A new national programme that aims to position Singapore at the forefront of advancements in RNA science and applications was officially launched today. This new initiative – named National Initiative for RNA Biology and Its Applications (NIRBA) – is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) with total funding of S$130 million (US$97 million) over seven years. NIRBA will engage scientists and clinicians from leading institutions like the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Duke-NUS Medical School.

Green spaces play an important role for urban populations, whether by protecting against extreme weather events or providing space for recreation. In two studies, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) show just how much a diverse tree population affects microclimate, rainwater seepage and human well-being. Their results have been published in the journals Sustainable Cities and Society and Scientific Reports.

An international research team, led by scientists from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center, has unveiled an innovative method for activating adult stem cells from human bone marrow, enabling their expansion outside the body for use in bone marrow regeneration and the construction of a new blood and immune system.

Researchers at TU Delft (The Netherlands) and Brown University have developed scalable nanotechnology-based lightsails that could support future advances in space exploration and experimental physics. Their research, published in Nature Communications, introduces new materials and production methods to create the thinnest large-scale reflectors ever made. ‘This is not just another step in making things smaller; it’s an entirely new way of thinking about nanotechnology,’ explains Dr. Richard Norte, associate professor at TU Delft. ‘We’re creating high-aspect-ratio devices that are thinner than anything previously engineered but span dimensions akin to massive structures.’

MIT scientists used light to control how a starfish egg cell jiggles and moves during its earliest stage of development. Their optical system could guide the design of synthetic, light-activated cells for wound healing or drug delivery.