Peer Reviewed

Sandra Blakeslee, a science writer for The New York Times who specializes in the brain sciences, recently interviewed Atsushi Iriki of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI), Wako, Japan.

Journalist and news anchor Tetsuya Chikushi lost his battle with lung cancer in November 2008. He was a lecturer in Waseda University. His colleague and fellow news anchor, Yasuhiro Tase remembers his legacy.

Water vapour in ‘hot-Jupiter’ atmosphere?, Heating far-off oceans, The stage is set for another food crisis, Antibody therapy helps SIV-infected monkeys, Changing its spots, Mirror image molecules made with ease, Melanoma mutation, Solid-state storage device for single photons and Bacterial clean-up job

The Malaysian Solid State Science and Technology Society (MASS) presented this award to Prof. Taufiq Yap Yun Hin from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) for his work on using vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO) as a catalyst for light oxidation hydrocarbon reaction to produce high value added petrochemical product.

Minister of Higher Education, Dato' Seri Khaled Nordin informed the media that the ministry has allocated grant worth of RM25mil to GSM-UPM with a budget of RM13.5mil for infrastructure and the other RM11.5mil is intended for developing human capital.

Decentralization has sometimes been presented as a magic bullet for both development and democracy. Is successful decentralization making government more accessible, accountable, and responsive to women.

The HUMI Project has earned a reputation internationally for its technique of photographing rare books using a special book cradle and a camera mount.

Vietnam aims to be a developed country by 2020. With foreign direct investments hitting the record level of more than US$60 billion this year the goal is most likely to be achieved. Still, Vietnam cannot totally ignore the many other challenges that accompany development

The theme of the conference - Sustainable Built Environment Bridging Theory & Practice - was particularly apt because the world is facing various problems related to sustainability.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) successfully developed the first microelectronic chip for academic and research development in Malaysia. CEDEC or Standard Cell Library is a computer chip with the potential of accelerating the digital design process.

The growing demand for cognitive enhancement within a healthy population requires a response, say leading figures in neuroscience, ethics and regulation. Their arguments are stimulated by the previously documented off-label use of such drugs by students and professors.

Meteorite impacts may have helped spawn life on Earth, Melatonin and risk of type 2 diabetes, Cone starvation in retinitis pigmentosa, Seeing cancer specifics, New inherited factors influencing blood lipid levels, Tropical nitrogen fixation and Blood stem cells require editing

Professor Morikawa from Waseda University analyzes the love affairs of college students and the era of the “marriage hunting” that is expected to materialize in the near future.

Visual information from both eyes finally comes together when it is transmitted to the primary visual cortex. Transport of the Otx2 protein from the eye to the brain may initiate visual cortex plasticity

Eliminating signaling molecules from tissue culture results in the generation of hypothalamic neurons from embryonic stem cells

Tracking and halting the making of new neurons shows that continued neurogenesis is needed for spatial memory

The search for improved ‘multiferroic’ materials may benefit from a new discovery in an iron-based oxide compound

Additions to the genome map yield important clues on how plants respond and adapt to adverse environmental conditions

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Into the clouds, Tycho’s supernova classified, Education and well-being, Cancer stem cells and melanoma, Arctic freezing triggers methane burst, Video captures stem cell niche, On–off switch for a superconductor, Core fold in animal egg coats and Mechanism for a stress-free, low-calorie, long life

IDRC and partner organizations will convene policy-makers, researchers, grassroots organizations and journalists from Canada and across the globe at the International Ecohealth Forum 2008 in Mérida, Mexico, December 1-5.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Return of North Atlantic deep convection, Family ‘friendly’ bacteria, Lessons from New Orleans, Reviving exhausted immune cells, Unbreak my heart, Molecular arms race, Snowball Earth or open oceans? and Sexual cycle of a fungus

A method for deriving complex neuronal tissues from embryonic stem cells could yield major benefits for clinical research and the development of new therapeutics

A common mechanism may explain cognitive dysfunction during both aging and Alzheimer’s disease

A genetic variant highly associated with diabetes is found in both East Asian and European populations

A new large high-precision mirror is capable of focusing x-ray radiation to spot sizes of just a few nanometers

Molecular imaging is expected to help in the detection of lifestyle-related diseases, such as cancer, dementia, and diabetes, at an early stage, as well as in developing good new drugs with the fewest side-effects far more quickly.

Researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) have begun bridging research for a vaccine to prevent and treat pollen disease caused by cedar pollen. Human clinical trials are still needed, but a vaccine appears to be in sight.

PolyU is working closely with the Russian Space Agency in designing a state-of-the-art space tool which will be carried onboard a Russian spacecraft for the Red Planet in the 2009 Sino-Russian Space Mission.

Fed up of years of arguments about the pros and cons of GM crops, the African Union brought together key individuals and institutions to discuss the issue ; A new generation of lithium-ion batteries, coupled with rising oil prices and the need to address climate change, has sparked a global race to electrify transportation.

Summaries of newsworthy papers: Protein complex influences body clocks and metabolism, The rise and fall of thermotolerance, Photons drive tiny device, Binding too tight, Atom economy raises the stakes, Earliest evidence of subduction?, Iron storage in phytoplankton, Unexpected organic-matter-munchers live in deep waters and Heroes in a half shell