Just as with the artifacts and heritage of the lost and legendary Incan city of Machu Picchu, many places in the world lost facets of their cultures which are worth reviving and restoring. As other historians and anthropologists have done, a fervent CUHK scientist, works hard and reinvigorates what was always with us, to successfully track down and replant lost local rice with a unique genome, returning it to its place of value in the community.
A CUHK palaeobiologist co-developed laser stimulated fluorescence imaging while pursuing how running dinosaurs evolved into flying birds. The technique revealed unseen fossilised tissues so well, it inspired a crossover to a completely different discipline, archaeology……
As the world warms, it poses a serious threat to the production yield of crops worldwide caused by widespread extreme weather such as drought and hot waves. A CUHK life sciences team has recently discovered a novel molecular mechanism underlying plants response to stress which provides a new understanding of how to improve the drought resistance of plants in bioengineering……
Professional dancers move with intention through rehearsed and controlled movements but there is a deadly genetic disorder, Huntington’s Disease, which forces the body into an uncontrolled unlovely dance from unpredictable muscle movements. Scientist from CUHK has worked a wonder in discovering a novel molecule compound potentially effective in treating the disease, by uncovering the culprit for the neuronal DNA damage…...
Mangrove forests need a healthy community of invertebrates to sustain their trees. But a study of mangroves worldwide suggests most suffer from “low functional diversity”. If one invertebrate species is lost, its functional role may not be filled by another species. The good news? Hong Kong’s small mangroves remain healthily diverse. The message? Understanding invertebrates’ diversity is crucial for the assessment and management of mangroves……
It began with a PhD student in a CUHK research team making a surprising discovery. A protein commonly found in humans can suppress the toxic protein in the brain that leads to loss of cognitive and motor functions. From this the team has developed a peptide inhibitor that can slow down deterioration in people with Parkinson’s disease and dementia……
Of the jellyfish- not actually a fish - little is known about its evolution, reproduction, or feeding habits. For years CUHK researchers have dived deep into jellyfish genomes and decoded for the first time the high-quality genomes of two jellyfish commonly found in Asian waters, shedding new light on these translucent mysteries of the seas……
Biodiesel, always eco attractive, always ineligible because of the cost, has now been made an affordable fuel to put in your tank. Drivers will be able to fill up with a high value, low cost, low pollution biodiesel developed by a CUHK research team by extracting enzymes from bacteria in a simple process…….
