Peer Reviewed

Affairs which may erode trust in the mass media have recently happened one after another. They were not management or sales scandals, but ones casting a doubt on the manner of gathering and reporting news, which are the core operation of the mass media. Many of them were caused by publishing companies and TV stations.

The following quotation is part of the explanation about the new trial process that a judge gave to people who had been selected as citizen judges in a mock court simulating a trial by citizen judges in which I was involved:

Before the Japanese economy rapidly grew, there was an obvious difference between urban (e.g., cities and towns) and rural areas in Japan. When the modern municipality system was established in Japan in 1889, even districts which were regarded not as cities, but as towns had small but condensed urban areas.

Enviroplast or more commonly known as green plastic, created by Professor Hanafi Ismail is an alternative to the petroleum-based plastic.

26 June 2009 - ID Business Solutions Ltd, a leading provider of innovative data management solutions to multinational R&D organisations, today announced that it has concluded an unconditional agreement to acquire InforSense Ltd, a company providing award-winning scientific and business intelligence technologies.

In a press conference today BSI-TOYOTA Collaboration Center announced that they have succeeded in developing a system which utilizes one of the fastest technologies in the world, controlling a wheelchair using brain waves in as little as 125 milliseconds. A link to the demonstation video is provided.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Stopping the pumps in chemotherapy-resistant tumours, Mississippi drowning, Genetic variants associated with kidney stones, Solid-state quantum circuits, Mystery solved for immunoglobulin D role, Future forest changes, Efficiently moving through chemical space, Tropical rain shift 600 years ago

An international team, led by Shingo Nagano from the RIKEN SPring-8 Center in Harima and Hiroyasu Onaka from Toyama Prefectural University, has uncovered the vital role of water in the generation of the antitumor drug staurosporine

A recently discovered structure in plant cells functions to transport proteins and glycans around the cell

Research on the function of a type of RNA called ‘Gomafu’ is the primary field of study at RIKEN’s Nakagawa Initiative Research Unit.

The alumni of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, together with the University's Industrial Centre, have recently raised nearly HK$1.9 million for the establishment of a scholarship in memory of the late Dr YK Ching, the last Principal of the Hong Kong Technical College (predecessor of PolyU).

In a recent study by pesticide toxicologists at UP Los Baños, the injection of neonicotenoid pesticides such as thiametoxam, imidachloprid and clothianidin in coconut trunks was found safe and effective in controlling the coconut leaf beetle (Brontispa longgisima).

The metabolic hormone adiponectin could serve as a predictive biomarker for type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a study published online in this week’s Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Accumulating evidence indicates that population levels of certain animal species, such as the beluga whale and the Tasmanian devil, are being affected by cancer.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include The sea inside, Thalidomide birth defects not a patterning problem, Cancer protein may prove useful biomarker, Pathway to longevity and Lumpy stream caught on camera

The School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University launches the "Masters of Mask" Exhibition today (23 June) on campus to showcase a collection of innovative facemasks designed by its students on a master programme. The designs tackle issues of Asian size and fit, material technology, branding strategy and public health policy

The "Youreable" Fashion Design 2009 event, organized by the Troels H. Povlsen Care Apparel Centre under the Institute of Textiles and Clothing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has come to a fruitful close. The event provides the elderly and the disabled with an opportunity to unleash their talents in fashion design and apparel making.

IF there were doubts that Malaysia was not putting a premium on education, the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (17CCEM) dismissed them.

PENANG, 19 June: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the first university in the country to adopt the ‘Green Building Index’ (GBI) as part of the training and teaching modules for its students.

This book aims to redress the relative lack of published information on successful telehealth solutions in the developing world. It presents real-life stories from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Farming pollutants, Vaccines: Jogging your memory and Long-term ties between Antarctic temperature and sea level

An organic compound provides the rare opportunity to study electrons that behave as if they have no mass

Neurons conveying information about smell from the olfactory bulb communicate with multiple regions of the brain

A newly created yeast gene archive will enable efficient analysis of the function of bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical use

The Sixth Robotic Project Competition and the Interactive Game Design Competition held by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University saw a vigorous display of engineering talents in robot related activities and interactive game designs.

Asian societies are in a period of transition, as people are learn to live with new information and communication technologies (ICTs). Whether at work, at home, at school, or at large, ICTs are having an impact on day-to-day lives.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Copy number variation linked to childhood brain tumour, New antimicrobial function for tissue-remodelling protein, The mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia, Seasonality increase preceded ancient big freeze, Getting into the CNS, Io in equilibrium, Measuring miniscule motion and A dinosaur in the hand

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University today (17 June 2009) launches a dedicated channel on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/HongKongPolyU).

Working in collaboration with the HKSAR Government's Highways Department, Prof. Michael Siu, Leader of the Public Design Lab of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has achieved a major breakthrough in managing public space by the invention of a new bollard system, known as FlexiBOL®, for use along the roadside and pedestrian walkways.

In simple rites held at the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), UP Los Baños yesterday June 10, Dr. Artemio Salazar, together with UPLB officials led by Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco presented the new YAP (Yield and Protein) corn variety to the Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur C. Yap, whom the corn was named after.