Press releases

Twin zinc atoms can direct an important organic double-bond-forming reaction with greater efficiency than other methods

Immune cells get switched off by the gradual accumulation of dense clusters of inhibitory proteins

Controlling antihydrogen atoms using two different methods brings physicists closer to answering quantum and cosmic questions

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Biology: Prostate cancer progression; Climate science: Solving the methane question; Comment: Policies needed to protect deep-sea denizens from mining; Physics: Biological imaging with an X-ray laser; Genetics: Plants ‘predict’ infection?; And finally… Once upon a thymus.

GreenMetric Ranking of World Universities was established in April 2010 in order to provide a profile for and way of comparing the commitment of universities towards going green and promoting sustainable operation.

In each month of 2010, IDRC launched a 'Lasting Impacts' minisite to look back at some examples of how research that IDRC has funded has had long term impacts. Links to the minisites can be found in this announcement.

In Nature China this week - Structural biology: Without a weak spot; Organometallic chemistry: Nature's way; Photochemistry: Long live the excited state; Theoretical chemistry: Flattening silicon; Oncology: Soy joy; Public health: Safe and effective; Vertebrate palaeontology: Cracking the pterosaur mystery.

By Hélène Mayrand et Edgard Rodriguez In today’s globalized world, exporting is one of the key policy strategies to promote employment and higher wages in developing countries.

By Louise Guénette Three IDRC regional directors retired in the fall of 2010 after heading offices in Cairo, Nairobi, and Singapore. Eglal Rached, Constance Freeman, and Richard Fuchs look back at some significant moments during their careers at IDRC.

With over 2,000 dead and more than 6,500,000 at risk from cholera, urgent measures are being implemented to contain the cholera outbreak in Haiti, which is present in all ten of Haiti's departments.

Once, GDP was the established benchmark of a country’s progress. Now, new and sophisticated indexes offer a more rounded picture of the condition of society — and IDRC is helping develop them.

Discovery of Breakthrough Electrode Formation Method without Accompanying Doping into Si Substrate

Fabrication of the World’s Highest Mobility Organic Crystal Transistor by Simple Process of Solution Dripping and Exposure to Vapor

The Centre for Chemical Biology at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (CCB@USM) has launched a One Stop Bioinformatics Hub to serve the biological research community of Malaysia.

KAI Square is the software and hardware vendor for local public bus fleet operators' in-vehicle surveillance system and central management system. The company has teamed up with A*STAR’s Data Storage Institute (DSI), to provide an integrated solution targeted to benefit fleet operators.

The IDRC-funded project Trade, Gender and Equity in Latin America assessed the impact of trade patterns on female labour. The research revealed that, overall, trade has not resulted in more jobs for women, nor has it narrowed the income gap between men and women.

IDRC is pleased to announce the 2011 Call for Concept Notes as part of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund.

Organized by the Troels H. Povlsen Care Apparel Centre under the aegis of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)’s Institute of Textiles and Clothing, the "DesignPlus Fashion Competition 2011" has come to a fruitful close.

Innovation has a crucial role to play as economies recover from the current financial crisis. This book examines the role of innovation in developing countries, with a focus on Africa.

Dr Durga Datt Joshi is the recipient of the prestigious Birendra Scientific Award from the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in recognition for his work on animal-transmitted diseases and viral encephalitis and for helping examine, control, and treat the diseases.

Development of novel transistor with combined logic and memory functions with power consumption reduced to one-millionth that of conventional devices.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Nanotechnology: Keeping the carbon-nanotube blood flowing; Chemistry: An iron-sandwich solar cell; Neuroscience: The neuroscience of nutrition; And finally…Nature: The nitty-gritty of nicotine addiction.

Research on spin frustration in complex electron systems could help solve some of the world’s pressing energy problems

A set of neighboring immune-system genes each receive separate activation instructions despite being controlled by a common factor

Rapid activation of specific genes readies the mammalian body for seasonal change

At the AAAS will be two scientists involved in cutting-edge research at RIKEN. Yoichi Yamada will discuss his team’s work on a new “micro-reaction chip”, as the basis for a revolutionary technique for conducting chemical reactions and Hiroyuki Ichida will discuss the application of heavy-ion beams to plant and microbial breeding.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Genomics: Orang-utan genome reveals a tale of two islands; Astrophysics: A glimpse of the Universe 500 million years after the Big Bang; Genetics: Social dominance imprinted?; Materials science: Nanopatterning technique mixes firm with flexible; And finally… Time for a new clock model?

Researchers at RIKEN, Yokohama City University and the University of Tokyo have uncovered how gut bifidobacteria protect the body against lethal infection by enhancing the defenses of colonic epithelium.

The UN have declared 2011 the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011). Throughout the year a wide range of activities will be taking place as part of IYC 2011, starting with the Official International Launch Ceremony being held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 27-28 January. Below is a list of experts available for comment on the IYC 2011.

A*STAR I²R team that pioneered Dance!3D system selected to be one of six finalists out of 23 nominees