ResearchSEA - Asia Research News | Science

Speeding up ‘ethical stem-cell’ production [research]

Variants associated with hearing loss in children receiving chemotherapy medication; The long shadows of adversity; Low-level seismicity in Southern California; Smoking and autoimmunity affect rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility; Arthritis is spreading; A deletion is associated with neurodevelopmental problems and more

Earthquakes: Long aftershock sequences [research]

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Earthquakes: Long aftershock sequences, Astronomy: A neutron star cloaked in carbon, Evolution: Hedge your bets, Physics: Strong glasses from soft colloids, Immunology: Keeping watch on sentinel proteins, Physics: Peering inside a quantum gas and Nature celebrates a birthday

Getting membrane proteins into the fold [research]

A new preparation method promises to bring a challenging but clinically important subset of proteins within easier reach of scientists

Keeping the circadian clock ticking [research]

The daily rhythm of mammals is maintained by a key molecular process that is unaffected by changes in ambient temperature

Waste to Wealth [research]

Malaysian researchers have produced bio-solid compost, a fertilizer, developed from sewage sludge.

In Pursuit of the Garden of Mathematical Study-- Mastering Precision-Guaranteed Numerical Calculation [research]

Since high school, I was a precocious student who studied very keenly the subjects I was interested in, but felt that school lessons were too easy, and boring. I read piles of books, thinking to myself, “I want to be a writer,” and studied German passionately.

Wetland loss mayor source of SE Asian climate emissions [research]

Press Release - Greenhouse gas emissions due to the loss of peatsoils have rapidly increased in Southeast Asia in the last twenty years and now have reached a magnitude equal to 70% of all fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions. The report is the first ever inventory of peatland carbon emissions per country.

Neurobiology: Challenges of a different character [announcement]

In Nature China this week - Chinese-speaking dyslexics lack the phonological skills needed to pronounce Chinese characters and the visuospatial skills needed to judge character size

Microbes: sludge cleaners [research]

Malaysian researchers found three strains of bacteria in petroleum sludge that could be used to quicken the rate of biodegradation .

The Okra Flour [research]

A group of UiTM researchers, Ali Mohamad Noor, Noriza Ishak, Husin Khan, Hamizad Abd Hadi and Ismayaza Noh invented flour from okra.

Boosting Child Vaccination Rates in Developing Countries [research]

Results of a multi-country research project explain why some children in developing countries are not receiving vaccines. The research also shows how targeted, low-cost interventions can increase vaccination rates, at times doubling or tripling the odds of children being vaccinated.

The 4th International Conference On E-Commerce With Focus On Developing Countries 2009 (ECDC’09) [event]

Universiti Sains Malaysia will be hosting the The 4th International Conference On E-Commerce With Focus On Developing Countries 2009 (ECDC’09) starting from Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Genetics: Cucumber genome sequenced [research]

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Predicting new protein targets for known drugs, Heartbeat awareness, Gamma-rays from a starburst galaxy, Genome of strains of leprosy sequenced and How air can move the earth

Cellular secrets exposed in living color [research]

‘On–off’ fluorescent probes allow multicolor detection of nucleic acid strands within living cells

Sifting out the sources of spin [research]

High-energy proton collisions help solve the puzzle of what determines the proton’s spin

Palaeontology: Making heads or tails [announcement]

In Nature China this week - New dinosaur fossils provide fresh insights into the nature of evolutionary transitions

UiTM Wins Awards at British Invention Show 2009 [announcement]

The medals won were a Diamond, the Best Invention by Salon Archimedes (Russia), two gold and 6 silver. The British Invention Show, which was held 14 - 17 Oct 2009, is the largest innovation and technology expo in Britain. UiTM submitted 8 entries of which all had won medals.

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA UNVEILS PLANT GENOME OF BILLION-DOLLAR GLOBAL INDUSTRY [research]

Press Release - Penang, 28 October - The Centre for Chemical Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia had successfully decoded the rubber tree genome. This accomplishment could potentially place Malaysia as the biggest producer of rubber.

IDRC India Social Science Research Award 2009 [research]

The IDRC India Social Science Research Award (IDRC SSRA) 2009 is about celebrating best research practices in social sciences in India on the occasion of 25 years of IDRC’s regional office presence in India.

Darwin's living legacy: An International conference on Evolution and Society. [event]

Charles Darwin is celebrated as one of the greatest scientists of all time, with his work forming the foundation of many different research fields, and yet his ideas still stir up debate. The British Council have teamed up with Bibliotheca Alexandrina to organise this international conference to explore Darwinism.