Technology

Tohoku University Researchers tweaked the diet of silkworms by adding cellulose nanofiber to their food. The resultant silk was stronger and more durable. This new method of realizing cellulose nanofiber synthesized silk is a sustainable way to produce biomaterials.

Researchers from Tohoku University have developed a biobattery-powered device capable of both delivering large molecule pharmaceuticals across the skin barrier and extracting interstitial fluid for diagnostic purposes.

Lithium ion batteries use liquid electrolytes that have several drawbacks, which can be overcome by all-solid-state lithium secondary batteries (ASSBs). However, it is important to find efficient electrode materials for ASSBs. A research team from Japan has recently developed a novel electrode material for ASSBs by combining lithium sulfate and lithium ruthenate, which results in improved performance. The scientists hope that their novel approach will guide future research and the eventual commercialization of such high-capacity batteries.

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis enables high-resolution separation of proteins extracted from biological samples, but it requires more than one day of pretreatment to recover the separated proteins trapped inside the gel for detection by mass spectrometry. BAC-DROP, our novel electrophoresis technology, uses a dissolvable form of polyacrylamide gel, which allows sample pretreatment to be completed in about 5 hours. The developed technology will enable the rapid diagnosis of viruses and disease protein markers.

Researchers from DGIST have now found a way to keep living, wet cells viable in an ultra-high-vacuum environment, using graphene, allowing—like never before—accurate high-resolution visualization of the undistorted molecular structure and distribution of lipids in cell membranes. This could enhance our bioimaging abilities considerably, improving our understanding of mechanisms underlying complex diseases such as cancers and Alzheimer’s

A research group has created a device that measures how our bodies metabolize fat via our breath, allowing for the development of efficient fat burning exercises.

Scientists have found catalysts that improve an important industrial reaction and make it more eco-friendly.

The quality of muon beams can now be assessed thanks to a new technique that has produced the first known images of these high-energy particles.

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) participated for the first time in the International Innovation and Invention Competition (IIIC) Taiwan held in November 2020. Six innovations covering education technology, wellness and environmental science received four gold and two silver medals, including three out of a possible four gold medals in the EdTech innovation category.

Solid-state lithium batteries (SSLB), unlike their liquid lithium-ion counterparts, are dry and do not need extra cooling, rendering them safer and capable of providing more energy. A research team has recently discovered that a clean electrolyte/electrode interface can double the capacity of SSLBs, paving the way for a more sustainable future.

A new technique allowed researchers to observe in greater detail how heat alters keratin proteins, helping in their search for ingredients that can prevent heat-damaged hair.

An atomic switch is bringing us closer to highly effective solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

Using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8 - a large-scale synchrotron radiation facility - Tohoku University, Toshiba Corporation, and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) have successfully imaged the magnetization dynamics of a hard disk drive (HDD) write head for the first time, with a precision of one ten-billionth of a second. The method makes possible precise analysis of write head operations, accelerating the development of the next-generation write heads and further increasing HDD capacity.

The Integrated Centre for Wellbeing (I-WELL) of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), in collaboration with Nanjing Normal University of Special Education (NNU), and supported by the Tin Ka Ping Foundation (TKP), completed a research on neuroscience and education technology in special education in 2020.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed the first all-in-one miniature pH probe for real-time investigations of intrinsic extracellular pH dynamics in the deep brain structures.

Scientists at Hokkaido University have developed a layered cobalt oxide with a record-setting thermoelectric figure of merit, which can be used to enhance thermoelectric power generation.

A joint research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel computational tool that can reconstruct and visualise three-dimensional (3D) shapes and temporal changes of cells, speeding up the analysing process from hundreds of hours by hand to a few hours by computer. Revolutionising the way biologists analyse image data, this tool can advance further studies in developmental and cell biology, such as the growth of cancer cells.

The SNEC 15th (2021) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference will be held on June 2-4, 2021 in Shanghai, China.

A joint research led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has built an ultralow-power consumption artificial visual system to mimic the human brain, which successfully performed data-intensive cognitive tasks. Their experiment results could provide a promising device system for the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Researchers at Hokkaido University and Amoeba Energy in Japan have, inspired by the efficient foraging behavior of a single-celled amoeba, developed an analog computer for finding a reliable and swift solution to the traveling salesman problem — a representative combinatorial optimization problem.

A research group from Tohoku University led by current president Hideo Ohno has developed the world's smallest (2.3 nm) high-performance magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). This work is expected to accelerate the advancement of ultrahigh-density, low-power, high-performance non-volatile memory for a variety of applications, such as IoT, AI, and automobiles.

A recent study has measured the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of Zinc-Oxide (ZnO) crystals in both the light-emitting process and non-light-emitting process.

To better prepare prospective teachers with digital and technological skills, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and Microsoft Hong Kong have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which covers different areas of collaboration, including:

University of Tokyo researchers have fabricated a tiny electronic sensor that can detect very low levels of a commonly used weed killer in drinking water.

New collaboration between Japan’s RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS), Research Organization for Information Science and Technology (RIST) and National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore, will allow Singapore scientists to directly tap on Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer to do ground breaking research, enhance educational activities and develop talent in high performance computing (HPC).

A new sensing method has made tracking movement easier and more efficient. A research group from Tohoku University has captured dexterous 3D motion data from a flexible magnetic flux sensor array, using deep learning and a structure-aware temporal bilateral filter.

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) has received a donation of HK$5 million from the Li Ka Shing Foundation in support of the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology to cultivate artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and develop e-learning materials in Mathematics.

An easy way to make millirobots by coating objects with a glue-like magnetic spray was developed in a joint research led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Driven by the magnetic field, the coated objects can crawl, walk, or roll on different surfaces. As the magnetic coating is biocompatible and can be disintegrated into powders when needed, this technology demonstrates the potential for biomedical applications, including catheter navigation and drug delivery.

A chance discovery leads to a simple process that can introduce ‘oxygen-missing layers’ into perovskite oxynitrides, changing their properties.

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has recently reported a significant discovery that could bring solar hydrogen production a step closer to reality.