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Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are how we are losing tribal languages, how living next to a road raises your blood pressure, and a flower hiding in plain sight.

Scientists from Alliance University, Bangalore, Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, Inha University, Hanyang University, South Korea, and Newcastle University in Singapore have developed a new and straightforward approach to turn used COVID-19 facemasks into potential absorbent materials that can be employed for carbon capture from atmosphere.

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.

Asia Research News met five female researchers to learn about their research, what drew them to Kavli IPMU, and their experiences there. These women, from diverse backgrounds, excel in their fields and show what can be achieved when women are not held back.

Asia Research Newsは同所の女性研究者5名に、彼女らの研究について、そしてなぜKavli IPMUを選んだのか、これまでの同所での経験について話しを聞いた。それぞれ様々な背景を持ち、各分野で卓越している研究者らに、足かせのない女性がいかに飛躍できるかをみせてもらった。

Women in Myanmar are playing an important role in peace efforts in the country as they advocate for both women’s rights and cooperation across parties.

To understand Hong Kong youth's opinions on employment, poverty, a decent life, and related policies, as well as their income and expenditure, a recent survey, entitled “How low is the minimum wage? Report on Employment Dilemmas of the Poor New Generation”, jointly conducted by Lingnan University (LU) Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and the Centre for Cultural Research and Development, shows that about 40 per cent of the interviewees described themselves as living in poverty, and most young people working full-time indicated that the statutory minimum wage (MW) is too low and they do not benefit from it.

This year’s roster is the third cohort to be inducted into the Hall of Master Academic Clinicians, an honour conferred on exceptional clinician-educators at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.

Tree rings forecast extreme weather in central Asia, Squid 🦑and chemistry make versatile hydrogels, James Webb telescope reveals the earliest galaxies & Reducing negative effects of screen time. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus our latest journalist resource "Experts for Media: Antimicrobial Resistance "🦠.

Lingnan University (LU) announced today (16 February) that Lingnan@WestKowloon, an off-campus learning hub for LU students and a meeting place with key stakeholders will be officially opened at M+ Tower of West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) in the 2023/24 academic year.

- He is to lead the Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences for a period of two years, from January 2023 to December 2024

Researchers from Osaka University have shown sex-specific differences in the immune response to COVID-19 infection. By identifying and analyzing the immune cell population in COVID-19 patients, they showed that infection results in a reduced ratio of circulating follicular T regulatory (cTfr) cells to a network of antibody-producing proteins, correlated with dysregulated antibody production. This cTfr cell reduction is more significant in males, providing cellular evidence for the observed association between increased risk and male sex.

To promote inter-university cooperation between Hong Kong and the Philippines, Lingnan University (LU)’s Office of Service-Learning (OSL) and 10 universities in the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today (9 February).

Researchers from Osaka University have identified a protein, FER1L5, that is essential for sperm to acquire fertilizing ability. Sperm from mice lacking this protein were unable to undergo the “acrosome reaction”, which releases molecules that facilitate fertilization, resulting in impaired male fertility. As FER1L5 is also present in human sperm, this work may lead to new diagnostic methods and treatments for male infertility in humans.

New research from Osaka University indicates that more screen time at age 2 is associated with poorer communication and daily living skills at age 4—but when kids also play outdoors, some of the negative effects of screen time are reduced. Increasing outdoor play time could reduce the negative effects of screen time on daily living skills by almost 20%.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are the growing trend of unique name pronunciations in Japan, an aquarium that can tell you about which fish you are looking at, and which professional baseballs are slipperiest.

Kayson Lau Ho-wing, MPhil graduate of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy (SOCSP) of Lingnan University, has received 2021/22 Hong Kong Sociological Association (HKSA) Best Thesis Award for his thesis “Aging in Place or Stuck in Place? The Aging in Place Experiences of Older Adults in a Gentrifying Neighborhood in Hong Kong”.

The living environment of subdivided flats in Hong Kong has aroused extensive public concerns. A lot of community groups and research teams are committed to providing support for improvement. The Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) of Lingnan University in Hong Kong strives for driving the development of humanitarian technology for the betterment of humankind. Under its pilot project, a low-cost mini air purifier is developed to fit in sub-divided flats. The LEI collaborated with Sham Shui Po District Office of Home Affairs Department and Sham Shui Po Residents Association Limited today (23 December 2022) to arrange volunteers to distribute 1,000 free air purifiers, spreading care to families living in sub-divided units before the Christmas.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are how we determine which animals we would eat or not, a robot with sticky magnetic feet that can climb, and coriander seeds that had a great holiday in space.

At the Honorary Doctorate Conferment Ceremony today (15 December), Lingnan University (LU) conferred honorary doctoral degrees upon three distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society. Prof Woo Chia-wei, GBS, CBE （吳家瑋教授）received a Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa [in absentia], Ms Anna Wu Hung-yuk （胡紅玉女士）, GBS, JP received a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, and Dr Zhang Yimou （張藝謀博士） received a Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa [in absentia]. Ms Anna Wu expressed her gratitude to the University on behalf of all Honorary Doctorates. She also shared the importance of engagement and transformation to resolve conflicts. She said: “Many young people are pessimistic about the future of Hong Kong. Many need to heal their bruised spirit. What can be more important than encouraging our youths to explore the constraints and opportunities in the community together, and build a shared future for themselves and others? This is the time to equip them with essential transformative skills. Let them be the architects of human relations and create space for interaction and engagement.”

Training individuals to inhibit imitation of others increases empathy and allows them to recognize facial expressions in others regardless of their situations.

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong will confer honorary doctoral degrees upon three distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society. The honorary doctorate recipients are Prof Woo Chia-wei, GBS, CBE (吳家瑋教授), Ms Anna Wu Hung-yuk (胡紅玉女士), GBS, JP and Dr Zhang Yimou (張藝謀博士).

World's first research into relationship between rich-in-biodiversity garden greenery and health/well-being launched by University of Tokyo and Sekisui House Ltd.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a “smart ranch” featuring connected cows, a way to see what a 1 600-year-old woman looked like, and a new bird-like dinosaur.

Giants in History: Chinese palaeontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Pei Wenzhong (January 19, 1904 – September 18, 1982) is regarded as a founder of Chinese anthropology.

Four years of online training, fellowships and support for research on digital rights gets underway as the second phase of the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) initiative launches in Bangkok on November 25, 2022.

Giants in History: Through her iconic stories featuring fictional scenes from the history of the Philippines, language teacher and academic Genoveva Matute (3 January 1915 – 21 March 2009) helped strengthen the Filipino identity.

An Osaka Metropolitan University study found that differences in culture affect when Japanese and American university students feel comfortable providing social support. The researchers found that Japanese university students were less likely than American students to offer assistance to a close friend or family member unless they had been explicitly asked for help, even when they knew that the person needed assistance. There were no differences in providing assistance between Japanese and American students when requests for help were explicitly stated.

Exploring virtual human-agent relationships, A fly protein gives clue for human cancers, Rare earth elements formed in neutron star mergers 💥, One-stop process for hydrogen production. Read all in the November's Editor's Choice plus Upcoming event K4DM KNOWLEDGE MARKETPLACE – Bangkok 2022: Exchanging Ideas for a Democratic Myanmar.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a bioinspired tiny jumping robot, evidence of gender stereotypes in young children, and the first sighting of a new species of crab.