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HKU scientists discover a drought tolerance gene that may help plants survive global warming
In recent years, scientists have been researching how to improve drought resistance in plants, so as to enhance growth and productivity of crops in dry weather conditions. Groundbreaking technology from HKU may provide a solution to this problem on drought stress. Funded by the Wilson and Amelia Wong Endowment Fund, Professor Chye Mee Len at the HKU School of Biological Sciences and her lab members have identified a gene from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana which encodes an acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP). The gene, designated as ACBP2, can confer drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Overexpression of ACBP2 in these transgenic lines promoted stomatal closure, reduced water loss and enhanced drought tolerance. With the assistance of the University's Technology Transfer Office, the technology has been licensed to an internationally recognized agricultural company specializing in the development of biofuel and biolubricant production crop, Camelina sativa, for potential applications in oil production and commercialization.
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HKU start-up wins Red Herring's 2015 Top 100 Asia Award
Living Tissues Company Limited, one of the HKU startup companies, has been awarded the 2015 Red Herring Asia Top 100 Award. This Red Herring Top 100 Award honors companies that deliver potentially strong technology and innovation in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Many world-renowned corporations like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were once winners of this prestigious award.
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Junior Chefs Master Science
A cooking competition organised by the Faculty of Science encouraged junior secondary school students to apply scientific principles in their daily lives. Dr Benny Ng of the Faculty led the SciChef Cooking Challenge, in which junior secondary school students had to select a recipe, find a way to improve it, explain the science behind their efforts to a panel of judges, and cook up the dish. Through this competition, the students learned to relate science to their daily lives.
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HKU Swire Institute of Marine Science helping local oyster industry
The Hong Kong Oyster (Crassostrea hongkonggensis) is tasty and highly nutritious and has also helped to clean and enrich our deep bay waters, yet the local oyster industry is under threat. Dr V Thiyagarajan of the Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS), led a programme to get the public involved through workshops and hands-on training aimed at raising public awareness and use technology to help local growers. The programme was funded by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
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HKU WAY Project to launch Mobile Living Museum and new book on the culture of fisheries and water communities in Aberdeen
The HKU We Are With You (WAY) Project, under the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS), will set up the first Water Community Mobile Living Museum from March 25 to 29, 2016 at the Stanley Community Hall to promote public understanding of the history of local fisheries and the water communities in the Southern District. The book talk was on Memoryscape: Aberdeen Fishermen Oral Histories, which is about fishermen's stories collected through interviews. The book’s author and project research officer Dr Wong Wai-ling moderated at the talk where fishermen shared their memories of Aberdeen, a fishing port leading to the seas where the fishermen made a living, experienced complex emotions and developed their identities.
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"Dissecting the Meaning of Life – An Anthology of Essays on Body Donation" shortlisted in the 27th Secondary School Students' Best Ten Books Election
The book "Dissecting the Meaning of Life–An Anthology of Essays on Body Donation" has been selected as one of the shortlisted titles of the 27th Secondary School Students' Best Ten Books Election in Hong Kong. The book was initiated by the HKU Body Donation Programme, which was co-ordinated by Dr Lap Ki Chan, Associate Professor of the Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education (IMHSE) and School of Biomedical Sciences. It was supported by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund and IMHSE.
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HKU botanists discover a new plant growth technology that may alleviate climate change and food shortage
A research team led by Dr Wallace Lim Boon-leong with his former student Dr Law Yee-song at the HKU School of Biological Sciences has developed a new strategy to promote plant growth and seed yield by 38% to 57% in a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, hence increasing CO2 absorption from the atmosphere. The researchers have identified a plant-growth promoting gene, designated as "Purple acid phosphatase 2"(AtPAP2) from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. AtPAP2 can modulate the import of a number of specific proteins into chloroplasts and mitochondria, and subsequently boost their capability to harvest solar energy and generate adenosine triphosphate. The technology may also have potential in boosting food production to address the problem of food shortage due to overpopulation. Several patent applications have been filed with the assistance of the University's Technology Transfer Office.
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