Earth Sciences

Region-specific residential buildings solution optimizes energy-efficiency and thermal comfort

Yasuhiro Iba and his colleagues use complex imaging systems to reveal the secrets of Earth’s ancient creatures.

Myanmar’s digital ecosystem has been a lifeline for many, from education to community and humanitarian support, bringing a sense of stability in the midst of chaos. Alas, it is also a tool for repression, crime, and abuse. IDRC’s Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar has supported researchers looking into these complex issues.

Scientists from City University of Hong Kong and collaborators from more than 20 countries are taking FIRST steps towards safeguarding communities most affected by climate change.

Prof Li Liangliang, Associate Professor of the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies (WJYSIS) at Lingnan University, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the research and development of new materials chemistry. This honour highlights WJYSIS’s academic influence and value in promoting sustainable development through interdisciplinary innovation and real-world impact.

From icy seas to humid forests, research collaborations between the United Kingdom and Malaysia are helping to advance our understanding of diseases, develop vaccines and antibiotics, preserve precious habitats and address the challenge of plastic waste.

A decade-long study of Northern Taiwan's cities reveals that heat risk inequality evolves with urbanisation characteristics and the connection between green space deficit and heat risk was not a general phenomenon.

The seismic ultralow velocity zones critically affect the regional thermochemical structures at both sides of the core-mantle boundary, and possibly the geomagnetic evolution of our planet.

A new regional assessment shows that Southeast Asia is a major net source of greenhouse gases, with land-use change and rising fossil fuel use overwhelming natural carbon sinks, reservoirs that store carbon-containing chemical compounds for a long period.

Mutated baker’s yeast at the forefront of alternative 2,3-butanediol production methods

A Filipino-led team of international researchers has developed a physics-based algorithm that could train AI to greatly improve weather forecasts.

Sea salt aerosols are an important, chemically-reactive contributor to air quality when their components interact with the already polluted city air, particularly in Metro Manila.

Surface-bound gels may have provided the structure and chemistry for life to take root on Earth, and perhaps beyond

The Philippines remains mired in import dependence despite years of government support.

Untangling cosmic knots, Samurai jellyfish, Controlling rogue antibodies, Search for anti-ulcer vaccine & Metal-recovering yeast. Plus next SciCom coffee talk on experiences in science journalism in the AI era and WHO guide to reporting on non communicable diseases. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

To protect the diverse marine ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific region, we need to understand the full picture via collaborative data integration efforts across institutes and different disciplines.

More than 40% of existing and planned offshore wind farm sites in Europe and Asia are exposed to wind speeds above the maximum capacity of some turbines, highlighting the need for these energy infrastructures to adapt to extreme wind events associated with climate change.

Lingnan University signed a partnership agreement today, 31 October, with the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS), a pan-European organisation representing financial analyst societies from over 20 countries. Under the agreement, the internationally established ESG Essentials®️ programme will be integrated into Lingnan’s relevant undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, making Lingnan the first university in Asia to include this professional ESG programme in its education framework to cultivate interdisciplinary ESG and green finance talents in Hong Kong.

A new species of jellyfish has been discovered! Researchers at Tohoku University named this venomous creature Physalia mikazuki, after the crescent moon helmet worn by Sendai’s feudal lord Date Masamune.

Scientists shine a light on the properties of the gemstone ammolite -- a rare type of brightly coloured fossilised ammonite shell.

Three‑Layer Trap: Congener‑Specific PCBs Accumulation Driven by the Biological Pump in the Sea of Japan

$5.5 Million partnership with WCS and WorldFish will expand Bangladesh’s Marine Protected Area network and strengthen community-led ocean stewardship

A research team led by Associate Professor Tomoya Kataoka at Ehime University, in collaboration with Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd., Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., and Wageningen University’s Associate Professor Tim van Emmerik, has developed AI software using deep learning to detect, classify, and track plastics flowing in rivers. The system automatically estimates transport volumes from video data, supporting continuous monitoring and advancing understanding of land-to-sea plastic transport. The findings appear in Water Research.

Researchers found overlooked sources of greenhouse gas emissions in urban Osaka using mobile measurements

A rock described as a flaky pastry may sound delicate, but researchers at Tohoku University found that when they fold under compressive forces in just the right way, they can actually be strong. These findings may help with earthquake risk assessment.

The risk of extreme water shortages due to climate change is predicted to affect almost 74% of drought-prone regions by 2100, according to new research in Nature Communications. In the first known published estimation of its kind, the authors report that hotspots of water scarcity will likely emerge across the Mediterranean, southern Africa, and parts of North America by the 2020s and 2030s.

Timely information on a company's production activities is crucial for investors and policymakers, yet it remains scarce as financial reports and other broader economic indicators like the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) are only released periodically. This information lag makes it difficult to assess a company's operational health in real time. To address this challenge, Prof Zhao Xiaofeng, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance and Associate Director of Hong Kong Institute of Business Studies at Lingnan University, in collaboration with researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, has developed a new economic indicator, which uses thermal infrared radiation data to monitor the production and operation of enterprises in real time, and accurately predicts changes in their future profitability in terms of sales growth. The findings were recently featured in the prestigious international finance journal “Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis”, and received support from the General Research Fund (GRF) of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) amounting to about HKD$400,000.

Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE) 2025 will return from October 16–18 at Taipei World Trade Center, Hall 1, uniting government, academia, and industry under the theme “Cross-Domain AI Innovation: Driving the Future with Intelligence.” The event will feature 450 exhibitors presenting nearly 1,100 patented technologies, highlighting Taiwan’s role as a key driver of global innovation.

Researchers led by Associate Professor Hideki Kikumoto at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo fuse regional climate datasets and local weather observations to find a significant rise in urban temperatures and heatwaves in Tokyo

Counterintuitively, hot days are more likely to produce hail.