Health

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 worries people around the world as more cases have been reported. In order to provide insights into the epidemic control, the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) has been working on several studies on the outbreak, including community studies. The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care under the Faculty launched an online survey within 36 hours after confirmed COVID-19 cases were first reported in Hong Kong. The research team has conducted the survey with over 1,000 residents in town and collected information which investigate public’s risk perception and psychobehavioral responses. Results showed majority has difficulty to adopt social distancing.

The precipitous drop in HPV vaccination rates after suspension of proactive recommendations by the government in 2013 could result in an additional 25,000 cervical cancer cases and more than 5,000 additional deaths among females born between 1994 to 2007 in Japan. However, swift action by the government could mitigate much of this damage according to a study in Lancet Public Health.

INTERPHEX Week Osaka is a B to B trade show specialised in pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing which will be held in Osaka, the largest city in western Japan.

New Delhi – To tackle the escalating problem of antimicrobial resistance, a new collaboration platform was launched in New Delhi, India, on 11 February. The platform, initiated by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), will bring together actors from civil society, governments and the pharmaceutical industry. It could mean a major breakthrough for the responsible manufacturing of antibiotics and reduce the risk of the industry itself contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

EmTech Asia 2020 has been postponed to 4-5 August 2020 from its original February dates due to the Covid-19 situation in Singapore having higher public health impact.

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust awarded a USD $2.5 million grant (equivalent to approximately HKD 19.5 million) to the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) to study gut microbiota of pregnant mothers and babies to determine how early life environmental and dietary factors contribute to the development of Crohn’s disease. This study will assess how early life exposures can influence the child’s health and be harnessed for disease risk prediction, prevention and treatment.

The Department of Paediatrics and the Department of Chemical Pathology of the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have collaborated with researchers from Germany, Finland and mainland China in a study that looks into the effect of exposing children to a farm environment to prevent allergic asthma.

The way research in bioprinting will be taken forward has been laid out in this roadmap for the field.

A global research collaboration, led by world class institutions in Singapore, the UK and the USA, has developed the most detailed catalogue of mutational fingerprints found in most types of cancers that could help clarify their developmental history and lead to new prevention and treatment strategies.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Japan's Tohoku University has found that a gene regulator, called BACH1, facilitates the spread of pancreatic cancer to other parts of the body. The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Cancer Research, say drugs that control BACH1 could improve disease prognosis.

Looking for experts to who can comment on the current coronavirus outbreak? With the novel coronavirus outbreak happening now, we have prepared an abbreviated Focus On to help connect journalists with experts who are prepared to speak with international media about different aspects, including public health, virology, travel, tourism, economic impacts and spread of information.

Hokkaido University scientists are getting closer to understanding how a rare hereditary disease impairs the skin’s barrier function, which determines how well the skin is protected.

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