Diseases
News
14 Oct 2022
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are shrinking mangroves, a wind harvester that can generate electricity using a breeze, and a new supercontinent 300 million years from now.
13 Oct 2022
Giants in History: Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
10 Oct 2022
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant escapes the immune response better than its coronavirus ancestors, but has also facilitated our transition to a society that can live with COVID-19.
06 Oct 2022
Giants in History: Archana Sharma (16 February 1932 - 14 January 2008) conducted research into plant and human genetics that expanded the understanding of both botany and human health.
04 Oct 2022
Metastasis—when cancer spreads to form new tumors—causes approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths. Because metastatic cancer cells circulate in the blood, the liver—which filters the blood—is considered the most vulnerable organ, so treatments that prevent liver metastasis are urgently needed. A team of Osaka Metropolitan University researchers discovered a mechanism that allows metastatic cancer cells to infiltrate the liver, and how that infiltration can be blocked by inhibiting a related protein.
30 Sep 2022
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are an algorithm that can detect epilepsy from brain scans, the first National Robotics Tournament in Vietnam, and how being lonely or depressed can accelerate aging.
29 Sep 2022
Linked lanthanides shine light on crystal engineering, New technique reveals hidden genome, Red, white and blue alerts for dangerous bacteria & Windows gain competitive edge over global warming. Read all in the September's Editor's Choice plus this month's Asia Research News 2022 magazine pick - Floating sensors to gather ocean data.
23 Sep 2022
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are the effects of extreme weather becoming more likely due to climate change and leading to sinking cities, putting googly eyes on cars that help pedestrian safety, and how many ants there are on Earth.
22 Sep 2022
A pathway that malfunctions in advanced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease could be fixed with the aid of spermidine, a compound naturally found in bodily cells and certain whole foods.
22 Sep 2022
Scientists have uncovered how Coxsackievirus B3, the most common cause for viral heart inflammation, takes advantage of a specific heart sensor to trigger chronic inflammation that can lead to heart failure.
15 Sep 2022
Cellular structures called mitochondria depend on microproteins to assist and control the assembly of a protein chain that extracts energy from nutrients, according to a new study by scientists in Singapore.
13 Sep 2022
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between The Ngee Ann Kongsi and Duke-NUS Medical School emphasises the need for more research as treatment and prevention options are currently limited for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.
09 Sep 2022
While the primary site of SARS-CoV-2 infection is in the nose, most antiviral immunity studies have been performed with peripheral blood. T-cell analysis of nasal swab samples suggests getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination could confer potentially more robust, nasal-based immunity.
02 Sep 2022
Even a small temperature drop in the tropical climate of Singapore increases the risk of heart attack among people aged 65 and above, say researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore’s National Environment Agency and collaborators.
01 Sep 2022
Lim Boo Liat (21 August 1926 – 11 July 2020), a leading authority in the conservation of Malaysia’s biological diversity, had his initial interest in the outdoors piqued by nature lessons in school.
26 Aug 2022
Researchers have made perovskite solar cells more efficient and stable, A new cause of Parkinson's related cell death, Hibernating superpower is in the blood, Common mechanism for cancer and atherosclerosis, COVID-19 antibody skin-based test. Read all in the August's Editor's Choice plus an Interview with Prof Sutee Yoksan on The story behind the new dengue vaccine & this month's Asia Research News 2022 magazine pick - The evolutionary history of puddle frogs.
24 Aug 2022
A study led by researchers from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has demonstrated that a multifunctional organic compound named F-SLOH has the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at an early stage. The team found that it can inhibit the aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ), and reduce the hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins and neuroinflammation in the brain to improve the pathological features of AD. The findings have been published in the international academic journal Redox Biology.
23 Aug 2022
Takeda’s tetravalent dengue vaccine (TAK-003) is now the only dengue vaccine approved in Indonesia for use regardless of previous dengue exposure and without the need for pre-vaccination testing. This approval marks Takeda’s first marketed vaccine outside of Japan.
23 Aug 2022
Two new approaches could help scientists use existing sequencing technology to better-distinguish RNA changes that affect how their genetic code is read.
05 Aug 2022
Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, have found that elevated blood levels of an amino acid called homocysteine correlate strongly with the severity of an advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. They also found vitamin B12 and folic acid could potentially prevent and/or delay disease progression.
25 Jul 2022
A key molecule for cancer metastasis has been identified as a molecule already known for its involvement in cardiovascular disease, suggesting a possible treatment approach for both diseases simultaneously.
22 Jul 2022
The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the launch by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, of the landmark opportunity for countries to apply for funding to introduce, or further roll-out, the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine.
11 Jul 2022
A novel molecular pathway involving cell signalling proteins in the brain may explain how stress affects neuropsychiatric lupus with diffuse neuropsychological manifestations.
08 Jul 2022
Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are zero-waste poultry processing that can boost lab-grown meat, residential facilities made for low-gravity environments, and new methods of cloning cells.
01 Jul 2022
Specialised physician training, nurse-led motivational conversations and follow-up with patients, and subsidy on combination medication significantly lowered BP among patients with uncontrolled hypertension, according to findings from Singapore.
01 Jul 2022
Researchers report a new, minimally invasive, antibody-based detection method for SARS-CoV-2 that could lead to the blood sample-free detection of many diseases
29 Jun 2022
The skin’s top layer contains a diverse set of hundreds of lipid molecules called ceramides with varying chain lengths that play a vital role in its barrier function.
13 Jun 2022
Themed “Roll Back Dengue” and organised as a hybrid event, the three-day summit will congregate dengue community including over 200 clinicians, researchers, government public health leaders and policymakers across Asia
11 Jun 2022
Duke-NUS is working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (APGI) to improve regional genomic surveillance and sequencing capacity. New Centre for Outbreak Preparedness will support APGI and work closely with national and global partners to enhance regional capacity to predict, prepare and respond to future health threats.
10 Jun 2022
SINGAPORE, June 9, 2022– Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) today announced that its dengue vaccine candidate, TAK-003, prevented 61% of symptomatic dengue cases and 84% of hospitalised cases with no important safety risks identified in the overall population.
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Researchers
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Dr Paul Cliff Simon Divis is the director of Malaria Research Centre at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
I do research on dysmennorrhoea and gender-based violence. I am a pioneer in registered clinical trials on indigenous and Ayurveda medicines in Sri Lanka. I have approval for a herbal preparation, for COVID patients.
I am an Assistant Professor in Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, US. As a health services researcher and a rural health advocate, I am driven to advance rural health equity via productive, insightful research collaborations. My work applies global and hyper-local perspectives (rural-urban, county-level, state-level variations) building statistical models to examine rural healthcare delivery on outcomes, access, and welfare of women.
Duke-NUS Medical School
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.
Mangala Gunatilake is a veterinarian and professor at the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Nimanthi Jayathilaka is a professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Hira Khalid is an associate professor at the Department of Chemistry of Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Dr Heo is currently a senior lecturer at the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
Duke-NUS Medical School
Dr. Tazeen Jafar is a global health leader and expert with a focus on implementation research in hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease.
Hokkaido University
Postdoctoral fellow, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Duke-NUS Medical School
Dr Danielle Anderson is the Scientific Director of the Duke-NUS Medical School ABSL3 laboratory.
Tohoku University
A professor at the Bone Regenerative Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative and Biomedical Engineering Division, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University
My research background covers multidisciplinary fields such as Pharmaceutics, Cancer Nanomedicine, Bioengineering and Organ-on-a-chip platforms. My current research focuses on the development of dynamic biological barriers on a chip such as blinking human cornea on a chip.
Hokkaido University
Hidemitsu Kitamura is an associate professor at the Section of Disease Control, the Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
Professor Ahmed Al-Haddad, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Germany) is currently Professor of Microbiology and Medical Microbiology at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hadhramout University-Yemen.
He is the Founding-Dean of the first Faculty of Nursing in Yemen. He has over fifteen years of research and teaching experience in various domains of life sciences.
Al-Haddad has published many peer reviewed articles and conference papers in the areas of molecular biology, microbiology and antibiotics in National and International journals.
He is reviewer in different national and international Scientific Journals such as Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, Journal of Microbiology and Antimicrobials, Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, British Biotechnology Journal.
He is a member of various national and international scientific organizations.
Tohoku University
Viteroretinal surgeon working on developing treatments for retinal dystrophies and many other retinal diseases.
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)
Dr. Simon Quan-Bin Han is an Assistant Professor at the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University.
Kanazawa University
Dept of Medical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Kartini Ilias is a senior lecturer and clinical psychologist in Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Selangor.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Professor in Electrical Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
Prof. Dr. Francisco J. Barrantes is the Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, BIOMED UCA-CONICET, Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Professor, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Aamir Jalal Al Mosawi is advisor in pediatrics and pediatric psychiatry at the Children Teaching Hospital of Baghdad Medical City.
Hokkaido University
Toru Kondo is Professor of the Division of Stem Cell Biology at the Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University.
Professor and Head of Microbiology and Immunology Department,
Faculty of Medicine, Lincoln University College (LUC) Malaysia.
Duke-NUS Medical School
Prof. Ashley St. John is an expert in viral immunology and emerging infectious diseases, such as dengue and Zika viruses. She heads the Laboratory of Immunity and Immune Pathology at Duke-NUS Medical School.
Professor in Agriculture and Education in the Iloilo Science and Technology University Leon Campus (ISAT U). Leon, ILOILO, PHILIPPINES
Giants in history
Baron Kitasato Shibasaburo (29 January 1856 – 13 June 1931) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist whose work led to a new understanding of preventing and treating tetanus, diphtheria and anthrax.
By isolating soil microorganisms and studying the compounds they produce, Satoshi Omura (born 1935) discovered almost 500 organic compounds with unique properties that were produced by these microorganisms, including many new antibiotics.
Chinese-American virologist and molecular biologist Flossie Wong-Staal (27 August 1946 – 8 July 2020) was the first scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes.
Maharani Chakravorty (1937 – 2015) was one of India’s earliest molecular biologists whose research paved the way for advances in the treatment of bacterial and viral infections.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
Lim Boo Liat (21 August 1926 – 11 July 2020), a leading authority in the conservation of Malaysia’s biological diversity, had his initial interest in the outdoors piqued by nature lessons in school. Lim, who helped found the National Zoo of Malaysia and re-establish the Malaysian Nature Society, had a particular interest in researching zoonotic diseases associated with small animals.
A pioneer of bio-organic chemistry, Darshan Ranganathan (4 June 1941 – 4 June 2001) is remembered for developing a protocol for synthesising imidazole, a compound used to make antifungal drugs and antibiotics. Widely considered India’s most prolific researcher in chemistry, she also published dozens of papers in renowned journals on protein folding, molecular design, chemical simulation of key biological processes, and the synthesis of functional hybrid peptides and nanotubes.
Indian scientist and physician Upendranath Brahmachari (19 December 1873–6 February 1946) is best known for creating a drug called Urea Stibamine, used to safely and reliably treat visceral leishmaniasis (or Kala-azar), a severe infection caused by the Leishmania parasite.
Filipino chemist and pharmacist Manuel A. Zamora (29 March 1870 – 9 July 1929) is best remembered for his discovery of the tiki-tiki formula to combat beriberi, a disease caused by Vitamin B1 deficiency.
Indian organic chemist Asima Chatterjee (1917 to 2006) studied the medicinal properties of plant products, especially compounds known as vinca alkaloids.
Umetaro Suzuki (7 April 1874 – 20 September 1943) was a Japanese scientist best remembered for his research on beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, characterized by limb stiffness, paralysis and pain.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui (19 October 1897 – 14 April 1994) was an artist and chemist from Pakistan whose research focused on natural products from plants.
Barry Paw (29 August 1962 – 28 December 2017) was a biologist and oncologist who discovered several novel genes and their functions in red blood cells.