Newsroom

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

City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
01 Apr 2021
The promotion of electric cars has dramatically increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries. However, cobalt and nickel, the main cathode materials for the batteries, are not abundant. If the consumption continues, it will inevitably elevate the costs in the long run, so scientists have been actively developing alternative materials. A joint research team co-led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a much more stable, manganese-based cathode material.
Tohoku University
01 Apr 2021
COVID-19 has had a massive impact on both our physical health and psychological health. Using data from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, researchers at Tohoku University have sought to find ways to mitigate the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on adolescents.
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
31 Mar 2021
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo calculate sources of uncertainty in flood risks to improve global flood predictions
Osaka City University
31 Mar 2021
Researchers reveal through a systematic review of 158 articles detailing quality improvements in pediatric intensive care units mainly throughout North America and the U.K. that despite having a median score of 11.0 on the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set, only 17% of them were considered high quality by achieving a 14-16 score, and only 5% cited Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines for reporting quality improvement works.
Tohoku University
31 Mar 2021
Tokyo summers are notorious for their sweltering heat and humidity. Scientists have found that the meandering Kuroshio Current may be the cause of increasing hot and humid summers in the Kanto region.
Students at Hiroshima University using bicycles to commute to campus.
Hiroshima University
31 Mar 2021
The younger generations are willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainable living. In a study questioning both commitment to sustainable behaviors and willingness to trade better pay to work for a more sustainable-minded company, the surveyed young adults in Japan made their preferences clear.
An urban Eurasian red squirrel and the novel food-extraction task in Tsuda Park at Obihiro
Hokkaido University
30 Mar 2021
Human disturbance in urban environments makes some squirrels fail, but others perform better in novel problem-solving.
Kanazawa University
30 Mar 2021
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Review of Scientific Instruments a newly developed atomic force microscopy approach for imaging biological samples and processes. The method offers higher frame rates and less disturbance of samples.
Lingnan University
30 Mar 2021
To promote sustainable development and the use of eco-coffins, Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU)’s Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) has taken the lead in developing dual-use coffins as furniture for environmental purposes. The Lingnan University team is collaborating with Forget Thee Not, a social enterprise promoting green burial and funerals, to design furniture that can be conveniently reassembled into coffins.
Tohoku University
30 Mar 2021
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd (SRI) and Tohoku University teamed up to increase the speed of 4-Dimensional Computed Tomography (4D-CT) a thousand-fold, making it possible to observe rubber failure in tires in real-time.
Human brain cancer cells forming spherical structures on the DN gel
Hokkaido University
29 Mar 2021
A hydrogel, a type of soft matter, developed at Hokkaido University successfully reverted cancer cells back to cancer stem cells within 24 hours, in six different human cancer types. This could lead to the development of anti-cancer stem cell drugs and personalized medicines.
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
29 Mar 2021
A review on the latest research of the various types of Heusler alloys summarizes the field’s main achievements up to 2020.
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
29 Mar 2021
A paper by the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) Director Ooguri Hirosi and Project Researcher Matthew Dodelson on the string theoretical effects outside the black hole photon sphere has been selected for the “Editors’ Suggestion” of the journal Physical Review D. Their paper was published on March 24, 2021.
Duke-NUS Medical School
29 Mar 2021
Multi-country trial finds low-cost intervention to improve hypertension management in rural communities is cost-effective. Consisting of home visits by community healthcare workers, physician training and coordination with public health care infrastructure, the intervention can be scaled up in low- and middle-income countries.
International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba
29 Mar 2021
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba find that vigorous exercise causes imperceptible improvements in sleep quality Tsukuba, Japan—Physical exercise has long been prescribed as a way to improve the quality of sleep.
Figure 1: The drawing shows a clam with its foot extending deep into the sediment to gain access to hydrogen sulfide. The foot and mantle of the clam are red due to the presence of haemoglobin for gas transport in the blood, which is an adaptation to the low-oxygen environment. (Drawn by HKBU student Hu Juntong)
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)
29 Mar 2021
A study led by scientists at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has decoded the genomes of the deep-sea clam (Archivesica marissinica) and the chemoautotrophic bacteria (Candidatus Vesicomyosocius marissinica) that live in its gill epithelium cells. Through analysis of their genomic structures and profiling of their gene expression patterns, the research team revealed that symbiosis between the two partners enables the clams to thrive in extreme deep-sea environments.
The optical forces acting on a moving nanodiamond
Hokkaido University
26 Mar 2021
Scientists have developed a method to use lasers to control the movement of nanodiamonds with fluorescent centers.
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University
26 Mar 2021
An ‘eat-me’ signal displayed on cell surfaces requires activation of a lipid-scrambling protein by a nuclear protein fragment.
Duke-NUS Medical School
25 Mar 2021
Professor David Matchar and his team from the Health Services and Systems Research (HSSR) Programme at Duke-NUS bagged two prestigious awards at the International Stroke Conference 2021, held virtually on 17-19 March, 2021.
Osaka City University
25 Mar 2021
Through a series of experiments using nasal polyp organ culture and mouse models of restraint stress, researchers unveil relationship between presence of corticotropin-releasing stress hormone and increase in and degranulation of allergy-causing mast cells.
Lingnan University
25 Mar 2021
Prof Darrell Rowbottom, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong received “The 8th Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) for Higher Education Institutions -- 2nd Class Award” from the Ministry of Education of the Mainland for his study about unconceived theories.
The studied subglacial discharge plume
Hokkaido University
25 Mar 2021
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in continuous monitoring of a subglacial discharge plume, providing a deeper understanding of the glacier-fjord environment.
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS)
24 Mar 2021
The University of Tokyo researchers use information theory to show that the accepted biochemical model of bacterial chemical sensing is mathematically equivalent to the optimal solution, with implications for microbiology and robotics
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
24 Mar 2021
With the aim of promoting knowledge transfer, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) hosted the Award-Winning Innovations Salon (AWIS) to showcase its award-winning projects recognised in international invention and innovation competitions in 2020. During the past year, the University won 22 international awards.
Duke-NUS Medical School
24 Mar 2021
Study shows that antibody longevity varies widely from 40 days to as long as several decades and not everyone who has recovered from COVID-19 is immune from reinfection. Individuals with low levels of neutralising antibodies may still be protected if they have robust T-cell immunity. Blood tests and a computer algorithm suggest annual vaccinations might be needed for some individuals to prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19.
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
23 Mar 2021
City University of Hong Kong (CityU) announced today (23 March) the launch of a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, HK Tech 300. With the theme of “Venture Beyond Boundaries” and an allocation of HK$500 million, the Programme aims to establish 300 start-ups championed by CityU students in three years, and establish the largest university-based entrepreneurship programme in Asia.
GRBAlpha nanosatellite
Hiroshima University
23 Mar 2021
A nanosatellite that Hiroshima University researchers helped develop was launched to orbit to monitor gamma-ray bursts in space.
Hokkaido University
Hokkaido University
19 Mar 2021
On March 19, 2021, Hokkaido University, Robotic Biology Institute Inc., iLAC Co., Ltd., and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) toward the establishment of an automated system for the analysis of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater.
Osaka City University
19 Mar 2021
Through a series of prosocial choice tasks, researchers reveal prosocial and antisocial characteristics in male convict cichlid fish. The fish distinguish between female breeding partners, unknown females, and rival males by adjusting their actions to either provide food for both them and the females or avoid providing food for the rival males.
Tohoku University
19 Mar 2021
Tohoku University researchers have, for the first time, developed the technology for the nanosecond operation of the spintronics-based probabilistic bit (p-bit) - dubbed the poor man's quantum bit (q-bit).