News & Stories

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have identified new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by studying the patients’ brain with a newly-developed methodology. This novel approach also enables researchers to measure the effects of potential drugs on AD patients, opening new directions for AD research and drug development.

Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells to a different body part from where it started, is considered as the most dangerous phase of cancer development. When cancer cells break away from the main tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system, they can travel to anywhere of the body, proliferate and creating a secondary tumor in a new location. It is often said that metastasis is responsible for around 90% of cancer deaths.

The ability to undertake in vivo imaging of a living brain in a mammalian animal model is crucial for elucidating how the brain functions. However, the brain consists of tens of billions of neurons, each connected with thousands of others via synapses, the sites of communication between neurons that allows transmission of information. Thus, to truly understand the dynamics of neuronal synaptic interactions, the capacity for morphological and functional imaging of the brain at high spatial and temporal resolution is required.  

Glass is a sound-proof material, but researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a way which allows sound transmission for glass, opening a new horizon for the potential development of smart phones and other electronic devices that can function under water, while also offering greater flexibility to building design.

An international research team co-led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, and the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) has discovered a mechanism that explains why patients of gliomas – a common and aggressive type of brain tumors, would develop chemo-resistance, potentially allowing early identification of drug-resistant brain cancer patients. At present, the main treatment for glioma is a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and the chemotherapy agent temozolomide (TMZ).  This type of treatment can usually prolong patients’ overall survival time. However, most of them would suffer a relapse and some would become resistant to TMZ.   

A team of researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) estimated that about 24,000 to 36,000 early mortality cases caused by air pollution may have been delayed due to Mainland China’s earlier mobility-restriction management (city lockdown*) to curb the spread of COVID-19, as such measures have brought down the amount of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) at lockdown cities by a notably 25 per cent year-on-year during the first two months of this year -  significantly elevated the region’s air quality.

Researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) discovered a novel molecular mechanism that controls the delivery of a key protein in planar cell polarity (PCP) – an important process in our body that regulates cell growth and cell movement, providing useful guidance on the development of new drugs for cancer treatment.    PCP is a biological process critical for tissue development and organ function. Defects in PCP could lead to illnesses such as neurological disorder, skeletal abnormalities or congenital heart disease. Even worse, cancer cells can hijack PCP to promote their own growth and expansion.  

Prof. Pascale FUNG Helps to Debunk COVID-19 Myths with Science