News & Stories

An international research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved a significant breakthrough by developing an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can help mitigate global ammonia (NH3) emission from agriculture.   Harnessing the power of machine learning, this groundbreaking study not only revealed that global NH3 emissions from cropland are lower than previously estimated, but also demonstrated how optimizing fertilizer management can effectively reduce emissions by approximately 38%, without compromising the overall use of nitrogen fertilizers. It provides valuable insights for policymakers worldwide to address the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty eradication, food security, and sustainable agriculture.

HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP (sixth right), Head of Charities (Positive Ageing and Elderly Care) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Mr. Bryan WONG (fifth left), HKUST Provost Prof. GUO Yike (fourth left), and other senior management of HKUST inaugurate the three JC STEM Labs with three HKUST Global STEM Professors, namely Prof. ZHOU Xiaofang, Prof. XIE Ting and Prof.

Researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a sensor array design technology inspired by the human auditory system. By mimicking the human ear's ability to distinguish sounds through tonotopy, this innovative sensor array approach could optimize the application of sensor arrays in fields such as robotics, aviation, healthcare, and industrial machinery. Traditional sensor arrays face challenges such as complex wiring, limited reconfigurability, and low damage resistance. The design developed by the HKUST team, led by Associate Professor YANG Zhengbao from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, addresses these challenges by assigning a unique frequency to each sensor unit and using the sensor unit signal to modulate the amplitude of the frequency signal, similar to the distinct frequencies processed by hair cells in the human cochlea.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has jointly established a laboratory with Absolute Pure EnviroSci Limited (APEL) to develop and translate novel discoveries into groundbreaking health and environmental innovations.  These include highly effective and long-lasting pest repellent against bedbugs that can also inactivate up to 99.9 percent of highly-infectious viruses, bacteria and hard-to-kill spores, as well as artificial organoids that could help quantify pollution’s risks on human health and provide essential data for establishing a health monitoring system in Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area (GBA).

A research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an optical plasmonic tweezer-controlled Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) platform that utilizes on-and-off control of light to probe various amylin species in mixtures at the single-molecule level, unveiling the hetergogerous structures of pH-dependent amylin species, and the secrets behind amyloid aggregation mechanisms associated with type 2 diabetes.

A research team at HKUST has outlined the high-resolution structure of a little-known virus, improving our understanding of viral infection, which could pave the way for more accurate predictions of climate change.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Tsinghua University jointly launched the ‘International AI Cooperation and Governance Forum 2023’ today. The two-day forum brings together over 50 world-renowned artificial intelligence (AI) experts, scholars, industry leaders, government representatives and international organization delegates to explore the opportunities and challenges brought by cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI, and discuss strategies for building a comprehensive global governance framework for the new technology.

A research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently revealed how TMED10, a type of transmembrane protein, regulates muscle stem cell differentiation through mediating the secretion of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2). This provides potential therapeutic strategies to downregulate IGF2 signaling by inhibiting its secretion. IGF2 is a pivotal player in cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival. Its dysregulation has been linked to multiple growth disorders, including Silver–Russell syndrome and Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome. While the expression of IGF2 and its induced signal transduction pathway have been widely studied, the mechanisms through which newly synthesized IGF2 proteins are secreted to perform their functions have remained enigmatic.