Science
News
19 Dec 2023
Mahidol University
A new study have compared the reinforcing efficiency of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and cultivated flax fiber in poly(butylene succinate) composites. PALF, a less explored but potentially sustainable alternative, outperformed flax at 20 wt.%, showcasing its potential in high-performance bio-composites and aligning with environmental goals.
18 Dec 2023
Duke-NUS Medical School
Researchers identify RBFox1 as a key intrinsic regulator of heart muscle cell maturation, overcoming a major limitation in cardiac regenerative therapy and disease modelling and demonstrating for the first time that RNA splicing control can significantly impact this process.
13 Dec 2023
Tohoku University
Researchers at Tohoku University and the University of California, Santa Barbara have shown a proof-of-concept of an energy-efficient computer compatible with current AI.
13 Dec 2023
Asia Research News
"Amaterasu" particle: a new cosmic mystery, Geckos inspire robotic device, Targeting cancer while protecting healthy cells, Honey, I shrunk the bear, Two species lost to science spotted again. Plus New Science Communication Resources. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.
13 Dec 2023
Kanazawa University
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences a computational method to predict the placement of proteins on AFM substrates based on electrostatic interactions.
04 Dec 2023
Academia Sinica
TAIPEI, TAIWAN──For the first time, it is possible to follow, step-by-step and with atomic resolution, what happens when the enzyme DNA photolyase repairs ultraviolet light-induced DNA damage. An international team of researchers led by Academia Sinica, Taiwan, has taken snapshots of the repair process with extremely high time resolution and combined them into a film sequence. The research was published in the scientific journal Science on December 1, 2023.
30 Nov 2023
Hokkaido University
A new bacterial species discovered at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent site ‘Crab Spa’ provides a deeper understanding of bacterial evolution.
30 Nov 2023
Kanazawa University
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications how they can control chirality inversion in α helical peptides.
29 Nov 2023
Kanazawa University
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Science Advances how they can accelerate and decelerate chirality inversion in large cage molecules using alkali metal ion binding.
29 Nov 2023
Kanazawa University
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Cancer Research how Kras and p53 mutations influence the tumor suppressor and promoter functions of a TGF- ß pathway. The findings may lead to a new approach for colorectal cancer therapy.
29 Nov 2023
Kanazawa University
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters high-speed atomic force microscopy studies that shed light on the possible role of the open reading frame 6 (ORF6) protein COVID19 symptoms.
22 Nov 2023
Osaka Metropolitan University
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers and their colleagues have successfully detected an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray with an energy level comparable to the most energetic cosmic ray ever observed. The cosmic ray is set to be named after the Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu. No promising astronomical object has been identified in the direction from which this cosmic ray originated, implying the potential existence of unknown astronomical phenomena and novel physical origins beyond the Standard Model.
20 Nov 2023
Ehime University
This paper highlights the underexplored potential of chiral self-sorting in the design of switchable and metastable discrete supramolecular structures.
16 Nov 2023
… all while discovering how the Universe evolved, how galaxies form and where the elements come from.
16 Nov 2023
The winners of the Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards were announced at the prestigious Environmental Microbiology lecture 2023, held at BMA House in London on November 16.
10 Nov 2023
Expedition led by Indonesian NGO YAPPENDA with Cenderawasih University students finds two species lost to science: Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna—one of Re:wild’s most wanted lost species—and Mayr’s honeyeater.
08 Nov 2023
Applied Microbiology International (AMI) has launched its reviewer training scheme for the journal Letters in Applied Microbiology (LAM), building upon its development opportunities for early career scientists in journal publishing.
07 Nov 2023
Asia Research News Partnerships
SINGAPORE, November 7, 2023 – TechInnovation 2023, IPI's flagship event and a premier technology-matching platform, successfully concluded on Thursday, 2 November 2023, profoundly impacting audiences with insights into Sustainability, Health & Well-being, and AI in Healthcare. Over 5,000 people registered to attend TechInnovation, which brought together industry leaders, innovators, and technology experts alike to share and discover opportunities to partner and collaborate to create a sustainable future.
07 Nov 2023
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
Microscopes usually use backscattered radiation to create images, but a research group from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, is developing an all-new method to study materials using the faint light they emit, generated by heat
06 Nov 2023
Tohoku University
Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. An international research team has recently observed the Circinus galaxy, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, with high enough resolution to gain further insights into the gas flows to and from the black hole at its galactic nucleus.
06 Nov 2023
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo study the quantum mechanical phenomenon known as vacuum fluctuations using a nanoscale hybrid device, which may lead to ultrasensitive quantum sensors or information processors.
06 Nov 2023
The University of Osaka
Osaka University and NEC Corporation are jointly developing a data infrastructure called RED-ONION to accelerate open science by reducing the burden on researchers to record the research process, share research data and publish them on the data aggregation platform. They are currently engaged in the R & D of three elemental technologies: (1) Technology to integrate a data aggregation platform and data publication platform, (2) Technology to generate research process information on supercomputers, and (3) A high-speed data transmission function. These research results will be showcased at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC23) scheduled to be held from November 12 to 17, 2023 in Denver, Colorado.
25 Oct 2023
Hokkaido University
Pair-bonded Java sparrows show enlarged eye rings to signal breeding readiness.
20 Oct 2023
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
A huge step forward in the evolution of perovskite solar cells recorded by researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) will have significant implications for renewable energy development.
The CityU innovation paves the way for commercialising perovskite solar cells, bringing us closer to an energy-efficient future powered by sustainable sources.
20 Oct 2023
Duke-NUS Medical School
New perspective argues pursuing fair AI for healthcare requires cross-disciplinary collaboration to translate methods into real-world benefits.
18 Oct 2023
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
Thirty-eight scholars of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) were named among the top 2% most-cited scientists in the world, in the latest annual rankings published by Stanford University.
17 Oct 2023
The University of Osaka
Researchers from Osaka University developed wirelessly powered soil moisture sensing technology that will help meet the needs of sustainable precision agriculture. Both the soil moisture content and the position of each sensor are readily detected and transmitted, even at high sensor densities. The sensors are largely biodegradable and can be tilled into the soil at the end of the crop season. This work might help farmers allocate resources to cropland in a timely, targeted manner.
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.
16 Oct 2023
Duke-NUS Medical School
New research reveals how disrupted energy production in the kidneys contributes to progressive kidney disease in diabetes.
16 Oct 2023
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
The latest ‘large language model’ artificial intelligence system, GPT-4, could aid chemistry researchers, but limitations reveal the need for improvements.
Giants in history
Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee (24 November 1926 – 4 August 2024) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957 together with Chen-Ning Yang for their work challenging the symmetry law in subatomic particles. They were the first Chinese Nobel prize winners, with Lee becoming the second-youngest laureate. Born in Shanghai, he went to the United States on scholarship and studied under another Nobel winner, Enrico Fermi.
Turkish astrophysicist Dilhan Eryurt (29 November 1926 – 13 September 2012) conducted research on how the sun affects environmental conditions on the moon.
Chinese biochemist Chi Che Wang (1894 - 1979), one of the first Chinese women to study abroad, advanced to prominent research positions at American institutions including the University of Chicago and the Northwestern University Medical School.
Ruby Sakae Hirose (1904 – 1960) was a Japanese-American scientist whose research contributed significantly to our understanding of blood clotting, allergies and cancer.
Chinese electron microscopy specialist Li Fanghua (6 January 1932 – 24 January 2020) facilitated the high-resolution imaging of crystal structures by eliminating interference.
Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987), commonly referred to as the Birdman of India, was the first person to conduct systematic surveys of birds from across India.
Haisako Koyama (1916 – 1997) was a Japanese solar observer whose dedication to recording sunspots – cooler parts of the sun’s surface that appear dark – produced a sunspot record of historic importance.
Michiaki Takahashi (17 February 1928 – 16 December 2013) was a Japanese virologist who developed the first chickenpox vaccine.
Toshiko Yuasa (11 December 1909 – 1 February 1980) was the first Japanese female physicist whose research on radioactivity shed light on beta decay – the process in which an atom emits a beta particle (electron) and turns into a different element.
Angelita Castro Kelly (1942-2015) was the first female Mission Operations Manager (MOM) of NASA. She spearheaded and supervised the Earth Observing System missions during its developmental stage.
Malaysia’s first astrophysicist, Mazlan binti Othman (born 11 December 1951) was instrumental in launching the country’s first microsatellite, and in sending Malaysia’s first astronaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, into space.
Bibha Chowdhuri (1913 – 2 June 1991) was an Indian physicist who researched on particle physics and cosmic rays. In 1936, she was the only female to complete a M.Sc. degree at the University of Calcutta.
Meemann Chang (born 17 April 1936) is a Chinese palaeontologist who studied the fossils of ancient fish to understand the evolution of life. By examining fossils, she uncovered new insights on how vertebrates, animals with a backbone, migrated from the sea and became adapted to live on land.
Chien-Shiung Wu (31 May 1912 – 16 February 1997) was an experimental physicist who made several important contributions to nuclear physics. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project – a top-secret program for the production of nuclear weapons during World War II and helped to develop a process for separating uranium into U235 and U238.
Hitoshi Kihara (1893 – 1986) was one of the most famous Japanese geneticists of the 20th century. One of his most significant contributions was identifying sex chromosomes (X and Y) in flowering plants.
Gopalasamudram Narayanan Ramachandran (8 October 1922 – 7 April 2001) is best known for developing the Ramachandran plot to understand the structure of short chains of amino acids, known as peptides.
Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 December 1887 – 26 April 1920) was a math prodigy and widely considered one of India’s greatest mathematicians. Despite having almost no formal training in mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions.
Mohammad Abdus Salam (29 January 1926 – 21 November 1996) was a theoretical physicist and the first Pakistani to receive a Nobel Prize in science.
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist who performed ground-breaking research in the field of light-scattering.
Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani (12 May 1977 – 14 July 2017) was the first and only woman and Iranian to date to win the Fields Medal in 2014 for her work on curved surfaces.
Joo-myung Seok (November 13, 1908 – October 6, 1950) was a Korean butterfly entomologist who made important contributions to the taxonomy of the native butterfly species in Korea.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian astrophysicist who studied the structure and evolution of stars.
Osamu Shimomura (27 August 1928 – 19 October 2018) was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist who dedicated his career to understanding how organisms emitted light.
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a scientist and inventor who contributed to a wide range of scientific fields such as physics, botany and biology.
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist best known for formulating the Saha ionization equation which describes the chemical and physical properties of stars.
Motoo Kimura (13 November 1924 – 13 November 1994) was a Japanese theoretical population geneticist who is best remembered for developing the neutral theory of molecular evolution.
Chika Kuroda (24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focussed on the structures of natural pigments.
Charles Kuen Kao (Nov. 4, 1933 to Sept. 23, 2018) was an engineer who is regarded as the father of fibre optics. His work in the 1960s on long distance signal transmission using very pure glass fibres revolutionized telecommunications, enabling innovations such as the Internet.
The field of solid-state ionics originated in Europe, but Takehiko Takahashi of Nagoya University in Japan was the first to coin the term ‘solid ionics’ in 1967. ‘Solid-state ionics’ first appeared in 1971 in another of his papers, and was likely a play on ‘solid-state electronics’, another rapidly growing field at the time.
Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962) made the world’s first artificial snowflakes. He started his research on snow crystals in the early 1930s at Hokkaido University, where there is an unlimited supply of natural snow in winter. By taking over 3,000 photographs, he established a classification of natural snow crystals and described their relationship with weather conditions.
Physicist Narinder Singh Kapany (31 October 1926 – 4 December 2020) pioneered the use of optical fibres to transmit images, and founded several optical technology companies. Born in Punjab, India, he worked at a local optical instruments factory before moving to London for PhD studies at Imperial College. There, he devised a flexible fibrescope to convey images along bundles of glass fibres.
Chinese palaeontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Pei Wenzhong (January 19, 1904 – September 18, 1982) is regarded as a founder of Chinese anthropology.
Japanese chemist Kenichi Fukui (4 October 1918 – 9 January 1998) was the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Together with Roald Hoffman, he received this honour in 1981 for his independent research into the mechanisms of chemical reactions.
South Korean theoretical physicist Daniel Chonghan Hong (3 March 1956 – 6 July 2002) achieved fame in the public sphere through his research into the physics of popcorn.
Shinichiro Tomonaga (31 March 1906 – 8 July 1979), together with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, for their contributions to advance the field of quantum electrodynamics. Tomonaga was also a strong proponent of peace, who actively campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Known as Mr. Natural Rubber, chemist and researcher B. C. Shekhar (17 November 1929 – 6 September 2006) introduced a number of technical innovations that helped put Malaysia’s natural rubber industry on the world map.
Lin Lanying (7 February 1918 – 4 March 2003) was a Chinese material engineer remembered for her contributions to the field of semiconductor and aerospace materials. Lanying was born into a family who did not believe in educating girls and she was not allowed to go to school.
Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi developed the first method and tools for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater