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Research Stories

What do the Galapagos Islands have in common with ponds in Finland? They are both laboratories, where scientists like HKU’s Professor Juha Merila, can observe evolution in action

HKU physicists developed a new algorithm solving a long standing problem in constrained quantum material models

What do the Galapagos Islands have in common with ponds in Finland? They are both laboratories, where scientists like HKU’s Professor Juha Merila, can observe evolution in action

Seeing the unseen: HKU scientists develop a new chemical tool that sheds light on how proteins recognise and interact with each other

What do the Galapagos Islands have in common with ponds in Finland? They are both laboratories, where scientists like HKU’s Professor Juha Merila, can observe evolution in action

What do the Galapagos Islands have in common with ponds in Finland? They are both laboratories, where scientists like HKU’s Professor Juha Merila, can observe evolution in action

Research reveals that the sediment of Hong Kong’s Tolo Harbour contains Antibiotic Resistant Genes

Research reveals that the sediment of Hong Kong’s Tolo Harbour contains Antibiotic Resistant Genes

Name an Ant initiative - HKU taxonomist brings attention to biodiversity loss by sharing with the public the excitement of discovering new life

Name an Ant initiative - HKU taxonomist brings attention to biodiversity loss by sharing with the public the excitement of discovering new life

Legal wildlife trade – ten times bigger than the illegal trade, and doing massive damage to biodiversity

Legal wildlife trade – ten times bigger than the illegal trade, and doing massive damage to biodiversity

Metamaterials, with artificially engineered unit cells, provide a powerful means for controlling the propagation of light and are useful for various applications ranging from imaging to information processing.

HKU chemists resolve a long-standing challenging problem on Metal-Metal interaction, the first team to prove that strong M-M’ Pauli repulsion leads to repulsive metallophilicity

Metamaterials, with artificially engineered unit cells, provide a powerful means for controlling the propagation of light and are useful for various applications ranging from imaging to information processing.

Faculty of Science receives funding of over HK$38 Million from Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) 2020/21 of University Grants Committee

Metamaterials, with artificially engineered unit cells, provide a powerful means for controlling the propagation of light and are useful for various applications ranging from imaging to information processing.

HKU-led Physics research team receives funding of over HK$80 Million from Areas of Excellence Scheme, set to uncover emerging technologies of 2D materials to revolutionize electronics, optoelectronics and photonics

Metamaterials, with artificially engineered unit cells, provide a powerful means for controlling the propagation of light and are useful for various applications ranging from imaging to information processing.

HKU Physicist participated in cross-institutional Areas of Excellence project on meta-materials and meta-devices

Metamaterials, with artificially engineered unit cells, provide a powerful means for controlling the propagation of light and are useful for various applications ranging from imaging to information processing.

Research co-led by Professor Hongzhe SUN from Research Division for Chemistry awarded the Local Top Ten innovation and technology news in 2020

A basking Okada's five-lined skink (Plestiodon latiscutatus) on Hachijo-Kojima. Image credit: Masami Hasegawa.

Four decades of research on Japanese Izu Islands finds rising lizard temperatures may change predator-prey relationship with snakes

Dr Zi Yang Meng achieved accurate model calculations of a topological KT phase for TMGO by performing computation on the Supercomputers Tianhe 1 and Tianhe 2.

Confirming simulated calculations with experiment results, new paradigm on quantum material research reveals topological KT phase of TMGO for the first time

Remanents of feather sheaths on the wings of the fossil bird Archaeopteryx, shows the earliest evidence of a complex moulting strategy. The white arrows indicate the feather sheaths. Scale bar is 1 cm. Image credit: Kaye et al. 2020.

Research reveals earliest record of flight-related moulting found in 150-million-year-old bird Archaeopteryx providing insights into the evolution of moulting strategies

Study reveals bat-winged dinosaurs had short-lived gliding abilities

New study finds seabird response to abrupt climate change 5,000 years ago transformed sub-Antarctic island ecosystems

Study reveals bat-winged dinosaurs had short-lived gliding abilities

Study reveals bat-winged dinosaurs had short-lived gliding abilities

strange metals

HKU physicist joins international effort to unveil the behaviour of “strange metals”

Bird beak revealed by HKU-codeveloped laser imaging Informs early beak form, function, and development

Bird beak revealed by HKU-codeveloped laser imaging Informs early beak form, function, and development

A joint team of astronomers including a member of HKU’s Laboratory for Space Research, captured stellar winds in unprecedented detail

A joint team of astronomers including a member of HKU’s Laboratory for Space Research, captured stellar winds in unprecedented detail

Member of HKU’s Laboratory for Space Research Co-discovers the first planet found around white dwarf star

Member of HKU’s Laboratory for Space Research Co-discovers the first planet found around white dwarf star

study of early birds

Landmark HKU-led volume on past progress and new frontiers in the study of early birds and their close relative

Most close relatives of birds neared the potential for powered flight but few crossed its thresholds

Most close relatives of birds neared the potential for powered flight but few crossed its thresholds

A new idea on how Earth’s outer shell first broke into tectonic plates

“Breaking” news! A new idea on how Earth’s outer shell first broke into tectonic plates

Revisiting energy flow in photosynthetic plant cells

Revisiting energy flow in photosynthetic plant cells

Spin texture and vortex in quantum magnet TMGO when the material is inside the topological KT phase.

Quantum Material research connecting physicists in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai Facilitates discovery of better materials that benefit our society

The five test marine organisms used in this study

An unexpected heat shock to neurons: HKU scientists and collaborators uncovered a new mechanism for balancing protein stability during neuronal development

The five test marine organisms used in this study

HKU marine ecologists reveal larvicidal oil for mosquito control threatens coastal marine life and pollutes sea environment

Giant clam Tridacna maxima

Metagenomics reveals distinct microbiotypes in the giant clams Tridacna maxima

Coral Favites

HKU study unlocks the secret of corals’ tolerance to climate change: their diet

reef fishes

HKU marine biologist and international team unveil impacts of heatwave on reef fishes

wallace line

HKU earth scientist redrew global map of land life, achieving a unique research quadruple by landing first/correspondence author papers in the frontline journals of four of the Burlington House's learned societies.

dolphins

HKU scientists find high concentrations of toxic phenyltin compounds in local Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises confirming their biomagnification through marine food chains

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A team of international mangrove forest experts suggesting optimistic cause for global mangrove conservation

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HKU marine ecologists and international team unveils the historical impacts of development on coral reef loss in the South China Sea, suggesting possible coral restoration in Hong Kong

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HKU marine ecologist and international team identifies areas of top priority for deepsea monitoring and conservation through a survey of world’s leading deep-sea scientists

HKU scientists develop a deep learning approach to predict disease-associated mutations of the metal-binding sites

HKU plant scientists identify new strategy to enhance rice grain yield

HKU astronomy research team unveils one origin of globular clusters around giant galaxies

What colour were fossil animals? HKU palaeontologists evaluate fossil colour reconstruction methods to propose new study framework

iamge

Smash and Grab: A heavyweight stellar champion for dying stars

iamge

HKU earth scientists discovered century-scale deep-water circulation dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean throughout the last 20,000 years

HKU biologists discover cell division requires a balanced level of non-coding RNA for chromosome stability

Monte Carlo study led by HKU physicist reveals the parent state of quantum phases

Dr Benoit Guenard

Thirteen new ant species discovered in Hong Kong

ancient bird

Ancient birds out of the egg running

prof yam and team

HKU chemists develop a new class of robust gold(III) complexes with promising device lifetimes and tunable emission colours for vacuum-deposited OLEDs

The pterosaur studied has four different feather types

HKU fossil imaging helps push back feather origins by 70 million years

HKU study finds that ocean circulation in the North Atlantic is at its weakest since the past 1,500 years

Planet discovered orbiting the second closest stellar system to the Earth

HKU Chemists develop the first-in-class YEATS inhibitors that show promise for leukemia treatment

An HKU-led team of international plant scientists reveal how chloroplasts maintain energy efficiency

paleontologists

HKU paleontologists discover evolutions of tropical deep-water ecosystem and environment affected by high-latitude climate

paleontologists

International team discovers an inside-out nebula surrounds a ‘born-again’ star, shedding light on the late-stage evolution of the Sun

paleontologists

HKU Laboratory for Space Research involved in international collaboration facilitating the discovery of an isolated Millisecond Pulsar with FAST

paleontologists

HKU marine scientists unveil how climate change relates to coral bleaching

paleontologists

HKU scientist makes key discoveries in the search for life on Mars

topographic map of Mars

HKU geologist’s discovery of early earth-like seafloor deposits on Mars could provide clues to life’s origins

paleontologists

HKU and Kyoto U reveal a new strategy to enhance the efficiency of cereal straw for biofuel production

paleontologists

The “Hong Kong population” of Chinese white dolphins re-defined: The latest HKU study clarifies how many dolphins there are in Hong Kong waters

paleontologists

Major breakthrough in knowledge of dinosaur appearance - HKU palaeontologist reconstructs feathered dinosaurs in the flesh with new technology