Newsroom

Press releases on Asia Research News' Newsroom are provided by our partner Institutions keen to connect with  journalists and the public.

11 Feb 2022
Helping elevate the careers of over 50 women researchers, the partnership has recognized prize-winning science from more than 20 countries in the Global South since 2013
11 Feb 2022
On the occasion of the One Ocean Summit taking place in the French city of Brest, UNESCO has announced that at least 80% of the seabed will be mapped by 2030, compared to 20% currently, with the support of its Member States and the private sector.
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
11 Feb 2022
Metals usually soften when they expand under heating, but a research team led by a City University of Hong Kong (CityU) scholar and other researchers have discovered a first-of-its-kind super-elastic alloy that can retain its stiffness even after being heated to 1,000K (about 727℃) or above, with nearly zero energy dissipation.
Editor's choice
Asia Research News
11 Feb 2022
Low volcanic temperature ushered in global cooling and thriving dinosaurs, Broccoli compound induces cell death in yeast, A single molecule makes big splash in quantum mechanics, Dengue virus makes mosquitos bite more often, and Asia Research News: How it all began, all in the February's Editor's Choice
Tohoku University
10 Feb 2022
An international research collaboration has discovered a potential new diagnostic marker for ulcerative colitis in a trans-ethnic analysis. The finding could lead to the development of a non-invasive, diagnostic blood test to both identify the disease and to determine progression in patients, according to the researchers.
Giants in History: Eminent Filipina scientist and educator Clara Lim-Sylianco
Asia Research News
10 Feb 2022
Giants in History: Eminent Filipina scientist and educator Clara Lim-Sylianco (18 August 1925 – 23 July 2013) is remembered for her extensive research on mutagens – often-carcinogenic agents that permanently alter genetic materials such as DNA – antimutagens and bioorganic mechanisms.
Tohoku University
09 Feb 2022
Sea pineapples are a delicacy in Japan and the Tohoku region is renowned for its extensive sea pineapple industry. Soon they might not only be fueling our appetites, but helping power our future too. A research group demonstrated that the carbonization of cellulose nanofibers within sea pineapple shells produces high-quality carbon that, when mixed with blood waste from the livestock industry, boasts electrical performances similar to that of rare metals.
Asia Research News Partnerships
08 Feb 2022
On 16-17 February 2022, the 6th annual EDUtech Philippines 2022 will once again bring together the Philippines’ entire education ecosystem to discuss new strategies, pedagogies and innovations to bring 21st century quality education to all in the Philippines.
A surgical simulation unit used in the study (Photo: Takashige Abe).
Hokkaido University
07 Feb 2022
A large-scale study has found that simulation-based surgical training produced an increase of surgeons’ skills for more complex surgeries.
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
07 Feb 2022
Traditional education focuses on homework and examination drills. However, comparing with repetitive training, allowing students to choose the topics and the ways of their daily practice can effectively arouse their learning motivation. Therefore, Dr Zou Di at the Department of English Language Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, designed a personalised vocabulary learning system, so that students are able to practice English according to their interests and preferences.
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
07 Feb 2022
The size of benefits a company receives from bribing government officials is significantly correlated to the amount of bribe they pay, and how well informed people are in the bribe-taking country.
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
07 Feb 2022
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or reading difficulties (RD) tend to struggle with working memory and literacy. To help overcome these obstacles, Dr Kean Poon Kei-yan, a registered educational psychologist, at the Department of Special Education and Counselling of The Education University of Hong Kong, has developed i-Maze – the first-ever Chinese-character-focused gaming app for young children with special educational needs (SEN).
Rice flower and ovule
Hiroshima University
04 Feb 2022
Rice has long been a staple food for more than half the global population. The United Nations even declared 2004 the International Year of Rice to raise awareness and encourage action to protect and advance the crop for a rapidly growing population. The genetic guidance rice uses to grow and reproduce, however, is still not fully understood.
Wastewater sample being collected from a manhole in the Village
Hokkaido University
03 Feb 2022
Wastewater-based epidemiological tracking of COVID-19 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic village showed that SARS-CoV-2 was present in areas without diagnosed individuals.
Tohoku University
03 Feb 2022
The Sanriku Coast - which includes present day Iwate and parts of Aomori and Miyagi - has been prone to tsunamis throughout its history. Analyses of tsunami deposits along the coast, however, haven’t always provided conclusive findings. Now, a research team has utilized a new radiocarbon dating method to clarify the region’s tsunami history and better understand the frequency at which these disasters occur.
Asia Research News
03 Feb 2022
Giants in History: Rapee Sagarik (4 December 1922 – 17 February 2018) was Thailand’s renowned expert on orchids. Sagarik dedicated his career to the research of native orchids in Thailand.
Wellcome Trust
03 Feb 2022
A new, global training programme that aims to provide deeper understanding about SARS-CoV-2 genomics and biodata, and how this knowledge can be used to prepare for future pandemics has been launched by COG-Train. This is a partnership between Wellcome Connecting Science (WCS) and the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium, alongside their international collaborators, including Wellcome’s Africa and Asia programmes.
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
02 Feb 2022
Researchers from Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo find that the occurrence of red snow is closely tied to the length of the snow melt season and new snowfall events
Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka
02 Feb 2022
Despite enhanced trade partnerships in South Asia, intra-regional trade is far from reaching its theoretical potential. Similar production patterns and competitive sectors can be the causes. However, bilateral discussions to further lower trade costs continue. The ongoing Bangladesh-Sri Lanka discussions on a preferential trade agreement (PTA) will benefit from knowing the potential gains from reducing bilateral trade costs.
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
01 Feb 2022
A new study provides a theoretical basis for the influence of learning from ancestors on the acceleration of natural selection using Fisher’s fundamental theorem
Tohoku University
31 Jan 2022
Dinosaurs came to flourish during the Jurassic period after a volcanic eruption roughly 201 millions years ago wiped out many marine and land animals, leaving them able to evolve and grow. Now, further details about this eruption and the mass extinction have been revealed. A group of researchers demonstrated how low temperature magma slowly heated sedimentary rocks, causing high sulfur dioxide and low carbon dioxide emissions, a process which cooled the earth.
Chemoenzymatic synthesis and physico-chemical and biological functions of monocyclic polyketide compound, lankacyclinone C
Hiroshima University
31 Jan 2022
Garden soil houses a variety of bacteria and their natural byproducts — including one that may help halt tumor growth. Lankacidins are molecules that can be isolated from Strepomyces rochei, a common bacterium in soil. In addition to antimicrobial properties, a type of lankacidins, called lankacidin C, can inhibit tumor activity in various cancer cell lines, including leukemia, melanoma, ovarian and breast cancers.
Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka
31 Jan 2022
Sovereign debt restructuring can be pre-emptive or post-default. A default is inherently costly as it can result in a sustained loss of access to capital markets. That leaves pre-emptive restructuring when a country deems itself unable to service outstanding debt.
Synthesis and Properties of Wing-Shaped Nanographene
Ehime University
31 Jan 2022
Aromaticity of the Space Surrounded by Two Aromatic Rings
Murayama
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
28 Jan 2022
Kavli IPMU and UC Berkeley's Hitoshi Murayama has been named a new fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Congratulations!
(Left) The platinum-cobalt-indium catalyst in powder form; (Right) an electron micrograph of the catalyst (structure in top inset) on cerium oxide (CeO2, structure in bottom inset) support. (Shinya Furukawa).
Hokkaido University
27 Jan 2022
Researchers have developed an innovative catalyst for the synthesis of propylene, which has potential benefits for the chemical industry and carbon recycling.
The spin dynamics as a function of temperature in CCRO
Osaka Prefecture University
27 Jan 2022
An international research group demonstrated that the Kondo effect can have a significant impact on transition metal oxide compound, which has unique and desirable properties to realize wide range of quantum phenomena. The findings have provided more evidence in a decade long debate.
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
27 Jan 2022
A research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has recently designed a structured thermal armour (STA) that achieves efficient liquid cooling even over 1,000°C, fundamentally solving a 266-year-old challenge presented by the Leidenfrost effect. This breakthrough can be applied in aero and space engines, as well as improve the safety and reliability of next-generation nuclear reactors.
Graphical abstract of the paper
Hiroshima University
27 Jan 2022
Despite ongoing antagonism between the peoples of China, Japan and South Korea, support for regional cooperation on issues such as climate, pandemics and pollution exists if such cooperation mechanisms are mutually managed rather than dominated by any one nation.
Figure 1
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
27 Jan 2022
An international team has developed an alumina short-wavelength absorber patterned with moth eye-like structures. These new anti-reflective structures will improve the performance of telescopes studying radiation from the Big Bang.