Croucher News

April 2026

Combining speech and music heightens perception of artificial empathy in robots 30 April 2026

Combining empathetic speech with music increased users' perception of robots as relatable, though emotional responses weakened over repeated interactions.

Protein variants in cell scaffolding act as mechanical gatekeepers 29 April 2026

Tubulin variants with weaker lateral bonds allow temporary gaps to open in the microtubule wall, letting proteins enter under compression.

Recycling batteries is cleaner than mining new materials 28 April 2026

Real-world data show that recycling lithium-ion batteries is significantly less energy-intensive than mining new materials, supporting a circular battery economy.

Routing wet food waste through sewage systems cuts costs and emissions 27 April 2026

Cities with moisture-heavy diets can cut waste-management costs by 11 per cent and emissions by 47 per cent by integrating food waste into sewage systems.

Physicist Kimmy Wu receives 2026 New Horizons in Physics Prize 25 April 2026

Croucher Fellow Kimmy Wu shares a major physics prize for advancing measurements of cosmic microwave background radiation and the Universe's large-scale structure.

Twisted graphene, new physics 24 April 2026

Named Hong Kong's only New Cornerstone Investigator in 2025, a physicist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is rewriting the rules governing exotic twisted materials.

Stem cells designed to evade immune rejection 23 April 2026

Researchers have engineered human embryonic stem cells to evade immune rejection, potentially allowing cell therapies to be given without immunosuppressive drugs.

Brain tumours shaped by environment, not origin 22 April 2026

A large multi-omic study found that cancers spreading to the brain adopt four molecular subtypes determined by the brain's environment rather than the original tumour site.

Bending light backwards 21 April 2026

The finding suggests that magnetic order alone can control how light travels, pointing towards a new class of integrated nanophotonic devices.

Learning to breathe 20 April 2026

A new genomic method reveals that aerobic bacteria evolved hundreds of millions of years before oxygen became abundant, challenging assumptions about early life.

The Quest of Noel Croucher 17 April 2026

A revised e-book edition revisits the life of the businessman whose fortune established Croucher Foundation.

Fat cell protein linked to liver cancer blocked in preclinical study 16 April 2026

An antibody targeting a protein secreted by fat cells reduced tumour growth in preclinical models of metabolism-linked liver cancer.

Sound waves make wastewater treatment faster and cheaper 15 April 2026

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology team has developed new technology that can process water ten to twenty times faster than conventional systems.

Croucher launches 2026 Advanced Study Institutes 14 April 2026

Croucher Foundation's five 2026 Advanced Study Institutes bring experts to Hong Kong to train the next generation of scientists in rapidly advancing fields.

New AI model analyses graph connections among groups, not just between pairs 13 April 2026

A Hong Kong Polytechnic University team has developed a neural network for modelling group-level relationships that outperforms existing tools across multiple fields.

Mai Po box jellyfish 10 April 2026

Discover the tiny, 24-eyed box jellyfish found nowhere else but a Hong Kong shrimp pond.

Tracking the energy source behind the northern lights 10 April 2026

By analysing archival satellite records, researchers confirmed that electromagnetic waves charge the magnetic field to accelerate electrons illuminating planetary aurorae.

Handling negative feelings involves the whole brain, not a single region 9 April 2026

Brain imaging reveals that acceptance and reappraisal regulate negative emotions through overlapping but distinct patterns of whole-brain activity.

Morning treatment linked to longer survival in lung cancer 8 April 2026

Patients treated before 3pm had nearly double the progression-free survival of those treated later, with no increase in side effects.

Getting ready for the next pandemic 2 April 2026

Dr Tommy Lam argues that strengthening hospital surveillance and genomic analysis offers the most effective defence against future pandemic threats.

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