Peer Reviewed

Drug delivery systems need to maximize the therapeutic activity while minimizing negative side effects. Layered double hydroxide has great potential for a controlled release formulation. The second research is on Betulinic acid a natural product isolated from plants, which has potential as an anti-cancer agent.

Almost 95 percent of enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region are SMEs. While ICT can benefit them, they have been slow to adopt ICT due to many reasons. This e-Primer, with a foreword by Kim Hak-Su discusses benefits ICT brings to SMEs, explores uses, surveys past policies and programmes and recommends policy options for interested governments.

A grant has just been awarded to University Malaysia Sarawak for the development of a microarray which will allow simultaneous detection of all enterovirus serotypes in a single test, allowing rapid public health decisions on EV71 outbreaks. Current technologies are slow and tedious in that each virus serotype must be ruled out one by one.

The researchers have found that despite the differences of disasters involved and their technologies, they exhibited common characteristics and that socio-technical disasters are not sudden cataclysmic events but evolved in phases with long developmental period.

Very few sustained efforts to develop scenarios for the future of higher education have been undertaken. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is a bit of a trend-setter in this respect, and this book is to be welcomed by those interested in exploring the future of universities.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Behaviour: Of mice and man-eaters, Cancer: Gene reduces severity of lung cancer, An unfolding antibiotics story, How inflammatory lymphocytes develop, Seeing transcription in living colour and Virus-based screen for ion channel modulators.

An important stage in the early development of an embryo is the formation of the dorsal–ventral axis, which distinguishes the front (ventral) side of the animal from the back (dorsal). RIKEN researchers are identifying the genes and proteins that contribute to this process in Xenopus laevis, the African clawed frog.

Repairing damaged retinas is now a possibility. Japanese researchers from RIKEN and Kyoto University have demonstrated retinal regeneration in a mammalian model. It is a discovery that may ultimately lead to new therapies for retinal diseases including the degenerative disease called retinitis pigmentosa.

Japanese researchers identify genes controlling health-giving compounds in common food crops. Vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower are anti-carcinogenic with antioxidant properties and offer a natural defense against crop pests, potentially reducing the need for synthetic pesticides.

This study explores how the state defines “indigenous people” and determines their position in the Philippine society. Through cultural productions by indigenous performing troupes, cultural difference is established which also results to cultural brokerage. (Audio links are available).

Bangka, Kaluluwa at Katutubong Paniniwala - Bangka is the general Philippine term for all kinds of seacraft. The rituals involving the bangka reveal that it is more than a water vessel in Philippine culture: it is a repository of an entire belief system in indigenous society.

This recently completed project aimed to develop a mobile telemedicine system in Indonesia using existing Internet communication technology. This system will allow remote patients to receive a routine check-up using a mobile phone and local hospitals to respond faster by being able to contact specialists in spite of geographic barriers.

The haze of air pollution over the Indian Ocean may be causing as much lower atmospheric warming as the recent increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases, a Nature study suggests. Summaries of newsworthy papers include Earthquakes: Love and stress, Deep brain stimulation in a minimally conscious state and Tunable light sources lose their mirrors

Keio’s project aims to create communities in a comfortable, safe and creative living and communication space in which everyone will be able to live and communicate with each other. The “Co-mobility Society” combines the latest technologies to provide practical solutions for improving various difficulties and problems of daily life.

As a facility to carry out their joint research, Keio University and Dentsu plan to establish the Keio University Second Life Campus within Virtual Tokyo, which Dentsu will open in August this year as a virtual city within the Second Life metaverse.

Various organizations and government agencies involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country gathered to share success stories and challenges at a workshop that launched the latest Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project against the epidemic.

Researchers in the Philippines have revealed that a fast and low cost photographic method is just as effective as the more expensive videographic method in assessing the condition of coral reef benthic communities.

Most of the cross-arms of the 275 kV and 123 kV electricity transmission lines in Malaysia and other countries are made of hard wood. Due to natural weathering the wood decays over time. For safety and maintenance, it is useful to have a simple, accurate non-destructive decay detection system.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Genetic risk factor for multiple sclerosis, Graphene senses single molecules, A new twist on the AFM, To mend a broken heart, A genetic variant enhances emotional memory, Transporting immune cargo

A team of Japanese molecular biologists has determined the structure of a protein complex that plays a key role in the initiation of one of the most fundamental of biological processes: the replication of DNA.

Researchers from the RIKEN SPring-8 Center in Harima, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the universities of Tokyo and Virginia have discovered how changes to the crystal structure of the oxide material HgCr2O4 correlate to its magnetic state

RIKEN scientists have accurately measured a tiny voltage produced by segregating electrons according to their spin1, a result which could help to usher in a new era of spin-based computing.

An exclusive interview in this week's Nature Podcast with Simpsons head writer Al Jean, also includes Homer, Lisa and, er, Stephen Hawking. Together they explain why the Simpsons is the most scientifically literate show on TV, and now at the movies. The interview is supported by a feature in this week's issue of Nature.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Climate change: Don’t blame the weatherman, Pressure in the Amazon, Tectonics: Rift of difference, Materials: Graphene oxide ‘paper’ is super strong and Quantum physics: Entangling atom pairs

A microscope imaging technique for visualizing and analyzing semiconductor integrated circuits developed by a team of scientists from the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Physics was awarded a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Highlights from Nature China include Organogels: Stick and shine, Autoimmune disease: A balanced approach, Forestation: Carbon storage in soil, Papaya ringspot virus: Coat variations, Frustrated magnets: Seeking stardom

Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are collecting and analysing large amounts of biological data but have their progress is impeded by low network bandwidths. This project addresses the problem of low bandwidth and reliability through the introduction of third generation P2P protocols.

Researchers in Universiti Teknologi Mara are working on pre-nanoemulsion gel from coconut oil which can help repair skin damage and chewable vitamin C tablets and herbal tea made from hibiscus.

The paper evaluates the effects of reducing higher income tax rates in New Zealand. The results indicates that reduction in higher income tax rates would improve New Zealand’s long run economic performance if it were financed by a decline in non-productive government spending and/or increase in revenue from other less distortional taxes.

Universiti Putra Malaysia's researchers have produced MBSofax, an array of newly synthesized ‘fine organics’ originated from palm oil and its fractions. It is suitable for use in the cosmetics, food, drugs, pharmaceuticals and other chemical industries.