Covid-19

The MSME sector in Sri Lanka amounts to 1.017 million establishments, employing approximately 2.25 million persons. This approximates to more than 90% of total establishments in the country and 45% of total employment.

Magnetic patterns in meteorites, Treating mitochondrial diseases, underwater sensors and a broad COVID-19 vaccine in the September Editor's Choice. Plus, what's it like to communicate vaccine research in a pandemic and Asia Research News 2022.

Miyagi Prefecture and Tohoku University Hospital have set up an Antibody Cocktail Therapy Centre in Sendai. The treatment, which involves artificial monoclonal antibodies administered through an intravenous drip, is aimed at preventing patients with mild COVID-19 from becoming seriously ill.

Unprecedented declines in merchandise trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, tourism and cross-border migration have all been hallmarks of the economic fallout of COVID-19. As a result, growth expectations for countries worldwide dimmed. Nonetheless, thanks in part to substantial expansionary monetary and fiscal policies being rolled out to achieve pre-COVID economic recovery levels and the development of vaccines, the contraction in global trade and economic output are less than what was anticipated. The Sri Lankan economy too has been impacted by these external developments, witnessing fluctuating fortunes in its external sector performance. This blog discusses the impacts of global economic developments on Sri Lanka’s external sector and suggests ways to cushion them.

A rapid way to track an elusive part of the immune system will bring better vaccine strategies

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong organised a series of online orientation activities to welcome about 850 new undergraduate students today (26 August).

The finding could underpin a “dream” vaccine that covers not only SARS-CoV-2 and its known variants of concern (VOCs), but also future VOCs and other animal coronaviruses with known potential to cause severe disease in humans

The nutritional status of children under five in Sri Lanka has not shown a significant improvement for the last 20 years. It has also been lagging behind most of the other health and social indicators on children. IPS research shows that household income, inadequate nutrient intake, breastfeeding practices, mothers’ education, etc., play a major role in child undernutrition in Sri Lanka. Moreover, given significant losses in household income experienced at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, nutrient intake may have declined further over the past year. As such, it would be a challenging task for health planners to develop effective strategies to minimise undernutrition among children under five years. This article highlights some of the facts contributing to child undernutrition in Sri Lanka and suggests ways to address this critical issue.

Covid-19 appears to be easing in Mainland China and Hong Kong. In June, the School of Graduate Studies of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong conducted a follow-up survey based on last year’s Understanding Hong Kong and Mainland university students’ intentions to study overseas after the COVID-19 crisis, to get to know Mainland university students’ views on pursuing postgraduate studies abroad before, during, and after the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has improved perceptions of facial attractiveness and healthiness of people wearing face masks in Japan.

Scientists have developed a rapid, highly accurate test to detect antibodies against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in human serum, opening a new avenue for understanding the full extent of the pandemic and evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines.

COVID-19 not only threatens people’s physical health, but also creates disruption in work and social relationships. Parents experience additional strain resulting from extra childcare responsibilities. This is even more pronounced with parents of children with developmental disorders, which calls for the need for increased parenting support services and family-friendly policy initiatives in Hong Kong.

The inaugural virtual edition of Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress will be held on 7 & 8 October 2021. Register and submit abstracts now.

Participants competed in 17 categories covering the entire spectrum from prevention to tracking, individual to group technologies and ideas, business concept to humanitarian efforts.

GenScript Biotech Corporation ("GenScript", Stock Code: 1548.HK), a world-leading life sciences research and application service and product provider, and Duke-NUS Medical School, a premier, research intensive medical school, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trade Office has issued a notice of allowance for the patent application for a novel Surrogate Virus Neutralisation Technology (sVNT). Neutralising antibodies have been scientifically shown to play major role in preventing infection by blocking the virus from infecting the cells.

Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2021 – COVID-19 International Innovation Awards returns from 14-18 June 2021 with a virtual show, allowing immersive experience for visitors with live interactions.

ARN's June newsletter features research on a hands-off approach to discipline, better robot hand design, nucleosomes and marine biodiversity, plus the latest Beyond the Journal and a feature from the ARN magazine.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have discovered a novel defensive response to SARS-CoV-2 that involves the viral pattern recognition receptor RIG-I. Upregulating expression of this protein could strengthen the immune response in COPD patients.

Scientists from Hokkaido University have shown that an antigen-based test for quantifying SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples is simple, rapid, and more conducive for mass-screening.

The Asia Research News magazine brings you fascinating research stories from diverse voices in environment, technology, materials, medicine, space and social sciences. The 2021 edition is out now.

The global scientific community came together in an unprecedented way to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are selected research findings shared by our Asia Research News community.

Everyone has to wear a mask to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, this is an additional communication barrier for people with a hearing impairment as they cannot read lips or facial expressions behind a mask. Invited by The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf, the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) recently designed a transparent ASTM Level 3 face mask based on the needs of hearing-impaired people, and its fully transparent and anti-reflective design makes lip-reading easier.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted personal lives and created a great deal of uncertainty, imposing additional pressure as well as new challenges at work. However, a survey of healthcare professionals in Wuhan during the COVID-19 lockdown conducted by the Faculty of Business of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) found that individual employees with proactive personality do well in the face of challenging circumstances. The research suggests that individual employees also play critical roles in managing crisis and uncertainty, thus maintaining effective organisational functions.

Article by Rosalia Sciortino* originally published in The Jakarta Post, Thursday, 22 April 2021

A person who owns a car or who has a college education may be less vulnerable to COVID-19, according to an analysis of cases in Tehran, Iran, one of the early epicenters of the pandemic. While such variables do not inherently lower a person’s risk, they do indicate an infrastructure of protection that persists despite how densely populated a person’s district might be.

On April 15, 2021, Hokkaido University and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. will start to monitor COVID-19 in Osaka Prefecture based on wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), with the cooperation of the Prefectural Government.

Researchers from Osaka University and Hokkaido University develop a system for analyzing mutations in SARS-CoV-2 that is much simpler and faster than existing methods.

ARN's April Newsletter features research on COVID-19 antibodies, cancer-fighting hydrogels, how the brain organizes information, the 'poor man's q-bit' and the photo of the month!

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on both our physical health and psychological health. Using data from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, researchers at Tohoku University have sought to find ways to mitigate the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on adolescents.

Study shows that antibody longevity varies widely from 40 days to as long as several decades and not everyone who has recovered from COVID-19 is immune from reinfection. Individuals with low levels of neutralising antibodies may still be protected if they have robust T-cell immunity. Blood tests and a computer algorithm suggest annual vaccinations might be needed for some individuals to prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19.