Covid-19

News

05 Apr 2024
Rapid, responsive, and readily-available antigen-antibody testing is crucial in the fight against infectious diseases, something driven home by the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve these tests, a Tohoku University research group has created a new method to form polymer particles that are adorned with gold nanoparticles.
Lingnan University organises "Resurgence Career Expo@LingnanU 2024" on campus, drawing the participation of over 100 companies to provide a platform for employers to engage with Lingnanians.
15 Mar 2024
Lingnan University has launched a three-day (13-15 March) career expo, titled "Resurgence Career Expo@LingnanU 2024" on campus, drawing the participation of more than 100 companies offering over a thousand of job opportunities for Lingnanians. The first two days of the physical event attracted over a thousand Lingnan University students and alumni to participate. This marks the University’s first large-scale career expo since the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the event is to provide a platform for employers to engage with Lingnan students, introducing their companies, and jobs. This will allow students who are about to graduate to gain first-hand information about the job market and equip themselves for future career endeavours. Lingnan University also extends a warm welcome to alumni, encouraging them to return to campus and explore development opportunities across various industries. In addition to the physical career fair, Lingnan University is concurrently holding the "Resurgence Career Expo@LingnanU 2024" in hybrid mode. The online platform will remain accessible until the end of April, providing additional time for Lingnan students and graduates to explore job search strategies and pursue their desired careers.
International Women's Day 2024 Poster
07 Mar 2024
In celebration of International Women's Day, we are putting the spotlight on women experts from various fields who are open to speaking with international media about their research and advocacies.
10 Jan 2024
Novel findings from a preclinical head-to-head comparison show that administering a COVID-19 vaccine as a nasal spray rather than a subcutaneous injection enhances the body’s long-term immune memory, thereby increasing the vaccine’s overall effectiveness. This research could pave the way for a COVID-19 vaccination strategy that depends on fewer boosters to achieve the same level of protection against SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
Exploring the correlation between restriction on human mobility and the cost of lifestyle-related diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic
22 Dec 2023
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University assessed the correlation between human mobility restrictions and the medical costs associated with lifestyle-related diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A cross-sectional study revealed that an increase in walking and public transit use was associated with reduced medical costs of lifestyle diseases. These findings implicate governments to take measures other than restricting walking and public transit during pandemics and emphasize the importance of walkable cities.
A primary school in Hong Kong takes part in Lingnan University’s study on "Enhancing positive values among primary students".
17 Dec 2023
The School of Graduate Studies of Lingnan University has initiated a research project to address growing concerns regarding the emotional well-being of Hong Kong students and the academic stress they have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic. The project focuses on "Enhancing positive values among primary students through digital storytelling." Research findings indicate that incorporating digital storytelling in primary schools’ English language classes helps inculcate positive values among students. It is found that this pedagogical approach not only improves students’ engagement in class, but also significantly contributes to their holistic development, and emotional and mental well-being, and cultivates positive values in young learners.
05 Dec 2023
World-renowned professors from six leading institutions in four countries launched the Pandemic Research Alliance (PRA) today (4 December) to drive concerted research into respiratory viruses from animals to humans, improved surveillance, and new solutions to better manage the next pandemic.
17 Nov 2023
Researchers from Osaka University found that Japanese people who used medical information were more likely to wear masks and disinfect their hands even before the COVID-19 outbreak, while those who exchanged information with acquaintances were more likely to newly start mask-wearing and hand disinfection post outbreak. This will assist in the development of risk communication strategies to promote infection-preventive behavior in a timely manner.
10 Nov 2023
New insights on how individual immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, particularly in mutant strains, can influence the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines
09 Nov 2023
The School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) found that 55% of the patients who sought medical treatment from the “HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19” during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to experience at least one long COVID symptom for six months to a year after diagnosed with an infection. The most common symptoms are fatigue, brain fog and cough.
09 Nov 2023
New shrimp species in ancient hot spring, Super sprouts, How "warm-ups" work, New antiviral candidate, Solving voltage decay and from our blog: A sustainable future shines in TIE 2023. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.
02 Nov 2023
A researcher from Osaka University has investigated the associations between mask usage and the reasons people give for wearing a mask. Online surveys were conducted before and after policies that downgraded the status of COVID-19. The study found that 59% of respondents continued wearing masks even after policy changes. Several sociological and psychological reasons other than disease prevention for mask usage were identified.
The newly identified 2-thiouridine (s2U) shows broad-spectrum antiviral activity against various ssRNA+ viruses including DENV, CHIKV, and SARS-CoV-2. (Kentaro Uemura, created with Biorender.com)
20 Oct 2023
A broad-spectrum antiviral drug candidate, 2-thiouridine, that targets positive-strand RNA viruses has been identified and characterized.
16 Oct 2023
The shortlist for the Applied Microbiology International Awards 2023 has now been announced. The AMI Awards programme is designed to celebrate the brightest minds in our field and promote the research, group, projects, products and individuals who continue to help shape the future of applied microbiology.
03 Oct 2023
The researchers from Osaka University showed how two psychological factors, belief in just deserts (BJD) and human rights restrictions (HRR), differ across countries. BJD tended to be higher in Japan and lower in the UK, whereas HRR was higher in China and lower in Japan. Public health messages for high-HRR individuals could potentially be used effectively to reduce disease-related discrimination and prejudice.
31 Aug 2023
Applied Microbiology International (AMI) is boosting training and development opportunities for early career scientists in journal publishing with the appointment of 14 new junior editors on its flagship journal Letters in Applied Microbiology (LAM). They were selected from more than 100 applicants by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr Marcela Hernández.
30 Aug 2023
How much is adequate screen time for a child? It is the question at the forefront of many parents’ minds. Now, a recent cohort study has found that the amount of screen time spent by one-year-olds is associated with developmental delays.
24 Aug 2023
Study suggests broad-spectrum vaccines with wide coverage necessary to achieve effective immunity against future, functionally-distinct variants.
JHSSR Vol. 5 (1) Jul. 2023
14 Aug 2023
Greetings from JHSSR, Horizon is proud to announce the highly acclaimed publication of the latest issue of 2023, Vol. 5, Issue 1 (Jul. 2023). The issue is now live at the Journal’s webpage. You may explore our range of contributions within this Issue. Explore this issue, click the links below.
28 Jul 2023
Scientists have isolated potent neutralising antibodies from a COVID-19 vaccinated SARS survivor that exhibited remarkable breadth against known sarbecoviruses. The antibodies targeted a conserved region of the spike protein and blocked receptor binding and viral fusion. These findings could guide the development of broadly active therapeutics against current and future coronaviruses.
26 Jun 2023
What scientists learned about the rare antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2’s Achilles’ heel could help fine-tune our COVID-19 vaccine strategy for longer-lasting immunity.
26 Apr 2023
Singapore scientists find use of healthcare resources, absenteeism and reduced productivity due to mental health issues place a significant burden on Singapore’s economy.
14 Apr 2023
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a foldable buggy that can be used on the moon, synthetic nano-nets to help combat antibiotic resistance, and how that new car smell may not be a good thing.
11 Apr 2023
With many countries enacting strict lockdowns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, economists have begun looking at the wider implications of such policies. Typically, they employ a cost-benefit analysis, but this has certain limitations. To overcome these limitations, a Tohoku University professor has turned to a surprising source: physics
10 Apr 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more aware of the aerosols that hang around in the air and spread certain infectious diseases. Common dental procedures can be potentially hazardous in this regard. Therefore, it is crucial for researchers to be able to measure how aerosols spread so they can reduce them. A recent study harnessed a high-sensitivity camera and a high intensity LED light source, along with a mannequin and dental air turbine, to measure the spread of aerosols and the effectiveness of various means to reduce them.
27 Mar 2023
Researchers from Osaka University have found that repeated high-dose treatment, known as pulse therapy, with the steroid methylprednisolone reduces in-hospital deaths in COVID-19 patients who receive invasive mechanical ventilation, but not in patients who don’t receive invasive mechanical ventilation. These findings were only possible using appropriate statistical methods to remove bias from the data, which originally seemed to show that the opposite was true. These results can improve patient treatment and reduce COVID-19-related deaths worldwide.
Using heated tobacco product makes severe COVID-19 more likely
23 Mar 2023
A research group from Osaka Metropolitan University investigated the relationship between tobacco use, including heated tobacco products, with the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19. The researchers administered an online survey of living conditions in February 2022 to 30,130 participants aged 16-81 years, finding that heated tobacco product users had significantly higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to non-tobacco users. Furthermore, the research group found that among all tobacco users, those who used both heated tobacco products and traditional cigarettes had the highest incidence of requiring hospitalization or oxygen due to COVID-19.
17 Mar 2023
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a fish that is both transparent and multicolored, making mice grow antlers, and surgery on a very small heart.
16 Mar 2023
PAXLOVID™ rollout continues with Laos, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia as international access to oral treatments improves.
15 Mar 2023
An Osaka University study investigated how the COVID-19 onset and media coverage affected hand hygiene compliance. Voluntary use of hand sanitizer in a hospital rose from 5% in December 2019 to 70%+ by August 2020. In the same period, TV coverage reached 7.7 hours/day on a national broadcaster. The study’s simulations found a significant relation between TV coverage and hand hygiene compliance, though no correlation between compliance and newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Events

07 Aug 2024
The MTE 2024: Advanced Healthcare and Life Sciences International Innovation Awards & Expo (AHLS IIAE) is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating groundbreaking innovations in the healthcare industry.
28 Apr 2022
Organizers: Refinitiv, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, and Asian Development Bank
28 Apr 2022
Some of Asia's top social scientists discuss ways to build an alliance with the region’s policy infrastructure for post-COVID-19 times.
20 Jun 2022
COVID-19 International Innovation Awards (a virtual event), part of MTE 2022 year-long innovation awards programme, is scheduled to return on 20-24 June 2022. The awards are created to acknowledge and celebrate all innovations in response to COVID-19.
25 Jan 2022
With a brand-new focus, join us to explore Asia Healthcare Analytics Summit happening LIVE on 25 & 26 January 2022 via Hopin platform with 30+ Inspiring speakers, 100+ Virtual attendees, 4+ Networking session, 3+ Panel discussions of healthcare experts globally participating in this summit.
24 Nov 2021
To what degree social science and scientists have been involved in national COVID-19 responses across the region to address the pandemic’s multi-dimensional effects? To reflect on this, SEA Junction in collaboration with ARC-UI, GDN and IPSR, MU will host the online event on 24 November, 4.00 to 5.30 pm (Bangkok time, GMT+7).
11 Oct 2021
Pandemics and Policy: Protecting Health and Promoting Economic Recovery
03 Aug 2021
SEA Junction in collaboration with AJAR will hold the 7th #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar Bi-Weekly Updates by Khin Ohmar on 3 August 2021 at 8.00-9.00 pm (Bangkok Time) via Zoom and Facebook Live.
17 Jul 2021
To highlight the challenges, resilience and roles of artists, SEA Junction will hold a blended event on 17 July 2021 with the title of “From Fear to Resilience: Artists Amid the Pandemic”. The gathering will explore the resilience of both traditional and contemporary artists in Thailand and wider Southeast Asia.
07 Jul 2021
The 1st ALTERSEA conference aims to bring together researchers from around the world to reflect on the main issues studied by the Observatory in Southeast Asia: social movements and social activism, as well as less visible initiatives, marginal or infra-political forms of protest and resistance, and what we might consider social systems of political regulation.
26 Oct 2021
The theme of ICFLP this year is ‘Law and Legal Practice in the Post-Pandemic Era: Opportunities, Solutions and Innovations’.
07 Oct 2021
The National Healthcare Group (NHG) is proud to present the 19th Edition of the Singapore Health & Biomedical Congress (SHBC).
14 Jun 2021
Scheduled to return in June 2021, the awards were created to recognize and honour all COVID-19-related inventions.
07 Apr 2021
Join us from 7 to 9 April 2021 at the Precision Public Health Asia 2021 Conference to find out how precision public health can improve health outcomes and equity to deliver ‘personalised’ public health.
18 Feb 2021
Alter Sea, in collaboration with SEA Junction, Fiskom Uksw and Centre Asie du Sud-Est, is pleased to invite you to attend the webinar titled “Alternative Solutions in Facing Covid-19 Across Southeast Asia”. The event will take place on February 18 at 3 pm.
21 Oct 2021
Call for Papers for 2021 conference: People, Power, Politics, Pandemics and Other Perils in Southeast Asia. The event will take place on 21-24 October 2021 at University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. Deadline: Thursday 8 April 2021. Submit from the link below.
15 Dec 2020
The exhibition provides a platform to showcase the images and stories of migrant workers taken on the field. Opening of photo exhibition is on 15th December 5.30pm - 6.30pm at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
23 Nov 2020
Global health emergencies look set to be a part of our lives. What awaits us in 2021 and what lessons can we draw from COVID-19 coverage? How can we support newsrooms and journalists for more informed and impactful journalism about global scientific, technical and human challenges? What role does journalism play in seeking solutions for a better world that is both healthy, and sustainable?
15 Oct 2020
The Science Walden Center of South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with Artist Jieun Gu exhibited an art work, along the Taehwa River in Ulsan, S. Korea.
16 Nov 2020
Optimising Clinical Trials | Commercialising Great Science | Partnering for Growth
10 Jul 2020
Tohoku University is hosting an online lecture on COVID-19 on July 10. Led by top virologist Hitoshi Oshitani, the panel will share the latest on the pandemic, and discuss how history, culture and religion can help us understand the challenges ahead.
04 Jul 2020
Tohoku University's Graduate School of Education is hosting a three-part webinar series on how the COVID-19 pandemic is transforming education in the Asia-Pacific region. The event is in English and open to everyone. But spots are limited and registration is required. Details: https://bit.ly/2MT2UFA
The Khwarizmi International Award (KIA) acknowledges the efforts made by researchers, innovators and inventors from across the globe and to appreciate their high quality research work and contributions to different fields of science and technology.
26 Jun 2020
Flattening the Curve with Digital Health: Episode 7 - Australia
18 Jun 2020
Flattening the Curve with Digital Health: Episode 6 - Thailand
10 Jun 2020
Flattening the Curve with Digital Health: Episode 5 - Japan
04 Jun 2020
Flattening the Curve with Digital Health; Episode 4 - Malaysia
23 Sep 2020
Adapting to COVID 19, and driving a pivotal change in drug trials, market penetration, pricing and regulatory compliance
02 Sep 2020
Celebrating and learning from COVID 19 success stories to shape new frontiers in patient experience, healthtech and innovation.
21 May 2020
Flattening the Curve with Digial Health - Episode 2: Singapore

Researchers

Dr. Niranjan Devkota is a distinguished researcher in climate change, agriculture, and poverty. He actively contributes to policy dialogues and has extensive experience in governmental and non-governmental sectors, demonstrating his commitment to driving positive change.
Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi), Kyoto University
Young scientist from Kulgam,  Kashmir.
Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Shah 'اشفاک ' born on 6 June 1992, from south Kashmir, Doderkoot ددیرکوٹ Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India is the infection immunity doctoral researcher at the Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, UK, India. Dr Shah is pursuing novel dimensions of infection immunity pertaining to the correlation and impact of phyto-immune components termed phytoalexins and phytoanticipins on the benign immune system of human beings. This parameter of immunology is termed phytoalexin-immunomodulation scrutiny. His area of interest lies in Preclinical and clinical studies, i.e. vaccine adjuvant development, development of anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds, evaluation of antibiotic resistance, study of Immuno-modulatory activities, disease model studies, protease isolation against specific protein antigens, and the discipline of Kalology including tyrosinase inhibition, PPO inhibition, skin whitening agents, kerato-peeling etc. Dr Ashfaq is a Doctoral Researcher, Reviewer and Editorial member of several journals and books. He is having several publications in journals of national and international repute. So far he has published more than thirty scopus infection/immunology/pharmacology scientific papers, including Fifteen international book chapters and two international books. Mr Shah received the Young scientist award in August 2023 for his groundbreaking academic performance in the field of infection immunity. Mr Shah has also been an editor of Wikipedia pages in medical science since 2015 with more than 1000 edits in medical topics available to medical literature worldwide.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Cheng Siang Tan
Dr. Cheng-Siang Tan is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). He is an expert in infectious and emerging diseases and biosafety and biorisk management.
Ilham Akhsanu Ridlo is an early-career researcher and assistant professor at Indonesia's Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga. He is a Ph.D. student at Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung (IfKW), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Ilham believes science communication is crucial in bridging the gap between research practice and health policy implementation. His research area concerns how scientists and journalists influence decision-makers to understand scientific uncertainty in public health.
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Matthew Tay
Dr. Tay has researched antibodies and diseases like malaria and SARS-CoV-2 at A*STAR. His focus is on discovering methods for developing antibodies that can be used in therapies against multidrug-resistant pathogens.
I am a Health Economist/Researcher, working with UN agencies in the development of policy documents for developing countries including Nepal, Ethiopia and Pakistan.
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Department of Microbiology / Biomolecular Sciences Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia
University of Malaya
Ridha is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is jointly an associate member of Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Processing (AMMP) Center at the University of Malaya.
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Dr. Fariha is a Senior Lecturer and a Civil Engineer at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. She is actively conducting research on Kenaf-sorb beads that is potentially for wastewater treatment at the factory’s effluent point.
Dr. Mohammed N. Abdulrazaq is currently an Assoc. Prof. at Department of Engineering & Technology, Management & Science University (MSU), Malaysia.
Taylors university
Dr Chin Chin Sia is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business & Law, Taylor's University, Malaysia.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Dr. Connie Cassy Ompok is an early childhood education expert and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She Started her career in Early Childhood Education as a preschool teacher (2004-2007), a lecturer in early childhood education at the Malaysian Institute of Teacher Education (2008-2016) before serving as a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at UMS (2016 until now).
Currently a research assistant in the laboratory of green energy in Zhejiang University of Technology.
Picture of Nisha Arunatilake
Nisha Arunatilake has been a Research Fellow at IPS since 2000 and was appointed as the Director of Research in January 2018. She has extensive post-doctoral experience in conducting policy related economic research in labour market analysis, education, public finance and health.
I am a sociologist studying domestic violence and sexual violence situations and measures in Japan, and am the director of two NGOs, All Japan Women’s Shelter Network and Rape Crisis Center in Hiroshima. As an NGO activist, we, All Japan Women’s Shelter Network, submitted “The Request for the Prevention of DV and Child Abuse under the Condition of Novel Coronavirus Countermeasures” to the Japanese government on March 30. This letter of request drew more attention than we expected, and many newspapers and TV quickly covered the issue. A lot of people have talked about this online. The prime minister and minister of gender equality have since addressed the issue in statements, and the Cabinet has approved emergency funding for expanded consultation services.
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Picture of Navsharan Singh
I have researched and published extensively on informal sector workers, especially women workers and I understand the their precarity of work and lives. I have also been working on the vulnerability of Internally Displaced People and those affected by mass sectarian violence. COVID-19 impacts these groups very significantly and in very specific ways.
Professor Nilanjan published a study which yielded findings on how individuals with a higher socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to have jobs that provide opportunities for remote work to be performed, which allows for social distancing during the pandemic. Her study also explores how likely individuals with low SES will begin to break social distancing measures and be exposed to a greater risk of infection, but those with high SES are able to circumvent this problem.
The Asian Institute of Technology
My research is on women migrant factory workers as well as women in fisheries in the Mekong region, Thailand, where I have been studying for the last decade through various research projects. These group of women workers are the most dynamic as well as vulnerable in the region.
Duke-NUS Medical School
Linfa Wang
Professor Linfa Wang is a Professor with the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
Associate Professor Sophia Archuleta is the Head and Senior Consultant of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the National University Hospital, Singapore.
I am a socio-cultural anthropologist and faculty member at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, pursuing my graduate research on Rohingya refugee policy at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
Dr NK Prasanna
Dr NK Prasanna is currently working as Sr. Scientist & Editor, Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Research Journals Division at CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research, New Delhi. Before joining CSIR (NIScPR), she was at IIT Guwahati. Dr Prasanna completed her Ph.D from Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In CSIR-NIScPR, She served one important flagship journals viz. Indian journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IJBB; ISSN: 0301-1208) It is pertinent to mention that the journal ranks first among all the NIScPR journals as per the available Journal Metrics by international agencies such as Thomson Reuters and Scopus. Details of remarkable academic achievements of IJBB which she spearheading, both nationally and globally. The Indian journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IJBB) is a premier SCI-indexed bimonthly peer-reviewed research journal that publishes original research articles in the subject area of biochemistry and biophysics
Jyoti U. Devkota is a Full Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics in Kathmandu University, Nepal. Her research focus is on the development and application of statistical methodology to solve problems in renewable energy, population and health.
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Ramzi is an Assistant Professor at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Professor at Department of Landscape Architecture, KAED, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Research interests include urban design/urban landscape, cultural landscape, residential landscape, GIS and human-computer interaction, and environmental planning.
Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF)
Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF)
Janhavi Dave is the International Coordinator of HomeNet South Asia.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Prof. Maggie Hu is currently an Assistant Professor of Real Estate and Finance at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Duke-NUS Medical School
Dr Danielle Anderson is the Scientific Director of the Duke-NUS Medical School ABSL3 laboratory.
ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research
Infectious Disease Epidemiologist
Prof. Mahmudur Rahman is an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist. He is enlisted in the IHR roster of Experts and included in the Emergency committees of MERS CoV, Ebola and Poliomyelitis. He is also the Current Chair and member in different committees of WHO.

Giants in history

Wu Lien-teh (10 March 1879 – 21 January 1960) was a Malaysian-born doctor who invented a mask that effectively suppressed disease transmission. Winning the prestigious Queen’s Scholarship enabled Wu to become the first Chinese student to study medicine at the University of Cambridge.