Medicine

Award winning contact lens combat childhood myopia

RIKEN and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) have successfully produced a first beam of X-ray laser light with a wavelength of 1.2 Angstroms.

The School of Optometry of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Squina "Loving Heart" Volunteer Team jointly launched a "Comprehensive Eye Check Project for the Elderly" in October 2010 to provide primary eye care services for 500 elderly from Po Leung Kuk Elderly Centres.

A new algorithm improves the way computers interpret readings of the brain’s electrical signals

Identification of a key compound that regulates plant responses to wounding could provide benefits on three fronts

Summaries of newsworthy papers - News and Comment: The future of vaccines; Planetary science: How Mars had a growth spurt; Biology: Immune response to HIV; Physics: How to measure an electron; Virology: Long-term evolution of swine flu; Neuroscience: Molecular pathology in autism; And finally… They might be Ordovician giants

7 Research Themes Selected for 3 Mid-/Long-Term Research Projects

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Astronomy: Lonely planets; Cancer: Overcoming treatment-resistant leukaemia; Ecology: Overestimating extinction rates; Climate science: Currents from the deep; Biology: The evolution of proteins; Geophysics: Melting of the Earth’s inner core; And finally… When is a snake not a snake?

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has announced the development of “ENDEAVOR-Mobile”, the world’s first fully Android-based mobile teleradiology collaboration platform.

A single protein is sufficient to switch on the various genes that kick off the development of the embryonic nervous system

The Faculty of Dentistry at CMU has Developed an Orthodontic Tool to Help Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate, Winning a TRF Research Award, 2010.

Hitachi Asia Ltd. and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Data Storage Institute (DSI) recently entered into a strategic partnership to research a new generation storage system for genome sequencing data.

A research team from Chiang Mai University (CMU) have developed a simpler, less-expensive Detection Kit for monitoring Hyaluronan using purified protein from the waste cartilage of a variety of species from the meat processing industry. The research won the team the National Research Council Invention Award, 2011.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Comment: Time to rethink the NIH; Biochemistry: Making the 22nd amino acid from scratch; Ageing: Dye promotes protein health and longevity; Astrophysics: Distinguishing between red giants; Physics: Ultrafast magnetism — an unexpected twist; And finally… Build me up, buttercup?

Leading international experts on healthcare communication are meeting in Hong Kong to examine ways of improving communication between doctors and patients, particularly in hospitals.

Two genes that affect Caucasians and a variant of the inflammatory gene interleukin-6 affect the abundance of a marker of systemic inflammation in the Japanese

Based on the concept of ‘Prevention is better than cure’, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) researchers have found a way to stop the spread of cancer cells in the human body with a product derived from the oak galls plant.

Teaching and learning using real corpses (cadavers) is a key component in the USM International Medical Doctor Programme carried out in collaboration with KLE University in Belgaum, Bangalore, India (USM-KLE).

I²R, a research institute of the A*STAR, has entered into the second phase of a research and development agreement with Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Joseph Fourier and the National University of Singapore for their joint laboratory in Singapore known as the Image, Pervasive Access Lab.

Researchers in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the first time, have succeed in inventing a diagnostic tool to detect the disease, Melioidosis swiftly and accurately.

In Nature China this week - Structural biology: Without a weak spot; Organometallic chemistry: Nature's way; Photochemistry: Long live the excited state; Theoretical chemistry: Flattening silicon; Oncology: Soy joy; Public health: Safe and effective; Vertebrate palaeontology: Cracking the pterosaur mystery.

Rapid activation of specific genes readies the mammalian body for seasonal change

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has further extended its collaboration with the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital (HKSH) in providing the highly popular Master of Nursing Programme for degree holders of other disciplines to join the profession. HKSH will also introduce new scholarship and bursary for students.

A new study on social cognition has clarified a key role for the medial frontal region of the cerebral cortex in differentiating between the actions of oneself and the actions of others.

Officials of international health agencies are recommending a pilot roll-out of cholera vaccination in Haiti, despite the fact that even using the world’s entire stockpile of doses would leave most Haitians without vaccine.

Dean Michael Tan of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), University of the Philippines Diliman, sums up the projects and priorities of his administration in one word: space, referring to several meanings of the word in his plans for the college.

In celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) 2011, nearly 70 scientists from across the globe will speak at a two-day conference on research that can greatly impact technologies in health, lifestyle, high-value manufacturing and sustainability.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has recently won one Gold and three Silver Medals at the 62nd International Trade Fair "Ideas - Inventions – New Products" (IENA) of Nuremberg, Germany, for its innovations in health technology, novel use of optical fibres and digital image processing.

The first Japanese human genome sequence suggests that genetics researchers may be overlooking rare but potentially important variations

Summaries of newsworthy articles: Infectious Disease: Flu factories; Science Agenda: A political wish list; TechnoFiles: Don’t worry about who’s watching; Forum: Diplomacy’s meltdown; Computer Science: Rise of the robo scientists; And finally…The Science of Health: Curing the common cold.