Operations

Singapore: a regional research power in Nature Index

Press release from Springer Nature

NTU at 32 in global index of universities with NUS at 40

Singapore is 17th globally for its contribution to high-quality scientific research papers, according to the 2016 Nature Index Tables released together today. That puts it behind Australia (in 12th place) but in front of Taiwan (18) and Russia (19).

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) appears as Singapore’s leading research university in the index, placed 32 in the world among universities ahead of National University of Singapore (NUS) at 40. Both are well in front of Seoul National University and of Australia’s top universities.

Indonesian and Australian scientists test new TB vaccine targets for the TB fight in Indonesia and Australia

World TB Day on March 24 reminds us of the growing TB threat

Scientists available for interview in English and Bahasa Indonesia for World TB Day. Read the release in Bahasa Indonesia.
More images below.

Better vaccines are needed for the global fight against tuberculosis (TB). The Global Fund reports an estimated nine million new cases globally per year of TB, which is second only to AIDS as the world’s most deadly infectious disease. Indonesia had more than 320,000 reported cases in 2014 according to the World Health Organization, while Australia’s reported cases were just over 1,000. But the rise of drug-resistant TB poses a threat to all countries.

Two proteins from the tuberculosis bacterium have shown promising results in investigations in mice for a new vaccine. Scientists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney, with colleagues at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, have found that the injected proteins can prime the immune system to induce protection against TB in mice.

The team has established a laboratory and immunological techniques to test if the two proteins from the tuberculosis bacterium can be used as the basis for a vaccine. Credit: Centenary Institute

Target-target baru untuk vaksin tuberkulosis

Hari TB Sedunia (25 Maret) mengingatkan kita mengenai ancaman TB yang terus meningkat

Vaksin-vaksin yang lebih baik dibutuhkan agar dapat melawan TB di tingkat global. Global Fund melaporkan sekitar 9 juta kasus TB baru muncul setiap tahunnya, menempati posisi kedua sebagai penyakit menular paling mematikan di dunia setelah AIDS. Menurut Badan Kesehatan Dunia (WHO), lebih dari 320.000 kasus TB dilaporkan di Indonesia pada 2014. Sementara, hanya lebih dari 1.000 kasus TB yang dilaporkan di Australia. Namun, munculnya penyakit TB yang bersifat resistan terhadap obat menimbulkan ancaman bagi seluruh dunia.

Can sunshine help prevent pneumonia?

Scientists available for interview in Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Background information here.

Photos here. Read the release in Bahasa Indonesia.

The possibility of a link between vitamin D deficiency and pneumonia is being investigated in two studies by Indonesian and Australian scientists in Indonesia.

They’re tracking the incidence and severity in early childhood of respiratory tract infections, including the common cold, asthma, pneumonia, and bronchiolitis, in hospitals and the community, in the hope of providing more information for treatment and management for respiratory diseases.

#TB and pneumonia - iStock — Researchers are investigating a possible link between pneumonia and a lack of vitamin D.

Pneumonia is the number one killer of children under five in the country, and around six million young Indonesians suffer from it each year, according to a 2008 study. This collaboration is going to update those 2008 figures, and hopefully lower them – while trying to find the causes of it and other respiratory tract infections. [Read more…] about Can sunshine help prevent pneumonia?

Can sunshine help prevent pneumonia – background

Read in Bahasa Indonesia.

In 2008, a study funded by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Gates Foundation estimated that Indonesia was among the top six countries in the world for the number of new cases of pneumonia in children under five, says University of Melbourne PhD student and physician, Dr Vicka Oktaria of Gadjah Mada University.

She is coordinating collaborative research with scientists from Australia and Indonesia, to see if there’s a link between vitamin D deficiency and pneumonia in Indonesian children.

“But that estimate was based on an epidemiological model and most of the data is now 10 years old.”

Latar belakang – Dapatkah sinar matahari membantu mencegah pneumonia?

Pada tahun 2008, sebuah penelitian yang didanai oleh World Health Organisation, UNICEF, dan Gates Foundation memperkirakan bahwa Indonesia berada di antara enam negara teratas di dunia untuk jumlah kasus baru pneumonia (radang paru-paru) pada balita, kata mahasiswa PhD di University of Melbourne yang juga seorang dokter, Vicka Oktaria dari Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Vicka tengah mengoordinasi penelitian gabungan antara para ilmuwan dari Australia dan Indonesia, untuk mengetahui apakah kekurangan vitamin D terkait dengan pneumonia pada anak-anak di Indonesia.

Dapatkah sinar matahari membantu mencegah pneumonia?

Para ilmuwan bersedia untuk diwawancarai dalam Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Inggris.

Kemungkinan kaitan antara kekurangan Vitamin D dan pneumonia (radang paru-paru) sedang ditelusuri dalam dua studi di Indonesia yang dilakukan peneliti Indonesia dan Australia.

Tim peneliti menelusuri kejadian dan tingkat keparahan infeksi saluran pernapasan pada anak usia dini, termasuk flu biasa, asma, radang paru-paru, dan bronkiolitis di lingkup rumah sakit dan masyarakat, agar dapat memberikan lebih banyak informasi mengenai cara pengobatan dan penanganan penyakit pernapasan.

Fishing for food security

Scientists available for interview in Bahasa Indonesia and English. More images below. Read the release in Bahasa Indonesia.

Fish form a large part of the diet for many living on small islands. Credit: Australia Indonesia Centre

Local fishermen in Indonesia are catching less fish. Whatever the reason, it is a significant problem for those who live on small islands in particular, as fish make up about 90 per cent of the protein they eat.

A team of Indonesian and Australian social scientists is looking at how communities adapt to these changes.

Riding the rails to an efficient freight system

Scientists available for interview in Bahasa Indonesia and English. Read the release in Bahasa Indonesia.

From 2016 a specially-equipped standard railcar will be rocking and rolling along the tracks of East Java. It will have carefully positioned sensors to detect its movement during normal operation, including its displacement and vibration.

Improving the rail systems may have far-reaching benefits. Credit: Institute of Railway Technology (IRT)

Blood reveals Great Barrier Reef sharks as homebodies

Small Australian sharks have been exposed as bigger homebodies than previously thought, in a study that took an existing chemical tracking technique and made it work for Great Barrier Reef sharks.

Dr Sam Munroe in the field — *Dr Sam Munroe working in the field, Cleveland Bay, Queensland*

The study found that the travel history of the Australian sharpnose shark was written in their blood—with chemical ‘fin-prints’ showing they tended to stay within smaller areas than previously believed.

“Small-bodied sharks that are both predator and prey, such as the Australian sharpnose, may be particularly important links between food webs,” says lead researcher Dr Sam Munroe, who studied the sharks while at James Cook University in Townsville.

“Information on their movements can improve our understanding of how the ecosystems function, while also helping us predict species most at risk from the impacts of a changing environment.”

« Previous Page

Additional menu