https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from The University of Hong Kong A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has achieved a significant advance in biotechnology that could revolutionize treatment strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. The team has developed a novel tool called RNA Segment Editing (RSE), which functions like a "cut-and-patch" tool for RNA. This innovative approach allows scientists to precisely remove or replace faulty segments of genetic messages within living cells without permanently changing a person's DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rna-patch-tool-faulty-messages.html Biotechnology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:00:04 EDT news699549721 From household plastic packaging to the flexible frameworks that support wearable electronics, polymer materials form the invisible backbone of modern life. At a microscopic level, polymers consist of long, ribbon-like molecular chains that are entangled into a disorganized mass resembling a bowl of cooked noodles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-precise-polymer-uncover-hidden-slack.html Polymers Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:20:02 EDT news699533461 A research team from HKU Engineering has pioneered a fundamentally new imaging strategy known as AIMED (Arbitrary illumination microscopy with encoded depth), which utilizes a sub-sampling approach. By integrating innovations in axial optical encoding with advanced computational image reconstruction, the AIMED technology enables a substantial increase in 3D imaging speed while enhancing photon safety, all with minimal additional system complexity. This breakthrough demonstrates significant advantages across efficiency, image quality, and system compatibility. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-axial-encoding-eightfold-faster-3d.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 30 May 2026 08:00:06 EDT news698933991 A research team from the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has developed a novel combination therapy that significantly improves treatment outcomes and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 gene mutations. The study found that the combined use of the FLT3 inhibitor Quizartinib and the protein synthesis inhibitor Omacetaxine Mepesuccinate (collectively termed QUIZOM) effectively suppresses the growth of cancer cells and activates the patient's immune system, achieving a composite complete remission (CRc) rate of about 83% while reducing the risk of relapse. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-combination-therapy-leukemia-relapse-window.html Thu, 21 May 2026 17:40:03 EDT news698592121 A research team in China has reported a significant piezoelectric effect in ultrathin and ultra-flexible polycrystalline diamond membranes. This pioneering discovery challenges a century-long scientific dogma that diamonds are strictly non-piezoelectric. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-piezoelectric-effect-diamond-membranes-century.html Condensed Matter Thu, 21 May 2026 12:20:05 EDT news698578321 A research team from the School of Public Health at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has found that brisk interval walking performed once a week can significantly improve body fat reduction and cardiorespiratory fitness in adults with central obesity, comparable to exercising three times a week—the traditional recommendation for exercise frequency. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-weekly-brisk-interval-rivals-thrice.html Tue, 12 May 2026 12:40:02 EDT news697807861 A research team from Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with the InnoHK Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre (ABIC), has developed the world's first "NanoPowder nasal spray." This innovation successfully overcomes the challenge of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), enabling the delivery of medication to the brain without the need for injections or surgery. When used promptly at the early onset of stroke, the nasal spray provides prehospital emergency treatment, helping to save time, thus protecting brain cells and reducing complications. In the long term, it has the potential to become a community-based emergency rescue tool. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-nasal-spray-prehospital-emergency-aid.html Sun, 10 May 2026 08:30:03 EDT news697377962 The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has spearheaded an international research collaboration to develop a pioneering theoretical framework that deciphers the predictability of complex networks. A research team including Professor Qingpeng Zhang's group at the HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science (HKU IDS) and the HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, together with researchers from Zhejiang University and Sapienza University of Rome, has developed a new theoretical framework to understand the predictability of complex networks. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-theoretical-framework-complex-networks.html Mathematics Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:04 EDT news697387982 The development of soft materials that can reliably function on the human body is important for the future of bioelectronics and wearable medical devices. These materials need to comfortably conform to the skin while being durable enough for everyday use. However, many existing soft materials are easily damaged, limiting their practical applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-durable-ionogel-weight-staying-soft.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 05 May 2026 16:40:01 EDT news697210772 A team led by Professor Ed X. Wu and Dr. Alex T. L. Leong has achieved a major breakthrough in understanding how the brain processes information through large-scale network changes. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal that the brain can rewire its networks in just seconds after a brief neural signal—challenging the long-held belief that such changes are slow and gradual, based on imaging techniques like functional MRI (fMRI). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-brain-rapidly-internal-external.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:20:02 EDT news696762721 A research team from the LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed a machine-learning classifier capable of analyzing the genomes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) to accurately predict their potential risk of transmission among mammals. The team has successfully identified the key clues that may explain cross-species transmission of influenza A viruses from birds to mammals, and even to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-flags-bird-flu-genomes.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:40:01 EDT news696694381 A research team from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has successfully used mechanical stretching technology to dynamically control the emission color of gallium nitride (GaN) material from ultraviolet (UV) to blue light. This technological breakthrough provides a new semiconductor material control solution for future advanced power transistors, optoelectronic components, radio frequency components, and micro-LED displays. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mechanical-blue-gan-shifts-uv.html Condensed Matter Tue, 28 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news696605821 A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has uncovered the mechanism underlying how cancer patients respond to a widely used cancer drug, known as paclitaxel, offering insights that may help overcome cancer drug resistance. The study found that small differences in microtubules, the structures inside cells that help the cells divide and move, can determine the efficacy of paclitaxel. This finding was published in Nature Chemical Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-small-differences-cell-microtubules-cancer.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:40:04 EDT news696509667 Cells contain a wealth of information about health and disease, but extracting that data reliably from microscope images remains a major challenge. Many important differences between healthy and diseased cells are too subtle to detect visually, while existing artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can identify such patterns often operate as "black boxes," making their decisions hard to interpret. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-morphogenie-reusable-cell-features-sharpen.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:50:03 EDT news696094022 A cross-institutional research team has developed Co-Located Authentication and Processing (CLAP), a privacy-preserving system that overcomes the trade-off between security and performance in edge computing devices. The study, titled "Privacy-preserving data analysis using a memristor chip with co-located authentication and processing," is published in Science Advances. The team was led by Professor Ngai Wong and Dr. Zhengwu Liu from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with Tsinghua University and the Southern University of Science and Technology. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-memristor-chip-combines-memory-edge.html Hardware Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news694695661 A research team from the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has developed a titanium implant surface that can be activated by near-infrared (NIR). With just 15 minutes of NIR irradiation, this surface can eliminate 99.94% of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) biofilms without the use of antibiotics, while simultaneously promoting bone-implant fusion. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-smart-titanium-implant-enables-rapid.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news694264081 A research team from the Department of Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with the HKU State Key Laboratory of Liver Research, has found that Resmetirom, a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), demonstrates benefits beyond reducing liver fat and fibrosis. The study, published in Hepatology, shows that the drug also has the potential to prevent and suppress liver cancer caused by fatty liver disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-fda-fatty-liver-drug-suppresses.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:20:07 EDT news693587401 Scientists have long sought to explain a key mismatch in Earth's early history: oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved hundreds of millions of years before atmospheric oxygen began to rise during the Great Oxidation Event. This delay has been linked to limited phosphorus—a nutrient essential to life—but the specific processes controlling phosphorus availability in the iron-rich oceans of Archean Earth (approximately 3.2–2.5 billion years ago) remained unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-uncovers-mineral-phosphorus-early-oceans.html Earth Sciences Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:40:04 EDT news693139681 A research team co-led by Professor Yang Lu from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and Professor Chengming Li from the Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology at University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), has successfully fabricated a free-standing ultrahard diamond wafer with a diameter of up to 5 inches, a thickness of 3 mm, and a Vickers hardness exceeding 200 GPa. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-fabricate-inch-scale-ultrahard-diamond.html Engineering Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:20:05 EDT news693068075 A research team from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has found that nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (NBPs), a medication widely used in the treatment of osteoporosis, may significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in older adults with osteoporosis or fragility fractures. This drug repurposing approach offers a promising avenue for the prevention of ADRD, potentially alleviating the global burden of these conditions. The research findings are published in Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-osteoporosis-drugs-dementia.html Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:40:01 EDT news692965220 A research team from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed an innovative AI-based cardiovascular risk prediction tool, called CardiOmicScore. With a single blood test, the system can accurately forecast the future risk of six major cardiovascular diseases (CVDs): coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease, and venous thromboembolism. It can also provide early warning signals up to 15 years before clinical onset. The findings are published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-blood-heart-diseases-years-onset.html Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:20:05 EDT news692524982 Giant clams (Tridacna gigas), members of the family Tridacnidae and among the most striking inhabitants of tropical coral reefs, are being driven toward extinction. Over-harvesting for jewelry, the aquarium trade, and food, together with habitat loss and pollution, has severely reduced their populations. Climate change is now compounding these threats, making the situation even more precarious for these vulnerable animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-endangered-giant-clam-strategies-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:40:05 EST news691320361 In everyday life, designing spaces that both let air flow and absorb sound can be a tricky balancing act. Usually, materials that allow air to pass through—like vents—also let sound escape, making it hard to reduce noise effectively. Conversely, sound-absorbing materials like foam often block airflow, limiting their use in ventilated areas. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-02-physics-principle-absorption-barriers-ventilated.html Engineering Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:00:04 EST news691062061 A multinational research team led by Professor Tong Zhang from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU Engineering), in collaboration with an international team, has developed a new framework to assess and track antimicrobial resistance (AMR) connectivity across human, animal, and environmental sectors. The study systematically examines the connectivity of AMR and proposes an assessment framework along with mitigation strategies. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-tracks-antimicrobial-resistance-genes-gut.html Ecology Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:00:03 EST news690031851 On July 2, 2025, the China-led Einstein Probe (EP) space telescope detected an exceptionally bright X-ray source whose brightness varied rapidly during a routine sky survey. Its unusual signal immediately set it apart from ordinary cosmic sources, triggering rapid follow-up observations by telescopes worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-einstein-probe-black-hole-white.html Astronomy Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:27:44 EST news689941621 Constructed with tubulin heterodimers connected into a hollow cylinder, the microtubule, an essential component of the cytoskeleton, plays a vital role in various intracellular processes. In a recent study, a cross-disciplinary research team led by Professor Yuan Lin from the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, and Professor Jeff Ti from the School of Biomedical Sciences in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has revealed how the biological function of microtubules is achieved through mechanical regulation at the tubulin level. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-inter-protofilament-gaps-pave-life.html Biotechnology Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:50:01 EST news689860341 A research team led by the Department of Medicine, under the School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has synergized the impacts of worldwide clinical trial data through a series of meta-analyses on GLP‑1 receptor agonists, an emerging cardiometabolic drug, offering in-depth insights into its safety profile and novel therapeutic potential in treating cardiovascular diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-synergizing-global-clinical-trials-glp.html Health informatics Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:40:01 EST news689583837 As Hong Kong moves toward implementing landmark legislation to protect people's end-of-life care wishes, a research team at the LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed and tested a pioneering tool to improve crucial conversations behind those decisions. The "Advance Care Planning Communication Assessment Tool" (ACP-CAT)—validated for the first time in real-world clinical settings—was used to assess 137 actual medical consultations facilitating advanced care planning. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-patients-life-key-topics-unasked.html Other Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:10:01 EST news689518878 An interdisciplinary multi-center research team led by the LKS Faculty of Medicine (HKUMed) and Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong has constructed the world's largest multi-omics atlas of brain metastases. This comprehensive analysis included 1,032 brain metastasis samples from diverse primary tumors, together with 82 matched primary tumors and 20 glioblastomas (a highly malignant type of brain tumor) as controls. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-brain-microenvironment-redefines-metastatic-tumor.html Oncology & Cancer Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:20:56 EST news689271602 Imagine shining a flashlight into a material and watching the light bend backward—or in an entirely unexpected direction—as if defying the law of physics. This phenomenon, known as negative refraction, could transform imaging, telecommunications, and countless other technologies. Now, a team of scientists has managed to use a natural magnetic material called CrSBr to achieve negative refraction—without the need for complicated artificial structures. The study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, opens the door to ultra-compact lenses, super-high-resolution microscopes, and reconfigurable optical devices that can be controlled with magnets. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-natural-magnetic-materials-unprecedented-ways.html Condensed Matter Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:18:41 EST news689256961