Dust mite and cockroach allergens aggravate the symptoms of eczema and similar diseases by disrupting skin barrier function, a study published online this week in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reports. The work provides a crucial step in understanding how the skin’s defenses are weakened by allergens it encounters daily.
Summaries of newsworthy papers include Male and female flies wired differently for sex, A threshold for massive star formation, Completing the record, Locating what’s in the larder, An engineering material toughens up and Donning a disguise outside the theatre
IDRC congratulates its India-based partner, the Utthan Center for Sustainability and Poverty on receiving the 2007 Alcan Prize for Sustainability. The US$1 million prize recognizes organizations demonstrating a comprehensive approach to addressing, achieving, and furthering advancing sustainability.
Maria Ng was recognized for her efforts to develop the Khmer script for computers through the PAN Localization project, which focused on developing local language standards and technology across seven Asian countries.
Ottawa, Canada, February 22, 2007 – Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) welcomes the appointment of David M. Malone as its next President, effective July 1, 2008. Mr. Malone is currently Canadian High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Nepal and Bhutan.
Andrew Knight has been named executive director of the new Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. The centre will generate research, conduct high-level advocacy efforts, and support the activities of both governments and NGOs around the world working to advance and implement the Responsibility to Protect principle.
Highlights from Nature China include - Scientists in Beijing have identified the gene responsible for cell-corpse degradation, A fossil found in north-eastern China reveals the smallest ever pterosaur and scientists in Beijing have assembled a logic gate using nanocontacts and nanowires made from a metal alloy
MEDIA ADVISORY - The Editorial Board and Authors of “The Digital Review of Asia Pacific ”, comprising some 50 experts from government, academe, industry and civil society, will be meeting in Singapore from March 2-4th at Sentosa’s Silosa Beach Hotel, to start planning for the 2009-2010 version of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific.
Summaries of newsworthy papers include Long-distance groundwater flow on Mars, Dust in the wind, Silicon lasers march towards the mid-infrared, Drug detective kit for the cell’s powerhouse, Towards a ‘cloak’ for magnetic fields, Pathway influences human hair growth and texture, Cows as genetic models and more
Dr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament and his entourage visited Keio University and gave a lecture entitled "The Lisbon Treaty and the Future of the European Union". The year 2008 is European Year of Inter-Cultural Dialogue.
President Anzai participated in the GULF (Global University Leaders Forum) Winter Meeting, at which leaders of institutions of higher learning in developed and developing countries discussed the future role of universities.
Tying short RNA molecules into loops gives them a stability boost, which could lead to more effective therapeutic strategies for modulating gene expression
An exhibition created by RIKEN researchers at the National Science Museum in Tokyo is educating the public about the sequencing of the human genome and new directions in the post-genomic world.
Other newsworthy papers include Renewable cell therapy for diabetes inches closer from Nature Biotechnology and Treatment-resistant depression might be in the genes from Neuropsychopharmacology.
Summaries of newsworthy papers including Mars: Understanding its water flow, Diabetes: Sugars regulate insulin signalling, Evolutionary Biology: A photosynthetic parasite, Chemistry: Reacting the unreactable, Structural biology: Defining an anti-HIV protein, Tectonics: Deep mantle penetration events, And finally… Bend me, break me
In Nature China this week - A new strain of natural antibiotic could help stop bacterial blight in rice, SARS virus: Rafting into host cells, Anticancer agents: A clue to how they work and more.
Dr. Cesar Mercado, founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Development Center for Asia Africa Pacific (DCAAP) promotes the development of social technologies in the Philippines. He has produced more than fifteen culturally adapted social technologies (CAST) which he continuously shares to interested social scientists and researchers.
Summaries of newsworthy papers include Mississippi sinking, Pass the acetyl, please, New syndrome of mental retardation and epilepsy identified, Gene hunters strike oil and Reversing impaired brain function in diabetes – Nature Neuroscience
Applications are invited for post-doctoral research fellowships under the Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management Applications (SEA-UEMA) project.
In-depth interviews with over 100 entrepreneurs in Bangalore suggest that deficiencies in the performance of basic governmental functions (such as in collecting taxes and maintaining land records) play a significant role in discouraging businesses from starting at or expanding to an economically efficient scale of operation.
Although signs have emerged that some of the forces that caused the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis have begun to diminish and progress has been made in macroeconomic affairs, 10 years after the meltdown Indonesia's recovery is still among the slowest in Asian crisis countries.
This paper contributes to the debate on the use of temporary controls on capital outflows as a crisis resolution measure by examining the outcome of Malaysia's radical response to the 1997–98 financial crisis.
This study shows that India's export performance is still far behind that of China. The implication of this study is that India's reform measures need to be bolstered effectively to catch up and to overtake China.