News & Stories

HKUST researchers recently found a way to stimulate the growth of axons, which may mark a new beginning on chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) treatments. SCI is a formidable hurdle that prevents a large number of injured axons from crossing the lesion, particularly the corticospinal tract (CST). Patients inflicted with SCI often suffer a loss of mobility, paralysis, and interferes with activities of daily life dramatically. Led by Professor Kai Liu, Assistant Professor from Department of Life Sciences at HKUST, the HKUST research team initiated PTEN deletion on mice after pyramidotomy. Similar treatment procedures were carried out 4 months and 12 months after severe spinal cord injuries. The team recorded a regenerative response of CST axons in all three samples – showing that PTEN deletion stimulates CST sprouting and regeneration, even though the injury was sustained a long time ago.

A team of scientists from the Division of Life Science and HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University are the first to solve the near atomic structure of the MCM2-7 Complex, which plays a key role in destabilizing and unwinding duplex DNA during DNA replication. The work is published in an article in the journal Nature on July 29, 2015 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14685) and highlighted in a commentary in News and Views in the same issue (http://www.nature.com/nature).

A team of scientists from the Division of Life Science and Jockey Club Institute of Advanced Study at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University are the first to solve the near atomic structure of the MCM2-7 Complex which plays a key role in destabilizing and unwinding duplex DNA during DNA replication. This work is published in an article in the journal Nature on July 29, 2015 (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14685.html) and highlighted in a commentary in News and Views in the same issue of Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14643.html). Fundamental problem in replicating DNA

A research team led by Prof Kai Liu, Assistant Professor from the Division of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has successfully found a way to stimulate the growth of corticospinal tract (CST) axons, nerve fibres that control voluntary motor functions, spell the dawn of a new beginning on chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) treatments. The groundbreaking discoveries have been published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Smartphones are getting more powerful every year and many people are treating their phones as a replacement of their computers. Extensive usage brings a severe drain to the phone’s battery life, making it almost mandatory to keep a mobile charger ready at all times. Keeping the mobile charger fully charged, however, can be a cumbersome practice, as one requires another set of cables and a power outlet to do so. In the future, one may be able to charge its phone anywhere with daylight. HKUST’s Chemistry Professor Henry He Yan and his research team recently discovered a material design motif for polymer solar cells that produces electricity with record efficiencies; this new discovery can greatly accelerate the commercialization of portable chargers powered by solar energy.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed the first visual analytic system for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), which provides interactive, in-depth, and user-friendly analysis of e-learning behavior, promising improvement in teaching quality and more demand-focus MOOC programs that could further boost the development of online education.The system Visual Analysis of MOOC (VisMOOC), developed by a team led by Prof Huamin Qu from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has received the Best Innovation (Innovative Technology) Silver Award at The Hong Kong ICT Awards this year.

It turns out that light in the form of fluorescence has vital but hidden uses for the modern world. They make the invisible visible—including the detection of explosives in security screening, environmental monitoring, biological sensing and the detection and diagnosis in the spread of cancer cells. With high sensitivity, superb specificity and excellent stability, a new class of fluorogenic materials developed at HKUST with “aggregation-induced emission” characteristics have attracted worldwide attention from hospitals and biotech companies. How we commercialize these high-value-added materials is a matter of great urgency and importance. The sharing can now be viewed here.

Consumers are increasingly addicted to mobile applications. But their implications for personal privacy are insufficiently known. The personal privacy issue has only recently become a subject for intense public interest and concern due to recent world events and revelations. Prof Kai-Lung Hui and Prof James Kwok will confront it head-on, taking the lid off the mystery surrounding how data in mobile phones can be accessed by others and what kinds of data are stored in them, and how such practice could affect or jeopardize personal privacy in a broader context. They will also speak to the emerging privacy challenges associated with mobile applications, and the corresponding government and usage policy considerations needed to address them. The sharing can now be viewed here.