ResearchSEA - Asia Research News

New drug target for Alzheimer’s disease [research]

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: Hot water around a carbon star; Clouds on the horizon for China's crops; HapMap 3 is here; Questionable stewardship; The life and works of charitable bacteria; A high-performance graphene transistor; Collective motion in a simple model system

Kenya develops tool to predict malaria [research]

The Kenya Medical Research Institute has launched a tool aimed at predicting malaria outbreaks in any area of East Africa two to three months before they occur.

New poverty index stirs wide interest [research]

The IDRC-supported Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative launched a new tool last month that provides new ways of understanding poverty around the world.

USM assists in the setting-up of Albukhary International University [research]

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will assist in rthe setting up of the Albukhary International University (AIU), the only private university set up specifically to help the underprivileged obtain access to higher education.

USM – First IPT to be recognised as certified training provider for open source software [research]

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) became the first Institution of Higher Learning (IPT) in the country to be recognized as a Certified Training Provider of Open Source Software when the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (AMDI), USM received its appointment from the Malaysia Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) today.

USM improves water quality at Harapan Lake with the use of 10,000 mudballs [research]

Realising the importance of preserving the balance of nature, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), through the Advancement and Alumni Relations Office, USM with the cooperation of CIMB Foundation dan Bioremediation Sdn. Bhd have taken the initiative to clean up the Harapan Lake in USM by using mudballs.

Priming a third-generation Alliance [research]

OPINION: Much has been said about the Alliance or Perikatan as a political entity, and later Barisan Nasional (BN) as a pre-election pact, that dominated the Malayan-Malaysian scene even before independence was won.

Reclaiming our hopes [research]

OPINION: LAST Saturday was a memorable one for Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). As early as 8am on a Ramadan morning, hundreds of students and staff gathered around the iconic Tasik Harapan to collectively perform a simple gesture that would bring back the lake to life...

The business of rankings [research]

OPINION: THE rankings game is here again. This time it involves two types of rankings that allow us to understand what the game is all about from different perspectives.

Keeping pace with bioethics [research]

OPINION: Looks like the brave new world has finally arrived. The website BeautifulPeople.com reportedly "booted out 5,000 people who gained weight and were deemed too ugly to remain members".

Managing Natural Resources [research]

Win-win solutions improve livelihoods and the land

The 11th International Conference on Public Communication of Science & Technology (PCST-2010) Science Communication Without Frontiers [event]

The 11th PCST Conference will deliberate on both practical and theoretical aspects of science communication, in a globalised world with major inequalities and development challenges. Science communication practitioners and analysts from all continents will compare experiences and perspectives on science-based issues of today and tomorrow.

Immunology: Unraveling causes of severe asthma [research]

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: Genetics: Genetic variant associated with migraine; Immunology: You give me fever; And finally…Genetics: Apple genome sequenced

The discovery of Fano resonance in plasmonic nanostructures and metamaterials promises new applications in sensors, lasers, switching and nonlinear and slow-light devices. [research]

Singapore, 27 August 2010 - Fano resonance permits the creation of ultracompact nanoantennas which can be used in mobile telephones or wireless connections and many other devices

Boon to plant science [research]

RIKEN’s release of an online database pertaining to the regulatory mechanisms of plants offers new research and engineering opportunities

Magnets with a twist [research]

The first direct observation of an unusual magnetic structure could lead to novel electronic and magnetic memory devices

Magnets with a twist [research]

The first direct observation of an unusual magnetic structure could lead to novel electronic and magnetic memory devices

Taking aim at a slippery target [research]

Powerful synchrotron light captures never-before-seen electronic interactions of molecules dissolved in liquids

PolyU researchers break new ground in nanotechnology [research]

A pioneering study by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has shown that sandwiching a simple layer of silver nanoparticles can significantly improve the performance of organic transistors which are commonly used in consumer electronics.

Cancer: New mechanism for p53 silencing [research]

Summaries of newsworthy papers include: Supermassive black hole formation in the early Universe; Disasters widen the rich–poor divide; Origin of asteroid pairs; Save the census; The evolution of eusocial behaviour; A new ALS susceptibility gene