Press releases

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a measurement technique that rapidly measures the number of viable bacteria in food products. They have succeeded in drastically reducing the inspection time from 2 days to about 1 hour. With this technology, it will be possible to confirm food safety before shipment from factories and prevent food poisoning.

AXL and EGFR inhibitors combined hold promise in fighting certain head, neck, and lung cancers

Lingnan University's Alumni Relations Team of Office of Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs (OIAPA) has organised its first-ever month-long themed café at the Jao Tsung-I Academy (JTIA) in Lai Chi Kok from 24 August till 23 September. With the aim of “Sharing Lingnan History with the community”, the “Lingnanian pop-up café” features unique characteristics of Lingnan's culture, heritage, and development milestones, along with “Red Grey Special Menu” and “Reading Corner” with historical publications. This initiative aims to enable the public to gain insights into the university’s storied history and remarkable achievements while fostering connections among alumni and Lingnanians, inviting everyone to savor the Lingnan legacy while enjoying the aroma of coffee.

Patients with a specific form of chronic indigestion react differently to images of food, compared to healthy control subjects or patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

An international team of scientists has successfully conducted large-scale helicopter-based observations along the coast of East Antarctica and has identified pathways through which warm ocean water flows from the open ocean into ice shelf cavities for the first time.

Researchers have unveiled an intriguing phenomenon of cellular reprogramming in mature adult organs, shedding light on a novel mechanism of adaptive growth. The study, which was conducted on fruit flies (Drosophila), provides further insights into dedifferentiation - where specialized cells that have specific functions transform into less specialized, undifferentiated cells like stem cells.

In the mid-sixteenth century, Mughal emperor Humayun brought two Persian master painters to India, who not only established an imperial atelier but also began a major tradition of miniature painting in South Asia — Mughal manuscript paintings. This painting tradition flourished for centuries, enjoying royal patronage and resulted in the illustration of significant literary texts, scriptures, biographies, dynastic histories and scientific literature. Known for their naturalism and intricacy, Mughal paintings also combined a range of influences — Persian, Indian and European — and were often made collaboratively by artists and other specialists in the imperial ateliers, known as kitabkhanas. Discover the legacy and lasting influence of this painting tradition and its eventual decline in the late eighteenth century.

A research team led by researchers from Osaka University created an aluminum-nitride device that can convert visible light into deep-ultraviolet light through the process of second harmonic generation. This work can lead to the development of practical devices that can sterilize surfaces with ultraviolet radiation while using less energy.

Elusive fundamental particles called neutrinos are predicted to interact unexpectedly with photons under extreme conditions.

In this collaborative project between Newcastle University and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), the team aimed to create a sustainable, cost-effective lower limb prosthetic socket (LLPS) using natural fiber-reinforced composites. The objectives included designing a green LLPS, assessing its environmental impact, and engaging stakeholders. Pineapple Leaf Fiber (PALF) was chosen for sustainability. The project has also inspired worldwide interest in sustainable LLPS development through a press release, receiving inquiries from students at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and a group of 7th graders in the USA.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a new species of fish that was spotted being sold at local markets, how humans almost went extinct, and an Earth-like planet that may be lurking in our solar system.

Capturing carbon dioxide, Shells go nuclear, Worms surf electric fields, Brain repair & Creating matter from light. Plus from our blog: Monitoring research for further impact. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Study addresses gaps in understanding of swine influenza A virus evolution and highlights need for early warning of disease emergence

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Cell Reports how alterations in the nuclear pores lead to the degradation of anti-tumor proteins.

Precisive real-time prediction of the movement of nearby vehicles or the future trajectory of pedestrians is essential for safe autonomous driving. A research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently developed a novel AI system that improves predictive accuracy amid dense traffic and increases computational efficiency by over 85%, offering great potential for enhancing the safety of autonomous vehicles.

Researchers scientists have unlocked a new realm of possibilities for non-volatile phase change memory, a type of electronic memory capable of retaining data even without power. Traditionally, researchers have relied on chalcogenides, materials with reversible electrical properties during transitions between crystalline and amorphous states. But an exciting alternative has emerged in the form of layered nickelates, complex oxide materials composed of nickel ions. These nickelates, with their unique layered structure and thermally reversible switching of room-temperature electrical resistivity, offer superior performance and sustainability potential.

In recent years, an emerging zoonotic pathogen called E. albertii, transmitted by wild animals such as raccoons, has garnered attention due to its remarkable similarities to several strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), including O157, and its potential to cause severe illness, particularly in children. A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a novel culture medium that allows for the selective cultivation of E. albertii from raccoon fecal samples. This enabled the successful isolation of E. albertii even from samples with very low quantities of this bacterium. Their findings are expected to further elucidate the bacteriological characteristics of E. albertii and to contribute to the control of foodborne illnesses.

Two biotech start-ups incubated by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have been selected for the “Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2023”, an annual list published by Forbes Asia highlighting small companies and start-ups on the rise across the Asia Pacific region that are targeting underserved markets with new technologies. These CityU start-ups are applying innovative biomedical technologies to address unmet medical needs, from blood-based cancer diagnostics to nanobody-based immunotherapy.

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on 21 August 2023 to establish further collaboration on fostering closer ties between the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Hong Kong and Malaysia, and co-nurturing start-ups to shine on the global stage.

Although the importance of investigating the enabling role of student feedback literacy has been widely covered in the literature, a measurement instrument is still lacking. A study by Dr Jane Zhan Ying, Assistant Professor at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, used a construct validation approach to validate the self-developed student feedback literacy scale, with two types of examinations: within- and between-network examinations. Within-network examinations use reliability and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) to explore the dimensional structure of the scale. Between-network examination performs correlation analyses to investigate the correlation between the scale and other constructs theoretically related to the scale.

DishBrain reveals how human neurons work together to process information. Living model of brain could give insights into the mechanisms of how we understand and experience the world.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in STAR Protocols procedural details and tips for nanoendoscopy-AFM, for capturing images of nanoscale structures inside living cells.

Researchers from Osaka University have revealed that the expression of a specific isoform of GREB1 Is4 is induced in malignant melanoma cells by the melanocyte-specific transcription factor, MITF. They revealed that GREB1 Is4 stimulates pyrimidine biosynthesis and promotes cancer cell proliferation. Furthermore, the anti-tumor effect of antisense nucleic acids against GREB1 showed a potential new modality for malignant melanoma.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are the detection of a rare isotope of oxygen, converting waste coconut fibers into a flavoring compound, and a smart contact lens battery that can be powered by tears.

Survey observations with the Subaru Telescope have led to the discovery of 22 quasars in the very distant universe. Their space density indicates the rapid emergence of supermassive black holes soon after the Big Bang, providing strong constraints on models of when, where, and how they formed and grew in cosmic space-time. The results also indicate a small quasar contribution to cosmic reionization, a major phase transition of the early universe.

Research published today in Nature warns that rising seas will devastate coastal habitats, using evidence from the last Ice Age.

Tubificine worms inhabit the sediments of lakes and rivers. They can form into blobs that behave like a single organism to adapt to extreme environmental conditions. Recreating an uneven and confined terrain, a group of scientists has recently studied the collective movement of worm blobs.

Your eyes may reveal more than you think. That is what Tohoku University researchers have discovered, finding a link between certain types of decision making and eye movements.

A long-lived monocarpic species of bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, only flowers once every 120 years before it dies. The upcoming flowering event for this species does not bode well for its continued long-term survival, as most flowers are not producing viable seeds.

Applied Microbiology International (AMI) is boosting training and development opportunities for early career scientists in journal publishing with the appointment of 14 new junior editors on its flagship journal Letters in Applied Microbiology (LAM). They were selected from more than 100 applicants by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr Marcela Hernández.