate help; Managing iron overload and Clostridium virulence factor identified

Koji Ishizaka currently co-hosts the TV antique show “Kai-un! Nandemo Kanteidan” (We’ll Appraise Anything) and has acted in many films. In the film “The Last Game The Final So-kei sen” released last August, he played the role of President Shinzo Koizumi.

SINGAPORE, February 25, 2009 — A new map has been released which shows the regions of Southeast Asia most vulnerable to climate change.

A metal–organic framework that contains ordered channels of two different sizes can separate different gases

Cells control interactions between two proteins with an important role in Alzheimer’s disease by stranding them on discrete membrane ‘islands’

OTTAWA, Feb. 25 - The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canada Research Chairs Program are pleased to announce eight research partnerships between outstanding university scholars in Canada and their peers in the developing world.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Prehistoric sex, The missing asteroid mystery, Melding brain and machine, Unexpected prion link in Alzheimer’s disease, Atlantic seesaw, Friction on a small scale and Giant sand dune formation explained

Body-friendly nanomaterials; Childhood abuse permanently modifies stress genes; A human hand in Indonesian fires; HIV sweetly slips by; Jump-starting cancer-gene discovery; Imaging colour centres on the nanoscale; Aerosols and underlying clouds lead to warming; THz phase modulator and How your genes can make you fat

University Science Malaysia (USM)’s researchers have discovered a bird species, which is reportedly rare not only in Malaysia, but also Asia.

For many centuries, the rural communities have developed their own, locality-specific knowledge or culture and practices regarding agriculture, natural resource management, health and also education, and this is believed to be part of their survival strategies.

Scientists have discovered magnetic nanoparticles that, unlike most materials, shrink when they are heated

Cellular proteins assist plant cells to ensure their offspring inherit the capacity to support themselves

Muons are obscure particles that only appear naturally on Earth when high-energy cosmic rays collide with the upper atmosphere. So why do RIKEN scientists travel all the way from Japan to study muons on a remote hill in England?

The project aims to clarify the mechanism of information processing in shogi players’ intuitive thinking, and thereby shed light on rapid perception and decision-making in the human brain.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include MRI: The big picture; Climate: Carbon storage in African forests; Neuroscience: We know what you’re thinking; Molecular pathway for neuronal cull and Self-assembled ‘daisies’

(IAS Center General Office at Waseda University) Islamic civilization has spread throughout the world over the centuries; from the East to the West, from Southeast Asia, passing through the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and extending through to Western Africa.

As the proverb says, too much water drowned the miller. Mothers’ too much care can break children’s sense of independence. For example, birth is a kind of antagonism if it is regarded as escape from protection inside the body, and weaning means an end of the protection named “mother’s milk.”

It was a banner Nobel year for Japan last year. It was an exceptional feat that Japanese both captured the Nobel Prize for Physics, and we also shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The Nobel Prize, of course, is not awarded to a nation, but rather to individuals in honour of their remarkable contributions to society.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Erasing fearful memories, Lighting up brain maps, Relicts of martian ice?, Common variants that regulate blood pressure, Nitrous oxide hot spots and Once a boggy plant, always a boggy plant?

The product, known as Contactless Active Integrated RFID System (CAIRFID) is capable of identifying data at a distance of between 30 to 45 meters. The capacity of CAIRFID which has touched 2.45 GHz, is also the first product in the world to incorporate Zigbee technology.