Press releases

An exhibition titled “Saneatsu and Red Porcelain” will be held in March and April at the Shigenori Tomioka Collection Gallery which opened in May 2009. This is an exhibition which takes the shape of word-association game-like concept linking Saneatsu Mushakoji to Naoya Shiga to Wanli red porcelain to five-colored Ming Dynasty porcelain.

By NASER FARUQUI The political dramas unfolding in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries present pivotal opportunities: They improve the prospects for harnessing science and its values to advance sustainable and equitable development, openness and democracy in the Islamic world.

India’s labour force is fast approaching half a billion people, with about 8 million people added every year between the early 1990s and 2004-2005, but there remains a wide wage gap between different sectors of the Indian workforce.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is pleased to have received a $2 million donation from Dr Hari N. Harilela for the establishment of the "Padma and Hari Harilela Scholarship" at its School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM).

By Hatsuko Kawana, Associate Professor, School of Human Sciences, Waseda University It started with the news that on Christmas Day in 2010, ten school bags were delivered to a child guidance center in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, along with a card signed by Mr. Naoto Date, the hero of the cartoon “Tiger Mask.”

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Neuroscience: Understanding relapse; Immunology: Maintaining calm in the gut; Cell Biology: p53 mutations affect cancer cell metabolism; Cell Biology: Fine-tuning the DNA damage response for survival; And finally…Geoscience: Early Cretaceous warmth

Molecular simulations explain how enzymatic pumps transport calcium ions within muscle cells

Experimental evidence adds to the likelihood of the existence of supersolids, an exotic phase of matter

Based on the concept of ‘Prevention is better than cure’, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) researchers have found a way to stop the spread of cancer cells in the human body with a product derived from the oak galls plant.

The discovery of evidence in Bukit Bunuh has made it one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in the world because it has revealed a 4 km square Palaeolithic complex dating back more than 1.83 million years; 40,000; and 30,000 years.

With a decade of providing executive training to hospitality professionals, PolyU has already formed a firm foothold in establishing a well-respected programme.

Engineering experts at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Industrial Centre (IC) have helped achieved a breakthrough in aero engine maintenance by applying a mathematics-based software to the multiple axes machining of turbine blades.

Birds are useful models in developmental biology, but the study of avian development has been dominated by a single species of chicken. New research provides a comparative description of the development of the emu with that of the better-known chick.

As in manmade timepieces, the movements of the genetic clockworks that lie behind circadian cycles involve a remarkable amount of complexity. Researcher's from RIKEN's Laboratory for Systems Biology report how delayed feedback repression is a key factor in mammalian clock function.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Fossils: Ancient ‘seaweeds’ tell tales of the deep; Materials science: Bending the rules for transformation optics; Stem cells: Driving the neural pathway; And finally… Pruning the tree of life

People never, as assumed by conventional economics, make rational or efficient choices. Far from that, the choices made are irrational and emotional.

The Waseda University Institute of e-Government has released the 2011 Waseda University World e-Government Ranking, marking its seventh consecutive year of monitoring the development of e-Government worldwide.

The exhibition project “Build a Square, Move a Square―A Half Century of Temporary Theatres in Japan―Exhibition”, which started on January 11, is a display looking back at the history of temporary theatres from the 1960s to the present day.

NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES FOR THE “ASIAN INNOVATION AWARDS 2011” PRESENTED BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CREDIT SUISSE Seeking Innovations that Break with Conventional Processes in Creative Ways to Improve Quality of Life or Productivity

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Physics: A new twist on black-hole detection; Materials: Hydrogen in view.

Texchem Food Sdn. Bhd is committed to providing funding worth RM200,000 to Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for research development on mangrove crabs, a seafood that is very popular both locally and internationally.

Teaching and learning using real corpses (cadavers) is a key component in the USM International Medical Doctor Programme carried out in collaboration with KLE University in Belgaum, Bangalore, India (USM-KLE).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainovia Lockman, a researcher in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), has won the Young Researcher in Solid State Science & Technology Research 2010 Award for her significant contributions in this field.

Researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute are harnessing new physical principles in their search for the breakthroughs that will drive the next technological revolution.

Microwave photons can nullify the conductivity of electrons confined to the surface of liquid helium

A template-based coating technique allows the production of gapped nanostructures over large areas

One of the rarest cats in the world, the Bornean bay cat (Catopuma badia) has been recorded in Pulong Tau National Park (PTNP)’s extended areas of Batu Lawi and Long Repung in the state’s northern region.

by Conny Banji. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Faculty of Engineering under its Micro Hydro Group is working on a micro hydro project to bring electricity to rural areas.

By CHERYL POO To keep traditional songket weaving alive, Royal Terengganu Songket strives to empower artistically inclined rural young women.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Genomics: A new era for personal medicine; Cancer: Genomic complexity of prostate cancer; Immunology: Retinoic acid implicated in coeliac disease; Nanotechnology: Programmable nanowire circuits; Physics: Frustrated ferroelectrics.