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With an increasing global population, we often heard warnings about the possibility of a food supply shortage. In addition to climate change and the reduction of agricultural land, the world's food security is also threatened by bacterial diseases of plants. A joint research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has previously identified a pathogen’s transcription factors, the key proteins that are virulence-related. Recently, the team has further revealed the regulatory mechanisms of virulence of that pathogen, facilitating the development of new anti-bacterial drugs for prevention and treatment. Their findings could also promote future studies on that pathogen and the transcription factors of other pathogens.

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held a groundbreaking ceremony for its veterinary teaching farm locating in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po on 19 November. The farm will be equipped with international standard facilities enabling teaching staff and students to have relevant teaching, learning and research activities once it is completed. In addition, high-quality CityU milk and ice-cream can be expected within next year.

Research at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) aimed at tackling Covid-19 has attracted over $7.1 million in funding from the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) under the Innovation and Technology Commission.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a large and diverse class of RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules which has become a growing focus of cancer genomics studies in recent years. In this article, we will explain what lncRNA is and its functions. It is known that the expression level (cellular abundance) of some lncRNAs is associated with disease onset or development, but the mechanism remains unknown. Scientists are trying to explore the mechanism in the hope of developing medical treatments.

While scientists still don’t fully understand the diverse nature of RNA molecules, it is believed that the proteins binding to them, called RNA-binding proteins, are associated with many disease formation. A research led by biomedical scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel detection method, called CARPID, to identify binding proteins of specific RNAs in the living cells. It is expected the innovation can be applied in various cell research, from identifying biomarkers of cancer diagnosis to detecting potential drug targets for treating viral diseases.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are gaining more attention in researches of different human diseases (e.g. cancer) because changes in miRNA expression are frequently associated with abnormal cellular functions. To achieve fast and highly sensitive profiling of miRNAs, a research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel intracellular biopsy technique that isolates targeted miRNAs from living cells within around 10 minutes by using diamond nanoneedles. The technique is simple and can be applied to other aspects, from the nucleic acid testing of viruses (e.g. COVID-19) to early cancer screening.

Reflecting our growing reputation for excellence in data science, leading scholars from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Irvine, University of Hong Kong and Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) convened online for an international forum on data, statistics and Covid-19 pandemic.