WAKE-UP CALL FOR CONSTRUCTION

The way the construction industry operates has changed little over the centuries, and major projects are regularly completed late and over-budget. Now, Building Information Modelling (BIM) is dragging the industry into the technology age, and HKU is at the forefront of the change.

TURNING TENT TO TOWNHOUSE? ULAANBAATAR’S GER SPRAWL

The Faculty of Architecture is leading a project to transform Mongolian gers for urban living to help solve a housing problem brought about by mass migration to Ulaanbaatar.

TISSUE OF LIVES

Discovering the role of viscosity in regulating the behaviour of living cells is major breakthrough for tissue engineering and could lead to better cultivation of human tissue and organs.

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVING IS DEADLY

Heat is killing people in cities. The world’s first international forum devoted to heat and health was held at HKU in late 2018, and scientists from around the globe have launched an initiative to reduce the deadly impact of heatwaves and rising city temperatures.

LEARNING TO PLAY IN THE MUD

Play&Grow is a research and community programme that aims to instil healthy habits among Hong Kong’s urban-dwelling pre-schoolers by encouraging them to connect to nature.

CIRCULATION PROBLEM

Two scientists are looking at climate change from the perspective of marine geology, and have uncovered evidence that the North Atlantic ocean circulation is weaker than it has been at any time in the past 1,500 years.

FAST TRACK TO HEALTHY TEETH

A high-speed train was one of the inspirations behind the NJ Toothbrush, a new concept in brushing which targets all dental surfaces and niches, and enables users to brush more effectively.

A SAUCY TAKE ON HISTORY

The maxim, you are what you eat, could very well apply to the history of soy sauce. Although soy sauce is ubiquitous across East Asia, it has taken hold in each region in different ways that are revealing about cultural and political currents.

DATA WIZARD ADVANCES PRECISION MEDICINE

Ten years ago, it took a month to map the genome of a person using a huge computational server. Now this can be done in less than a day with a desktop computer, thanks to up-and-coming scientist Dr Luo Ruibang, who has also led the way in applying big data and artificial intelligence to genetic analysis.

BRINGING HOPE FOR CONGENITAL DISORDERS

Discovering your baby has an incurable inherited disorder can have a lifelong psychological, social and economic impact on families. But new insights into the molecular genetic bases of two such disorders – Hirschsprung disease and dwarfism – hold promise for developing therapies to lessen the impact. Moreover, the findings may have implications for understanding common disorders that affect millions of people globally.

THE LIMITS OF ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION AND SURROGACY

Couples that cannot conceive naturally have other options in Hong Kong, but they can face restrictions in accessing them. HKU scholars have been looking at the psychological and legal issues involved.

RAISING THE ODDS OF CONCEPTION

About 10 to 15 per cent of couples have difficulty conceiving babies. Research at HKU on sperm and eggs is aiming to improve their chances of success.

BIRTHING IN HONG KONG

Colonialism and modernisation have both brought changes to reproduction and birth control practices in Hong Kong. But some attitudes are proving to be immutable.

THE LABOUR OF GIVING BIRTH

China’s transformation into an economic superpower is often framed in terms of production output, technological advancement and infrastructure. What is often missing is another kind of production – that of workers. Dr Gonçalo Santos has been tracing the transformation of birth in China as it moved from the home to the hospital and became increasingly subject to biomedical interventions.

MAKING BABIES

The rapid changes in technology and society over the past 40 years are affecting how and whether couples can conceive. HKU researchers have been studying the impact of social and political transformations in China and Hong Kong, and of non-natural births. They are also producing research to improve the odds of conception and to identify and treat congenital diseases, so more babies have a chance of a healthy life.