General Stations: 1 to 2 (Health Risk: Low)

Roadside Stations: 2 (Health Risk: Low)

(Rice University) Rice University researchers have integrated high-efficiency solar cells and electrode catalysts into an efficient, low-cost device that splits water to produce hydrogen fuel.

(Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Thanks to its magnetic properties, the material -- zinc-doped manganese chromite -- can be used in a range of products, from gas sensors to data storage devices.

(College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University) Carnegie Mellon University's Maarten de Boer and Gianluca Piazza are developing reliable, mechanical switches the size of a DNA molecule, thanks to a $2M LEAP-HI grant from the National Science Foundation.

(University of Montreal) A chemistry professor at Université de Montréal has developed a new test using gold nanoparticles to establish the flavour profile of maple syrup and help producers evaluate its quality.

(University of Southampton) Scientists have published highly detailed images of lab-grown neurons using Extreme Ultraviolet radiation that could aid the analysis of neurodegenerative diseases.

(Dartmouth College) Annual award supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences.

(University of South Florida (USF Health)) A new preclinical study by researchers at the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine offers promise of a specific treatment for NEC, a rare inflammatory bowel disease that is a leading cause of death in premature infants. The team found that inhibiting the inflammatory and blood-clotting molecule thrombin with targeted nanotherapy can protect against NEC-like injury in newborn mice.

(DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)) A drug-loaded microrobotic needle effectively targets and remains attached to cancerous tissue in lab experiments without needing continuous application of a magnetic field, allowing more precise drug delivery. The details were published by researchers at DGIST's Microrobot Research Center in Korea and colleagues in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

(Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) EPFL chemists have developed sponges to capture various target substances, like gold, mercury and lead, dissolved in solution. The sponges are actually porous crystals called metal organic frameworks, and now one exists for capturing toxic hexavalent chromium from water.

(University of Science and Technology of China) Researchers from University of science and technology of China has shed new lights on the topic of solid-phase ion migration. Researchers demonstrated a unique in-situ strategy for visualizing the dynamic solid-phase ion migration between nanostructures with nanogap at the atomic scale. The research article entitled "Real-Time Visualization of Solid-Phase Ion Migration Kinetics on Nanowire Monolayer" was published in Journal of the American Chemical Society on April 29th.

(University of Jyväskylä - Jyväskylän yliopisto) Researchers at the universities of Jyvaskyla and Xiamen discovered a novel way to make functional macroscopic crystalline materials out of nanometer-size 34-atom silver-gold intermetallic clusters. The cluster material has a highly anisotropic electrical conductivity, being a semiconductor in one direction and an electrical insulator in other directions. The research was published in Nature Communications on May 6, 2020.

(Arizona State University) Cun-Zheng Ning, a professor of electrical engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, and collaborators from Tsinghua University in China discovered a process of physics that enables low-power nanolasers to be produced in 2D semiconductor materials. Understanding the physics behind lasers at nanoscale and how they interact with semiconductors can have major implications for high-speed communication channels for supercomputers and data centers.

(University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering) Three Nick Holonyak Jr., Micro and Nanotechnology Lab (HMNTL) faculty members received NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program grants, all of which aim to shorten the amount of time it takes to process a COVID-19 test with less false negatives. Current tests can take as long as five days for results to be.

(Georgia Institute of Technology) The science behind sticky gecko's feet lets gecko adhesion materials pick up about anything. But cost-effective mass production of the materials was out of reach until now. A new method of making them could usher the spread of gecko-inspired grabbers to assembly lines and homes.

(Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) in Germany have presented a non-contact method for detecting the state of charge and any defects in lithium-ion batteries.

(Lancaster University) Lancaster University's Dr Samuli Autti has been awarded a Young Scientist Prize 2020 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The prestigious prize, awarded only once every three years, was made by the Low Temperature Commission of the IUPAP.

Claus Sorensen
Represent. Theory 24 (2020), 151-177.
Abstract, references and article information

The Centre for Health Protection announced that as of 4pm today, no new COVID-19 cases have been recorded, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 1,040 so far.

The centre again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people in their daily lives to minimise the risk of infection.

People should go out less and avoid social activities such as having meals out or other gatherings to minimise the risk of coronavirus clusters emerging in the community.

As the COVID-19 situation remains severe and the number of cases reported around the world continues to rise, people are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong as well as maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times.

Additionally, the Hospital Authority reported that there are currently 142 patients under isolation and that 920 patients have been discharged upon recovery.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said because Hong Kong has not reported a local COVID-19 case for over two weeks and imported cases are low, some anti-epidemic measures can be lifted.

During a press conference, Mrs Lam outlined that unlike some European countries, Hong Kong did not need to go into lockdown to contain the spread of the disease.

“Hong Kong has never gone into a stage of a complete city lockdown. In some of the European countries where they practise a city lockdown, residents are simply not allowed to leave their homes, except for some very essential purposes. But we have never adopted that practice.

“And in fact, many renowned experts are now trying to study our situation - why does Hong Kong succeed in keeping the confirmed cases at a low level without drastic measures like a complete city lockdown. And I do think that is a very interesting topic for further research.”

Mrs Lam noted that the Government had adopted the “suppress and lift” strategy under which restrictions are implemented and lifted in accordance with the infection situation.

“The strategy that Hong Kong has been adopting - and advocated by some of our experts - is what we call a ‘suppress and lift strategy’.

“So in light of the number of confirmed cases and likelihood of the spread of the disease in the community, we will have to suppress in order to make sure that there will be no surge in the number of confirmed cases as we have seen in some neighbouring regions.

“When the situation of the infection stabilises, that is the time for lifting, that is, loosening a bit so that society can operate more normally, especially for the businesses and for individuals’ behaviour.”

The Chief Executive said the Government still needed to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely, even though it was in the stage of lifting restrictions.

“We are now right in the stage of lifting because we have not had a local case for 16 days already and the number of imported cases is very, very low.

“We are now quite confident that the system of testing and holding that we have put in place for all arrivals from overseas would enable us to control the number of imported cases. So this is a time for lifting and this afternoon we have announced a number of lifting measures.

“If the situation continues to stay at the current level - no local cases, very few imported cases - then at the end of the 14-day period, that is May 22, of course that would be the time for more relaxation.”

Mrs Lam added that if a local case suddenly surfaced, Hong Kong may have to go back to some suppression measures, which was why the Government had to monitor the situation closely so it could take the necessary and pertinent response measures.

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The relaxation of anti-epidemic measures is a step in the right direction, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today.

Mrs Lam made the statement at a press conference this afternoon.

She said the Government will relax the requirement limiting group gatherings in public places to a maximum of four people. Starting from Friday, up to eight people can gather in public places.

"So raising the number from four to eight for the catering business and also for the prohibition against group gatherings under Cap 599G is not an exact science, but this is a step in the right direction of relaxation.

"Maybe in another 14 days’ time we will raise the number of eight to 10, to 12, to 15 and so on."

Regarding bars and pubs, Mrs Lam said these venues will be able to reopen but the Government will put in place requirements to prevent physical interactions.

"We have decided that perhaps to strike a pragmatic balance is to allow them to reopen for business but to put in far more stringent requirements."

Such requirements include no live music, band performances or dancing in bar premises.

"That would be another way to keep the social distance and prevent as much as possible physical interactions."

Click here for the latest measures.

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung today said the Government is confident that classes can resume on May 27.

Mr Yeung made the statement at a press conference this afternoon.

He said: “We are not announcing class resumption right away. We are giving advance notice of about three weeks for all the stakeholders to get prepared for the school resumption.”

The Government will continue to monitor the situation during this period and adjust the school resumption plan if necessary, he added.

"At this stage we are still pretty confident that we should be able to resume classes on May 27."

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said that Hong Kong’s needy and disadvantaged will receive masks as part of the Government’s new mask distribution programme.

Mrs Lam made the announcement during a press conference this afternoon and explained that millions of donated masks will also be distributed to those in need.

“I have outlined six measures to distribute masks freely to the people of Hong Kong, and of course in so doing, we will take special account of the disadvantaged, the elderly and street sleepers. 

“So apart from being a member of the Hong Kong population, they will receive reusable masks. They will receive disposable masks. We have this mask distribution program together with a large number of non-governmental organisations, charity groups and self-help groups.

“So we will continue to work with them to distribute another three million masks, which were donated to us.”

Mrs Lam emphasised that should there be a shortage of masks set aside for the needy, the Government will use its own supply to cover the shortfall.

“I am announcing that if we run out of donated masks, but there is still a need from this disadvantaged groups, we will use the government masks - the masks that we procured which are supposed to be for our own use - and share these with the needy groups in society.

“That's a way to ensure that, in a public health situation that we are now in, the needs of the disadvantaged groups will be fully taken care of.”

In addition to distributing donated masks, the Government announced other measures on mask supplies that include handing out single-use and reusable masks to all Hong Kong residents and students in need.

Such measures also call for increasing the supply of masks to staff of elderly homes and cleaning workers employed by the Government's outsourced service contractors, as well as providing masks to private medical practitioners.

The Government will distribute free reusable face masks to all Hong Kong citizens, the Innovation & Technology Bureau announced today.

The CuMask, made with six layers and special ergonomic features, was developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles & Apparel.

Two of its layers contain copper which is capable of immobilising bacteria, common viruses and other harmful substances.

The mask complies with the American Society for Testing & Materials F2100 Level 1 Standard in terms of particle and bacterial filtration efficiency, resistance to penetration by synthetic blood, and flammability and pressure resistance.

It is also reusable for up to 60 washes.

The bureau said, except for babies and infants, all holders of valid Hong Kong identity cards are eligible to obtain a mask.

Citizens can register online from 7am tomorrow till June 6. Each registration can cater for a maximum of six persons.

Upon successful registration, the mask will be delivered to the door by Hongkong Post within two weeks.

Primary and kindergarten students will each be given two masks, which will be delivered directly to children's schools. Parents do not have to register.

The Government has also arranged to deliver over 140,000 of the masks to residential homes and social welfare institutions for their distribution to those including elderly and the homeless.

Click here for registration details.