Technology

In order to understand Hong Kong citizens' views on the development of gerontechnology, Lingnan University recently held a public opinion survey. The results show that gerontechnology products related to healthcare and exercise are of the greatest interest to the public, although about 60 per cent of respondents find the cost of such products prohibitively high, which presents a barrier to purchase. At the same time, over 90 per cent hope that the government will increase support for elderly service organisations to adopt gerontechnology, and for research and development. This would stimulate growth and the silver economy, ultimately benefiting more older adults and caregivers.

Researchers at National Taiwan University developed an AI system that recognizes construction activities at both the individual and crew levels using ordinary site videos. The approach reveals how teamwork shapes productivity and provides a foundation for future human-robot collaboration on construction sites.

Accelerating materials science R&D to solve global environmental issues.

Professor Keisuke Fujii, a leading researcher in quantum science at The University of Osaka, has been named among the Quantum 100, a major global initiative celebrating the centennial of the development of quantum mechanics in 2025, proclaimed by the United Nations and led by UNESCO.

New simulator and computational tool generate realistic “virtual tissues” and map cell-to-cell “conversations” from spatial transcriptomics data. The tools could accelerate AI-driven discoveries in cancer, brain disorders and precision medicine by revealing which genes control how cells interact.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo develop an artificial intelligence framework for designing new inorganic materials with humanlike reasoning

A joint team from UOsaka has uncovered the core principles of the loss maximization in rotor-driven gas-liquid two-phase flows. Performing numerical simulations on the supercomputer "SQUID", they identified the causes as direct collisions between the rotor and the liquid surface and pressure imbalances around the rotor. The findings suggest that, in a resonant state, the enhanced fluid motion is drawn toward the front of the rotor, and the flow instability is intensified behind it. The insights from this research would open the possibility of improving energy efficiency, enhancing reliability and lifespan, and providing new design guidelines for various industrial applications.

First visible ‘time crystal’ developed by WPI-SKCM² members, advancing the institute’s goal to engineer novel forms of matter

Lingnan University congratulates elite student-athlete Yuen Wing-ki on winning a bronze medal for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in the Women’s Table Tennis Doubles (Class TT5) at the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NGD). Her brilliant performance also sets a record for Lingnan’s outstanding sporting achievements.

Scientists used a 3D-printing approach to pattern hydrophobic barriers inside hydrophilic filter paper. These barriers, designed in different geometries, guide liquids along precise paths and shape their flow behavior, demonstrating effective use in mixing, gradient generation, and two-phase separation within miniaturized systems.

Probabilistic computers can solve certain problems more efficiently than traditional computers, but are usually saddled with a power-hungry, bulky, analog component. That is, until a research team developed a fully digital p-bit design.

A scientist has solved the conundrum of why robots struggle to pick tomatoes

Brain atlas, From perfume to plastic, Stable solar power, Plant aging switch, Anti-cancer droplets, Greener gold, Extreme star factory and How research shapes sustainability policy. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Slow earthquakes have been discovered to exhibit anomalously slow, long-lasting, and small slips, adjacent to regular earthquakes where we sometimes feel catastrophic vibration. However, no one knows the reason why they show such strange characteristics. In a study published in a scientific journal Nature Communications, researchers at The University of Osaka succeeded in experimentally reproducing the multiple features of slow earthquakes in the lab and suggested the grain-scale origin of them based on their direct observations.

- Enables high-resolution Doppler estimations through signal extrapolation without complex computation... Expected to enhance unmanned system performance

GNSS Indonesia Summit & Expo 2025, the first international-scale GNSS forum in Indonesia, was successfully held from 19–23 November 2025 at Universitas Indonesia, Depok. This five-day event highlighted how global navigation satellite systems are becoming increasingly crucial across various sectors, including transportation, precision agriculture, disaster mitigation, environmental monitoring, and national digital transformation.

Researchers from The University of Osaka created a reagent for important building-block molecules with an abundant main-group element, gallium. These early findings show that an organic gallium compound can display transition-metal-like reactivity under light irradiation. Using common main-group elements like gallium offers a new way to make sustainable catalysts that do not need expensive transition metals, which are environmentally damaging and vulnerable to supply disruption.

Researchers from The University of Osaka developed mirror-image semiconductor polymer molecules for organic solar cells. The new acceptor molecules prevent recombination of electrons and holes by generating currents with spin-polarization of about 70% in which one electron spin dominates. Solar cells containing the new acceptors showed three times higher efficiency than the non-mirror-image version. Using mirror-image acceptor molecules provides a new way of increasing efficiency in clean energy technology.

Superconductive materials can conduct electricity with no resistance, but typically only at very low temperatures. Realizing superconductivity at room temperature could enable advanced, energy-efficient electronics and other technologies. Now, an international research team is one step closer to such an achievement.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo detect the motion of hydrogen atoms in palladium at low temperatures using channeling nuclear reaction analysis

Prof Song Yongduan, Dean of the School of Data Science and Chair Professor of the Division of Industrial Data Science at Lingnan University, has been elected as a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). The result was announced today (21 November), naming him one of the 24 newly elected foreign academicians for 2025. The honour recognises Prof Song’s outstanding contributions to control science and engineering at the international level.

Physicists at The University of Osaka have unveiled a breakthrough theoretical framework that uncovers the hidden physical rule behind one of the most powerful compression methods in laser fusion science — the stacked-shock implosion. While multi-shock ignition has recently proven its effectiveness in major laser facilities worldwide, this new study identifies the underlying law that governs such implosions, expressed in an elegant and compact analytic form.

Scientists from National Taiwan University and the National Institutes of Applied Research of Taiwan develop a rapid and accurate microfluidic device that generates precise drug gradients and outperforms manual dilution, enabling reliable multi-drug screening for high-throughput and personalized medicine.

Researchers at The University of Osaka developed the Balloon-Assisted Bronchoscope Delivery (BDBD) technique and in a first-in-human clinical trial, the team successfully demonstrated that this technique is both safe and effective, enabling access to lesions smaller than 20 mm. By using a small balloon to gently widen airways, it allows endoscopes to reach deep, peripheral lung tumors, promising more accurate cancer diagnosis and new minimally invasive treatment options.

Researchers from The University of Osaka and Daikin Industries, Ltd. have discovered a key metric, "electrolyte lithium-ion chemical potential," that governs lithium-ion battery performance. This quantitative indicator shows that efficient charging occurs when lithium ions are sufficiently “unstable” in the electrolyte. This breakthrough replaces trial-and-error methods with a rational design approach, enabling faster development of safer, higher-performance batteries for applications like EVs and renewable energy storage.

A discovery of electrically controlled triple quantum dots in zinc oxide by the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, moves us closer to energy-efficient quantum devices can be used practically.

Untangling cosmic knots, Samurai jellyfish, Controlling rogue antibodies, Search for anti-ulcer vaccine & Metal-recovering yeast. Plus next SciCom coffee talk on experiences in science journalism in the AI era and WHO guide to reporting on non communicable diseases. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Three distinguished scholars from Lingnan University have been named Highly Cited Researchers 2025 in the annual list compiled by leading global analytics company in academia and research Clarivate. The list is of exceptional researchers who have demonstrated significant and wide-ranging influence in their respective fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers reflecting their substantial contributions to advancing innovation and addressing global challenges.

The University of Osaka D3 Center and NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) have jointly commenced a demonstration aimed at the application of a wide-area distributed campus AI processing platform that enables on-demand use of GPU’s from compute servers. This demonstration will leverage NEC's "ExpEther," a technology that transmits signals from IT equipment with high reliability and low latency, to build a high-performance AI processing platform that can connect and disconnect compute servers and GPUs on-demand, even when they are in different buildings across campus.

On 20 November 2025, the Young Activists Summit (#YAS25) will honour five outstanding young people using technology to drive positive change. The event will take place at the European headquarters of the UN, in the recently renovated Assembly Hall of the historic Palais des Nations, in Geneva (Switzerland). The Summit will be webcast live and open to media participation.