News & Stories

Using cloud technology, Prof Pascale Fung has developed a Chinese-based voice interactive system for use on smart phones and GPS in cars. (From the "HKUST Science-for-Lunch" talk series)

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved another milestone in molecular neuroscience research. Prof Nancy Ip, Dean of Science, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience and The Morningside Professor of Life Science at HKUST, and her research team have discovered a novel mechanism that controls brain cell production and cortical expansion. The study has significantly contributed to our understanding of the evolution of the brain and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, with far-reaching implications for biomedicine. These groundbreaking discoveries have been published in Neuron, a prestigious journal in neuroscience.

 UNESCO collaboration Under this significant collaboration, the innovative system will be introduced in Cuba later this year, together with local Cuban partners, as part of a three-year water-saving project funded by the European Union and UNESCO-IHE. Measures being piloted in the capital city of Havana cover seawater supply, wastewater reuse, and the SANI process.  SANI stands for Sulphate Reduction, Autotrophic Denitrification and Nitrification Integrated Process, an energy-efficient and low-carbon sewage treatment technology, developed by Prof Guanghao Chen, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his research team and utilizing Hong Kong’s unique seawater toilet flushing system.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved research breakthrough with a novel approach, using ultrathin lead nanowires to produce magnetic fields which are 200 times stronger and increase the temperature of the environment in which superconductors operate. The research, providing solutions to a bottleneck unsolved for over a century concerning low applications of superconductors due to ultra low temperatures and low magnetic critical fields required, is envisaged to greatly enhance superconductor-based technologies to facilitate their applications in medical and biological fields such as high-resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices for cancer and stroke detection. The breakthrough research is published in the prestigious nanoscience and technology journal ACS Nano..

A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a next-generation streaming cloud for large-scale high bitrate applications over the global Internet. The cloud, named Streamphony, is well acclaimed by both content and service providers and is currently being adopted by industry leader Mei Ah Digital Technology Limited and a major telecommunication company for high-quality live broadcasts planned in December this year.

A research team led by Prof Yilong Han at the Department of Physics of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has for the first time successfully observed homogeneous melting at single-particle resolution, closing the long-term debate on alleged defects generated before melting. In addition to this, Prof Han and his team members Ziren Wang, Feng Wang, Yi Peng and Zhongyu Zheng also measured the superheat limit of colloidal crystals for the first time. All of these discoveries have been published in the latest issue of , one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals.

Prof Zhenguo Wu of the Division of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and his research team have discovered a novel protein Pax3/7BP that plays an influential role in skeletal muscle stem cells. This groundbreaking discovery could lead to more effective stem cell treatments for various muscle diseases including muscular dystrophy. Skeletal muscle stem cells function differently at different developmental stages. They are responsible for normal skeletal muscle growth in young animals including humans and for injury-induced muscle regeneration in adult animals. In skeletal muscle tissues, Pax7 is a protein that is uniquely present in muscle stem cells and is indispensable for muscle stem cell functions in young animals. However, until recently how Pax7 regulates the functions of muscle stem cells had remained unclear.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Beijing Luzhu Biopharmaceutical Co. are developing a new vaccine to prevent hepatitis E which affects one-third of the world’s population. This breakthrough research, conducted by a team led by Professor Yong Xie from HKUST’s Division of Life Science, uses a unique insect cell system and method for the production of immunogenic protein, which will have the benefit of simplifying the production process and reducing production costs. Hepatitis E is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). The disease is spread mainly through fecal contamination of water supplies or food, especially uncooked vegetables, pork internal organs, or shellfish. HEV-contaminated hands or utensils may transmit the virus, and flies and cockroaches can carry the virus to contaminate food.