Health

Looking for experts to who can comment on the current coronavirus outbreak? With the new coronavirus outbreak happening now, we have prepared an abbreviated Focus On to help connect journalists with virus experts who are prepared to speak with international media as the situation unfolds.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturising system, which is described in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism.

Blocking a central nervous system protein could treat irritable bowel syndrome.

First-of-its-kind study led by Duke-NUS Medical School and National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) applies experimental methodology using human neural cells and brain organoids to investigate mechanism underlying epileptic seizures in Angelman syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has developed a personalised assessment tool which can detect the incidence of cancer, predict patient survivability and determine patient suitability for immunotherapy cancer treatment.

A team of NUS researchers have come up with the pH Watch, an ‘add-on’ to a wearable health monitoring gadget that can tell users about the condition of their health from their sweat pH.

The war against antibiotic resistance requires a conceptual revision, namely design and creation of new types of degradable antibiotics with novel intracellular interactions, says Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2009) laureate Ada Yonath.

Much-needed insight into raising young children with autism in Malaysia highlights the need to improve local research, awareness, acceptance and support services.

In view of the Covid-19 situation in Singapore, CAREhab 2020 has been postponed to 10-11 July. Head on to the CAREhab Singapore website for more information.

Professor Dennis Yuk Ming LO and Professor Rossa Wai Kwun CHIU from the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have been named the “Top 20 Translational Researchers of 2018” by the world-renowned scientific journal Nature Biotechnology. They are the only Hong Kong scientists on the list and it is the third consecutive year for Professor Lo to receive this honour.

A recent study conducted by the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) revealed that Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at 4-fold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared with those without the disorder, and also have younger onset of diabetes.

Professor Ronald Ching Wan MA, Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and Professor Siew Chien NG, Professor of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics and Associate Director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research under the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), have received Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowships 2020 in recognition of their excellent achievements in scientific research in medicine and the support that gives to the next generation of clinician scientists.

Four top research academics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) were presented with prestigious awards from the Croucher Foundation. Professor Jianfang Wang, Professor, Department of Physics received the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2020. Two scholars from the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor Ronald Ching Wan Ma, Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Professor Siew Chien Ng, Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Associate Director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research were awarded the Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowships 2020. Professor Renjie Zhou, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering was awarded the Croucher Innovation Award 2019.

Nine professors of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have earned the honour of being named in the list of “Highly Cited Researchers 2019” as among the world’s top researchers who have demonstrated significant and broad influence reflected in their publication of multiple papers, highly cited by fellow academics.

A recent study conducted by the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing proved the effectiveness of a multicomponent frailty prevention programme (the Programme) in improving physical and cognitive functions, and self-rated health in pre-frail community-dwelling older persons in Hong Kong.

Inaugural Nipah virus Conference convenes leading experts to strengthen global collaboration, improve efforts to combat deadly virus.

Chika Kuroda (24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focussed on the structures of natural pigments.

Scientists in Korea find a protein that mediates the interaction between the cellular systems involved in rapid responses against foreign genes in plants

Scientists have discovered non-coding RNA has a novel role to fine-tune gene expressions during stress recovery, getting closer to uncovering a 30-year-old nuclear mystery.

Despite great investments, an effective drug-based treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia among the elderly, remains elusive. Scientists led by Duke-NUS Medical School, in collaboration with Monash University, have published an online atlas of gene expressions at single-cell level in Alzheimer’s disease brains, aiming to boost to efforts to identify gene targets for drug development.

New molecules that tag cellular components for removal could lead to drugs for a wide range of diseases.

Why some existing cancer treatments are ineffective in tackling the early-stage of lung cancer? Researchers investigated the ability of anti-cancer agents to affect early-stage lung metastatic tumors.

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.

Researchers from the Mechanobiology Institute at the National University of Singapore have shown that cells can attach to the fibrous protein meshwork that surrounds them only if the fibres are spaced close enough. The team’s findings can explain the abnormal motility patterns displayed by cancer cells.

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.

Salimuzzaman Siddiqui (19 October 1897 – 14 April 1994) was an artist and chemist from Pakistan whose research focused on natural products from plants.

Survey of over 6,300 PhD students worldwide shows most to be satisfied with their PhD experience, but highlights issues affecting student well-being such as working hours, funding and bullying

International collaboration is finding new ways to improve how scientists develop and test models to forecast dengue infection.

Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Week in Singapore, from November 20-22, 2019, will explore the latest technology innovations and market opportunities in the agri-food supply chain across Southeast Asia, India and China.

The event will take place from 20-21 November 2019 at the International Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia. Organised by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).