Medicine

Accumulating data has demonstrated that Japanese macaques and degus, the latter a kind of rodent, are capable of using tools after training. Changes in brain functioning that may have led to human intelligence are being elucidated.

In Nature China this week - A gene specifically expressed in shell glands could determine the survival of brine shrimp eggs in extreme environments.

More than 320 delegates attended the Sixth Asia Cornea and Contact Lens Conference organized by The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists and co-organized by PolyU School of Optometry and...

A news feature published this week in Nature Medicine explores how researchers are using high-tech solutions to overcome these types of challenges.

In Nature China this week - Terrestrial ecosystems in China may have absorbed 28-37% of the country's fossil-fuel emissions over the past two decades

The discovery that monkey malaria parasites are causing human malaria in Malaysian Borneo, lead by scientists at the Malaria Research Centre, UNIMAS, was featured in a television documentary aired by Australian Broadcasting Corp on 2nd April 2009.

Views from Professor Ichiro Innami of the Faculty of Policy Management in Keio University - "Although we are well on the way to an extremely aging society never experienced throughout the world, health care system is not at all ready for that."

High-resolution structural data about an essential protein reveal new insights into how some cells transform fiber into force

In Nature China this week - Researchers in China have uncovered the underlying mechanisms of morphine tolerance

In Nature China this week - A cleverly designed peptide has been fabricated for therapeutic applications such as drug release, tissue repair and regenerative medicine

UP Los Baños is currently employing biotechnology to produce clinically-important compounds from an erstwhile common garden plant – the Vinca. According to Dr. Eufrocinio Marfori of BIOTECH based at UP Los Baños, his team is looking for more natural products which can be derived from the Vinca.

Prof. Asma discovered the antigen for Salmonella Typhi and developed a diagnostic kit for typhoid fever which has been commercialised in more than 18 countries, Prof. Halimaton initiated the study "zeolite and nanostructures" and Dr Salmah is active in efforts to overcome the impacts of floods and pollution as a result of uncontrolled development.

In Nature China this week - Researchers in China have developed a rapid and effective strategy for identifying DNA-binding regulatory factors

In Nature China this week - Researchers have dated the 'Peking Man' fossils as 200,000 years older than previously thought

A previously enigmatic protein has been found to play a direct role in monitoring glucose levels in the body

In Nature China this week - Researchers in China have uncovered the molecular mechanism by which resistance to chemotherapy drugs is developed

PETALING JAYA, February 16 - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Dutch Lady Milk Industries (M) join hands in a research project to study on milk nutrition and mental performance of Malaysian pre- school children.

Genomic studies have now provided enough understanding to design clock genes

HONG KONG, 4 March - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has signed an agreement with the CareLife Healthcare Limited (CareLife) today and received a strong boost of HK$30 million from the company to support further research and development of its patented, award-winning "Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Meter".

RIKEN and the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) hosted an international conference, ‘Molecular Imaging 2008 — Breaking New Ground in Drug Discovery and PET Diagnosis’ in Kobe on Dec 14 and 15.

The project aims to clarify the mechanism of information processing in shogi players’ intuitive thinking, and thereby shed light on rapid perception and decision-making in the human brain.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include MRI: The big picture; Climate: Carbon storage in African forests; Neuroscience: We know what you’re thinking; Molecular pathway for neuronal cull and Self-assembled ‘daisies’

It was a banner Nobel year for Japan last year. It was an exceptional feat that Japanese both captured the Nobel Prize for Physics, and we also shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The Nobel Prize, of course, is not awarded to a nation, but rather to individuals in honour of their remarkable contributions to society.

“The research would focus on the traces of protein and chemical contents in the gloves in order to identify the level of sensitivity especially those with high possibilities to react actively with the contents,”

Statistical analysis helps the search for fundamental causes of disease. Most Japanese people fall into one of two distinct groups genetically, biostatisticians from RIKEN’s Center for Genomic Medicine in Yokohama have shown.

In Nature China this week - Insight into the signalling pathway of insulin resistance opens up new strategies against type 2 diabetes

British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough presents his views on Charles Darwin, natural selection, and how the Bible has put the natural world in peril in an exclusive interview for Nature Video.

By turning enzymes into better editors, Japanese scientists achieve improved results in protein engineering

Genomic analysis helps scientists to start determining how licorice plants produce a highly beneficial compound

A pioneering research by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has uncovered the previously unknown anti-inflammatory mechanism for soothing the pain arising from arthritis, and thus unlocked the key to conducting further researches on the relationship between functional foods and this common crippling disease.