Technology

Moving parts in mechanical come into regular contact, leading to wear and tear. Now, researchers at Tohoku University have developed a contact control system, driven by artificial intelligence, to greatly reduce contact between damaged parts.

An international research team has discovered the first example of a supernova, known as SN 2018ivc, showing an unprecedented rebrightening at millimeter wavelengths about one year after the explosion. With the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array -- or ALMA -- the analysis revealed that the dying massive star ejected a large amount of its envelope due to a strong binary interaction with a companion star that took place about 1500 years before the explosion. In a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the team posits that this rebrightening event in SN 2018ivc provides a missing link between supernovae -- or SN -- that occur in binary star systems and those that involve solitary massive stars.

A collaborative research group from Tohoku University and the Toyohashi University of Technology has invented a new and efficient method to create metallic plasmas from solid metals under a strong magnetic field in a microwave resonator.

Scientists from Oil Crops Research Institute (OCRI) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Anhui Agricultural University (Anhui, China), Newcastle University in Singapore, and Huizhou Comvikin Biotechnology Co., Ltd (Guangdong, China) have developed a green and efficient approach to synthesize highly liposoluble and antioxidant L-ascorbyl esters by immobilized lipases.

Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are the discovery of a dinosaur larynx, 3D-printed contact lenses that use AR, and a leggy robot spider that can fly.

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 "🦠.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a drone that can both fly and swim with ease, successfully cloned super cows, and an insole that can track slips and falls.

A research team led by an associate professor at Tohoku University has developed a microscopic fiber equipped with actuators and biochemical sensors. The breakthrough could be used to develop smart catheters and lead to further advancement in robotics.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has derived a new evaluation method for the measuring the size X-ray microbeams (diameter) through mathematical analysis. The group then verified the validity of the mathematically derived evaluation method by measuring the diameter of X-ray microbeams using metal wires of various diameters with an X-ray fluorescence analysis system for small areas and found that it was possible to calculate the beam diameter more accurately than the previous conventional evaluation method.

Scientists from two Asian universities, namely Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Newcastle University in Singapore, have completed a study to understand how the mechanical behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composite laminates could be compromised by moisture seepage.

Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts.

A research group at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Informatics has developed a new learning method for artificial intelligence that combines classification performance for data with multiple labels with the ability to learn continually from data. Numerical experiments on real-world multi-label data indicate that the new method outperforms conventional approaches. The simplicity of this algorithm makes it easy to integrate it with other algorithms to devise new ones.

Osaka University researchers investigated the physics of laser-driven neutron sources, and found the relationship between the power and the neutrons generated. They were able to decrease the exposure time needed for neutron absorption experiments, which may be employed in biomedical research.

Enhancing the virtual experience with the touch sensation has become a hot topic, but today’s haptic devices remain typically bulky and tangled with wires. A team led by the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) researchers recently developed an advanced wireless haptic interface system, called WeTac, worn on the hand, which has soft, ultrathin soft features, and collects personalised tactile sensation data to provide a vivid touch experience in the metaverse.

The study is an important step towards the understanding of long-term changes in the water cycle and will aid in more informed decisions when assessing and managing regional water systems.

Researchers from Osaka University have shown that a system known as the GET pathway is essential for efficient mitophagy, the process by which mitochondria are removed from cells. The GET pathway targets a protein assembly called the Ppg1–Far complex, which inhibits mitophagy, to the membrane of a part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum. When the GET pathway is defective, this complex instead becomes targeted to mitochondria, where it acts to suppress mitophagy.

Everyday electronics, such as our phones, employ surface acoustic wave devices for frequency filtering and sensing. But this consumes a lot of energy, serving as a drain on battery life. Now, a team of researchers has developed a new acoustic waveguide based on the mathematical concept of topology, which will help alleviate this problem.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a stem-cell based therapy for pets with cancer, how meditation could affect our gut microbiome, and an edible mushroom that contains a deadly nerve gas.

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) took an important step forward in heralding a new cinematic experience for the future by establishing the Visualisation Research Centre recently. The Centre is home to the world’s first 360-degree immersive LED Visualisation Cinema and the 180-degree iDome Cinema.

Overeating mechanism: why "eating just one chip"🍟 is impossible, Measuring hidden energy of gamma-ray bursts, Marine species that can adapt to ocean acidification & A rough start can lead to a strong bond, Read all in our first Editor's Choice of 2023. Plus our interview on what dengue vaccine approval in EU💉means for global dengue protection.

The natural abilities of squid tissues and the creativity of chemists combine to take hydrogel research in new directions.

Imagine if your t-shirt could take your sweat and analyze it for health abnormalities. Well, this is much closer to reality after a recent breakthrough by a research group led by a Tohoku University assistant professor. The group created the first microelectronic fiber with microscopic parameters that is capable of analyzing electrolytes and metabolites in sweat.

Controlling a material’s thermal conductivity can help insulate our homes, improve the performance of electronic devices, conserve power consumption in cars, and generate greater power efficiency. Now, a group of researchers has unveiled a novel mechanism that leads to further suppression of thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials, something that will help develop new guidelines for producing high-performance thermoelectric materials.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has succeeded in significantly reducing the measurement time of a glass standard sample by applying Bayesian estimation to X-ray fluorescence analysis. The ability to perform rapid non-contact elemental analysis in a nondestructive manner could lead to the widespread use of this technique in many fields, including the analysis of moving industrial products and waste materials while being carried on conveyor belts.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo simulate the phase separation of self-spinning particles, and show that the process differs from other unmixing processes, which may shed light on the organization of bacteria and other organisms

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) has won three gold medals and two silver at the 2022 International Innovation and Invention Competition. The winning innovations cover different application areas, such as emotion recognition, EdTech for music and sport, and intelligent public health education.

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.

A research team co-led by a scientist at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel antenna that allows manipulation of the direction, frequency and amplitude of the radiated beam, and is expected to play an important role in the integration of sensing and communications (ISAC) for 6th-generation (6G) wireless communications.

Researchers at The University of Tokyo develop a simple but effective method of bonding polymers with galvanized steel, a material ubiquitous in the automobile industry, to cheaply and easily create a lightweight and durable product.