As humanity turns its gaze back to lunar exploration, a CUHK-UCLA study suggests the Moon’s surface may have been far more dynamic than previously thought. Tiny volcanic glass beads brought back by Apollo 17 were not inert relics of ancient eruptions; instead, they continued to release gases long after landing, offering new insight into the Moon’s interior, volatile cycle and possible contribution to polar ice formation.
Life finds a way – but exactly how long does it take? Until recently, scientists had little clue why vegetation can take anywhere from a few years to a century to recover after thaw slumps – greenery-destroying landslides triggered when climate change thaws permafrost. Thanks to a new CUHK study, however, recovery time can now be predicted with striking accuracy.
A CUHK study has identified early-life links between the epigenome, gut microbiome and neurodevelopment. By following children from birth, the research team found that patterns in DNA methylation and gut microbial development were associated with later autism and ADHD-related scores, highlighting a possible route for early-life risk assessment and intervention.
Waste management and energy security are two of the world’s most pressing challenges, particularly in metropolis like Hong Kong. CUHK researchers address both by converting biodegradable waste directly into green fuel – without inefficient high-temperature gasification or combustion. This innovation promises cleaner energy production while helping industries meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.
This spring, CUHK has seen its researchers and leadership receive major international recognition, reflecting strengths across biomedical science, plant biology, geography, and translational research. Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, Vice-Chancellor and President, and Professor Jiang Liwen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Affairs), have each garnered top international honours, affirming CUHK’s global academic leadership. Alongside these accolades, the University has achieved remarkable success in organising international education event and scientific research innovation, further consolidating its standing as a world-leading research university and Hong Kong’s international post-secondary education hub.
Scientists have long debated a critical question: did life learn to breathe oxygen before or after the Great Oxidation Event about 2.4 billion years ago, when atmospheric oxygen first began to accumulate? A new CUHK study now provides strong evidence that it happened much earlier, hundreds of millions of years before the event. Using an AI model, CUHK researchers found that long before oxygen began accumulating in Earth's atmosphere, tiny microbial pioneers were already experimenting with breathing it, thriving inside microscopic oxygen-rich pockets. This discovery not only rewrites the history of life on Earth but also has profound implications in an era of climate change.
For generations, a heart attack has been seen as an irreversible decline. But a groundbreaking discovery by CUHK researchers may now be poised to change that. They have identified a hidden regenerative “switch” within the human immune system. Flipping it back on could reawaken the heart's dormant ability to heal itself—a power it once briefly held in infancy—turning a heart attack from a point of no return into a new beginning. This discovery doesn't just challenge a long-held medical belief; it opens an entirely new frontier in repairing damaged hearts.
Imagine being able to peer inside the human brain with unprecedented clarity—not through psychic vision, but through advanced technology. This is the promise of today’s neuroimaging breakthroughs. At CUHK, an AI-assisted, next-generation system is taking shape, capable of providing real-time, highly detailed brain maps with exceptional accuracy. This powerful new tool is set to equip neurosurgeons in their fight against some of the deadliest of all diseases.
Cancer’s toughest strongholds – solid tumours like those in the lung, liver, and pancreas – have long outwitted modern medicine. But what if the key to defeating them was already inside us – just hidden hero in plain sight? Using powerful AI to peer into cancer at single-cell resolution, CUHK researchers have discovered a previously unknown immune cell that can naturally hunt down and destroy solid tumours from within – a feat where conventional treatments fail. Even more remarkably, the team has developed a way to manufacture these “Super” immune cells from a patient’s blood, potentially opening the door to a brave new world of safe, fast-acting, cancer-bashing immunotherapy.
CUHK continues to demonstrate exceptional research excellence on the global stage. Leading individual honours is Professor Kwan Mei-po, who has been elected a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, alongside 17 CUHK scholars recognised as Highly Cited Researchers 2025. The University's innovative impact was further cemented by six awards at the influential iENA exhibition in Germany, capped off by a dominant performance at the Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong, where CUHK emerged as one of the biggest winners with 10 awards.
Two new AI colleagues are about to join the workforce: the M1 quadruped robot and the VLM-based dual-arm embodied AI system. Both promise to be useful in logistics, retail and industrial automation. Smarter than your average robot, they’re able to learn as they go, find their way around fiendishly complicated environments, carry heavy, awkwardly shaped loads, or understand instructions, break down tasks, and perform diverse operations. Their arrival signals a new era in industrial automation.
Internet-connected smart systems are everywhere – from autonomous cars to home assistants – and they’re only getting smarter. However, as edge devices process more data locally, they become prime targets for hackers, especially in the age of AI-powered attacks. A new technology developed at CUHK promises to solve that problem – by exploiting the unique physical properties of carbon nanotubes to make physically unique devices that can be reprogrammed in trillions of different ways, making hacking feel like trying to pick a lock that reshapes itself every time you touch it.
CUHK researchers have unveiled the world’s first AI-powered surgical robot that works like a true “third hand” in the operating room. Using a cutting-edge embodied intelligence platform, the robot doesn’t just follow instructions. It understands its surroundings, adapts in real time, and performs multiple surgical tasks without extra sensors. This breakthrough, proven in live animal trials, is transforming science fiction into surgical reality, where AI unites with human expertise for safer, faster surgeries worldwide.
2025 marks the centenary of the birth of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is the scientific theory describing the behaviour of subatomic particles that has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the universe. With the establishment of the State Key Laboratory of Quantum Information Technologies and Materials, CUHK aspires to bring even more earth-shattering breakthroughs to the next century of quantum science.
CUHK has been consistently recognised with prestigious awards in the fields of innovation, academia, and the arts. As the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster named the world’s top innovation cluster, alongside CUHK’s bumper crop of gongs at a leading innovation competition. It has also achieved outstanding results in two majors benchmark global university rankings, while Music faculty member Ms Vivian Ip has recorded a history-making competition win.
The robotic platform of Professor Kwok Ka-wai, Professor at CUHK’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, provides new level of agility in non-invasive cancer surgery. He collaborated with Professor Jason Chan from the Faculty of Medicine to further develop the robotic system’s capacities to help with gastrointestinal surgeries.
For many years, Lu Yi-chun, a professor in CUHK’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, has toiled away on a solution that she hopes will enhance the safety of battery storage but still be cost-effective. Her work on polysulfide flow batteries has long garnered acclaim, and now she is taking her mission to the next level.
Robotic arms take digestive cancer operations to new heights in Professor Philip Chiu's innovation. The robotic arms, developed by his team jointly with CUHK’s Faculty of Engineering, mimic the dexterity of a surgeon’s hands – one arm holds tissue aside with its micro-grippers while the other wields micro-blades to excise with accuracy.
Don’t mistakenly regard this tiny wriggler as a blood worm – it is a revolutionary microrobot, crafted from a patient’s own blood cells and finer than a human hair, designed to navigate through the brain’s complex neural labyrinth with astonishing precision. Far from a sci-fi creature, CUHK’s innovative microrobots don’t just move – they slither, swim and crawl under magnetic control, hunting down cancer cells like guided missiles. Remotely steered by external magnetic fields, they deliver targeted therapy to brain tumours once considered untreatable, offering new hope where conventional methods fall short.
Pipelines are present everywhere in our daily lives – from residential plumbing and oil tanks to power plants and railway systems. Ensuring their safety is essential to prevent leaks and accidents, protect the environment, and ensure reliable delivery of vital resources. CUHK scientists are pushing the boundaries of energy innovation with smart laser sensing and AI-driven gas detection. Their breakthrough technology promises safer, smarter monitoring of oil, natural gas and hydrogen pipelines. With large-scale trials across Hong Kong and mainland China, this project fuels the city’s re-industrialisation and energy ambitions, positioning CUHK at the forefront of sustainable tech and next-generation manufacturing.
For decades, a Parkinson’s diagnosis meant accepting inevitable decline – trembling hands, shuffling steps, and lost independence. This merciless disease has stalked millions, with no cure in sight. But recently, CUHK scientists have developed a single-shot gene therapy that can stop Parkinson's in its tracks. Their microscopic weapon infiltrates the brain, stopping rogue proteins from forming deadly clusters that trigger neurodegeneration. The research offers tangible hope to transform an unstoppable disease into a manageable one.
Millions around the world avoid shellfish out of fear of allergic reactions, yet many may be dodging delicious meals unnecessarily. Now, CUHK researchers just unmasked 11 crab allergens—eight of them never seen before—and a king-crab-exclusive protein that appears to sensitise 41% of patients. Their molecular tests aim to promote accurate diagnosis of allergies, paving the way for safer enjoyment of seafood.
CUHK’s achievements are on the rise! Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming and Dean of CU Medicine Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan have received a prestigious honour: election to that most select group, foreign members of the leading academic body, the Academia Europaea. Students Yiu Kwan-to and Adam Mak Sai-ting won a gold medal in men’s doubles table tennis and a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke, respectively, at the FISU World University Games Summer. And the University continues to soar in global rankings: its latest scoop is an impressive 32nd place in the QS World University Rankings 2026, its highest ever.
Picture a swarm of microscopic warriors – virus-like nanofibres – storming a breast tumour like a fortress, armed with oxygen and laser precision. Developed by a brilliant team at CUHK, these nanofibres can find breast tumours, produce oxygen, and help destroy cancer with light. In mouse studies, they made tumours shrink quickly, even in areas where current treatments often fail. This breakthrough could defy the limit of traditional therapies and spark a wildfire of hope for more targeted, less harmful cancer therapies.