Press releases

Short pulses of laser light can crystallize amorphous silicon and create a nanostructured surface texture ideal for solar-cell applications

30 international experts gather for workshop organized jointly by the US Board on Global Science and Technology and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Astrophysics: How the Sun loses its spots; Climate science: Local impact of insolation on climate variation; Quantum physics: Another role for Bose–Einstein condensates; And finally… The double life of annelid worms.

In Nature China this week - Immunology: Allergy control; Medical biology: To my heart's keeper; Organic chemistry: Come together; Plant genomics: Soy story; Metals: Strong and stretchy; Solid-state physics: Small vibrations, big applications.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the first university in the region to take the initiative in conducting research on Orang Utan, the most endangered species in the world.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) ‘Sarawak Dolphin Project' (SDP) took a step forward in combating threats to coastal cetaceans in the region through a regional workshop in Permai Rainforest Resort.

A team of plant experts from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, have conducted research on the potential use of the plant growth regulators, paclobutrazol and uniconazole, to enhance flowering in Etlingera elatior.

It is the responsibility of scientists to work closely with government bodies and developers on the best way to prevent biodiversity loss due to development.

The global biofuels market is worth US$240B by 2020 according to Pike Research Cleantech Market Intelligence (2009). The conference is a platform to discuss the next generation of biofuels, algal biofuels and cover opportunities and challenges of building a biofuels industry.

In the wake of China overtaking Japan to become the second largest economy ion the world, Satoshi Amako evaluates the likely course of China's foreign policy.

UiTM food researchers Noriham Abdullah, Marina Zulkifli, Mohd Hilmi Hassan, Wan Nur Zahidah Wan Zainon and Nur Ilmiah Alimin have developed a new process for the formulation of fruit peel based snacks to bridge the gap between fast, on-the-go snacking and meeting consumer health concerns.

In an attempt to identify the worldview of the Batek tribe, a team of researchers from the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA embarked on a comprehensive study to document the characteristics and elements found in Batek folklore.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has recently received a generous donation of $2.3 million from Manulife Charitable Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1998 by Manulife (International) Limited (MIL).

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Chemical Biology: Biofuels by bugs; Geoscience: Weakness in the San Andreas Fault

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Nagoya University in Japan and Aalto University in Finland jointly announced on February 7, 2011 that researchers of the two universities succeeded to make high-performance carbon nanotube (CNT) integrated circuits on flexible plastic substrate.

National Institute for Material Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency and University of Tsukuba announced on February 4, 2011 that they succeeded in detecting nondestructively dynamic behaviors of doped impurities in Si nanowires (Si NWs) coated by SiO2 to make surrounding gate field-effect transistors.

A specific way of visualizing specimen surfaces at high sensitivity is to use a cathode lens (CL) mode in the SEM. The CL is a zero working distance electrostatic lens with the negatively biased specimen serving as the cathode and the earthed scintillator of the detector as the anode of the CL.

Kyoto University and University of Illinois announced on 14th January 2011 that they have succeeded in observing half-height magnetization steps in strontium ruthenium oxide (Sr2RuO4).

Entanglement is the basis of quantum computing. Although spin ensembles, such as those used in liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance have been examined, the results contain no entanglement and ultimately constitute classical simulations of quantum algorithms.

Western Digital® (NYSE: WDC) announced today that it has established a research and development center in Singapore, where the company will leverage the local talent pool and expertise of research organizations, such as Singapore’s A*STAR Data Storage Institute (DSI), and universities in the development of advanced hard drive technologies.

Insights into a specific secretion mechanism in the brain could lead to a better understanding of anxiety in unfamiliar or stressful environments

Exotic entities that arrange into a crystalline structure at near room-temperature could lead to a new approach to electronic memory

Particular types of neuronal loss and brain damage are caused by a molecular mechanism associated with calcium signaling

A professor from the Department of Computer and Communication Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Adzir Mahdi had been awarded COMSTECH Young Scientist Award.

A group of academic specialists in competition law and economics today (24 February) jointly responded to criticisms of the Competition Bill currently before Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo).

Five students from the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) had the opportunity of a lifetime when they were flown to Université de Franche-Comte to hone their French language skills.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Climate science: Not a drop to drink; News Features and Comment: The animal-testing conflict; Neuroscience: Helpless neurons; Earth science: Volcanic tremor explained; Physics: Coupled quantum pendulums; And finally… A leg-up for arthropod evolution

The Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), today announced that it has developed and successfully demonstrated an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio for use in Pirelli’s Cyber™ Tyre.

Current R&D success with A*STAR’s IMRE prompts Nitto Denko to invest more in Singapore by building a prototyping centre, which will be incubated at local research institute.

A tiny silicon–oxygen-based polyhedron enters cellular nuclei to light them up selectively