The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is well known for her clothing and textile research and technologies. This time, she introduces "i.Dummy" - a smart fitting model.

The apparel industry relies very much on the "mannequin" for many tasks involved in apparel design, fitting and alteration, and size gradation. However, traditional mannequins (only one size per mannequin) are costly and occupy a lot of storage space. Developed to solve the problem of having multiple sized mannequins, the "i.Dummy" can flexibly change to any shape and dimensions as required by the designer. It is a "multi-able" entity (adjustable, expandable, contractible, and variable) which can solve the many problems of designing and fitting of tailored clothing or ready-to-wear.

extracted from 
http://www.polyu.edu.hk/web/en/media/media_releases/index_id_6108.html

This innovation win the Grandprice and Gold medal in at the 43rd International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.



More about i.Dummy:

I.DUMMY, the new breakthrough in mannequin technology, was acheived by the Hong Kong Poly Technic University in 2013. The project was led by Dr Allan Chan Chee-kooi, Associate Professor at PolyU's Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC), with team members. Applying advanced mechatronics technology as the platform of mannequin development, Dr Allan Chan and his team members collected massive anthropometric data from worldwide population, as well as actual body scales from 3D Body Scanner, to create I.DUMMY's universal body scales and sizes. Understanding the new fitting revolution has come, Winswin acquired the techology, refined and brings it into the market. I.DUMMY will assist our keenly sensitive fashion partners to fit in the new era

- extracted from http://www.idummy.com


More about Prof. Chan Chee-kooi:

http://www.itc.polyu.edu.hk/en/people/academic_staff_profile.html?id=4028e486297c8ed301297dd686bd02ba


image source: http://www.idummy.com,
http://pixshark.com/vintage-fashion-mannequin.htm

Corresponding authors:

Sharon Hammes-Schiffer University of Illinois, Urbana−Champaign
Judith Klinman, University of California, Berkeley

Acc. Chem. Res., 2015, 48 (4), pp 899–899
DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.5b00113

More about authors:
The Hammers-Schiffer Research Group: http://hammes-schiffer-group.org/

The Klinman Group: http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/jukgrp/klinman_group/Home.html

The Special Issue of Accounts of Chemical Research on Protein Motion in Catalysis addresses one of the most active and compelling areas of investigation regarding protein function: the relationship of motions within a protein to catalytic rate enhancement, allosteric control, and thermal adaptation. There is growing acceptance that our ability to understand and predict protein function must go beyond the static views obtained from traditional X-ray crystallography and incorporate both local and global protein conformational landscapes that can involve large segments of a protein and take place on time scales from femtosecond to millisecond. The fields of computation and experimentation, which at times have appeared in conflict, are increasingly providing synergistic pictures of protein behavior.

The most direct properties that can be studied are for the ground state protein alone or in complex with substrate or modulator ligands. The emerging importance of Markov state models and the computation or measurement of side chain entropy is facilitating the evaluation of interconverting ground state structures and the relative importance of surface versus buried protein motions. Advances in NMR have provided the ability to detect low population protein substates, as do room temperature Ringer X-ray studies. Monitoring the progression of the enzyme–substrate complexes toward the activated complex introduces additional challenges for achieving sufficient spatial and temporal resolution of functionally linked protein motions. A wide range of studies has supported the concept of modulation of reaction barrier width and height, as well as active site electrostatics, through protein motions. What is particularly exciting is that this concept, which originally emerged from the properties of room temperature electron and most recently hydrogen tunneling, has become apparent in many different classes of enzyme reactions.

Advances in methodology are critical to the growth within this field of inquiry. Well-established computational approaches that include mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) approaches, empirical valence bond (EVB) potentials, molecular dynamics free energy simulations, and transition path sampling methods are being expanded to address challenges such as sampling for much longer (i.e., microsecond) time scales and incorporating a growing number of atoms in the region treated quantum mechanically. The experimental toolkit has also gained traction, with the availability of techniques that can be monitored and evaluated as a function of perturbations that alter catalytic efficiency. In the picosecond to nanosecond time regime, changes to vibrational frequencies can be observed through the selective modification of amino acid side chains or the use of bound substrates with vibrational frequencies that lie outside of the protein envelope. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements continue to provide important insight into local motions that control the lifetime and emission wavelengths for appropriately placed chromophores. On the much longer time scale, seconds to hours, hydrogen–deuterium exchange is a well-validated tool to evaluate changes in local protein unfolding and its dependence on perturbations to the protein or environment. One critically needed time scale lies within the microsecond to millisecond regime, which is the one most generally implicated for the real time interconversion among multiple protein substates. Future methodological developments within this time regime will be a boon to the field of protein dynamics.

Unraveling the mysteries of protein motions and conformational sampling is also relevant to protein design efforts. Attempts at rational protein design have often focused on the structural aspects of ligand binding and enzyme catalysis. The recent discoveries and insights summarized in this special issue suggest that protein motion and conformational sampling should also be taken into account in protein design strategies. Thus, these concepts could have broad implications for drug design and for the design of more effective catalysts for biomedical and technological purposes.


The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.accounts.5b00113



Image source: allacronyms.com, ACS

Yahoo Labs presents Bodyprint, an authentication system, to unlock your smartphone!

"Bodyprint brings biometric authentication to commodity mobile devices using the capacitive touchscreen as a low-resolution, but large-area image sensor to reliably identify users based on their ears, fists, or grips when pressed against the touchscreen. "

http://www.christianholz.net/bodyprint.html

Beside your ears, you can use other body parts, fingers, fists, and palms by pressing them against the display. 


See how it work on Youtube:
Bodyprint: Biometric Authentication on Smartphones using the Touchscreen as a Scanner


image source: http://www.christianholz.net/bodyprint.html

Japan built all solar panels on water!

"Two floating mega-solar power plants at Nishihira Pond and Higashihira Pond in Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The plants, inaugurated in late March, will generate an estimated 3,300 megawatt hours (MWh) per year in total-- enough electricity to power approximately 920 typical households"



Why on Water?

The company claims that:

• Floating solar power generating systems typically generate more electricity than ground-mount and rooftop systems due to the cooling effect of the water.
• They reduce reservoir water evaporation and algae growth by shading the water.
• Floating platforms are 100% recyclable, utilizing high-density polyethylene, which can withstand ultraviolet rays and resists corrosion.
• The floating platforms are designed and engineered to withstand extreme physical stress, including typhoon conditions

Of course, it also save a lot of land in expensive Japan!

How it float?


Image source: http://global.kyocera.com/

"In April 1953, the paper by James Watson and Francis Crick describing the structure of DNA was published in the scientific journal Nature. With help from other scientists, Watson and Crick were the first to describe DNA as a double helix, or a twisted ladder shape. Notably, their model of DNA suggested how genetic information is stored and copied. DNA Day commemorates this important landmark in science."

Extracted from: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/dna-day-2015

More about DNA DAY:
http://www.genome.gov/26525485

Full article of 1953 paper by Watson and Crick:
Molecular Structure of Deoxypentose Nucleic Acids
http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/watsoncrick.pdf, Nature


Without a microscope, can you find DNA around you?

A 50-foot-tall sculpture of DNA, “Portrait of a DNA Sequence,” hangs in the main stairwell of the Life Sciences Building, administrative home of the UC Davis College of Biological Scienceshttp://ucdavis.edu/one/stories/one-of-a-kind/dna-sculpture.html


DNA-shapped stairs - Nestlé building detail (Bergére) - Vevey, Switzerlandhttp://vitorazevedo.com/2011/best-company-hq-2%E2%80%93-nestle-vevey-switzerland/


Double Helix Look Out Tower. Kings Park. Perthhttp://kayandjoedownunder.blogspot.hk/2013_10_01_archive.html

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germanyhttp://www.rsl.de/en/magazine/lightprojects-01/architekten-bernhardt-partner/

Double Helix Chapel, Seto Inland Sea Resort, Japanhttp://zexy.net/wedding/c_7770013856/


Vatican Museum, Rome, Italyhttp://felipepitta.com/blog/the-stunning-bramante-staircase-vatican-museum/




images source:
http://www.designrulz.com/design/2015/01/especially-weddings-ribbon-chapel-hiroshi-nakamura-hiroshima-japan/
https://diy.org/ogel/18925

The recent report about success of Vitargent in Geneva makes me curious about the high tech development and startup in Hong Kong, a small city heavily really on its financial services for decades. 

There is an interesting report by South China Morning Post:
Top 5 most promising Hong Kong start-ups

GoGoVan
"Originally envisioned as a business selling advertising on takeaway lunch-boxes, the founders of GoGoVan soon switched to logistics when they discovered how hard it could be to book delivery drivers through Hong Kong’s dispatch centres."

Insigth Robotics
"Hong Kong-based firefighting robot firm Insight Robotics has developed a wildfire detection system combining thermal imaging and artificial intelligence technology to spot fires." 

Vitargent
"Vitargent uses fish embryos to test food, cosmetics or other consumer goods for contaminants and toxins." 

Sensbeat
"Launched in August 2014, Sensbeat is a mobile app which allow users to share their moods through music and photographs."

GoGoVan, Insigth Robotics, Vitargent, and Sensbeat successfully secured a series A funding. 

Let's see how they can change our life in this modern city. Good luck!




image source: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/start-ups/article/1765406/top-5-most-promising-hong-kong-start-ups

American Chemical Society builds a very good site to promote the Earth Day 2015. The theme this year is "Climate Science ? More Than Just A Weather Report!"

Check it out here:
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/cced.html

For all kids and general public, the site shows you the relationship between chemistry of greenhouse gas, UV light, air particles and climate science:
http://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/outreach/cced/2015-cced-brochure-online.pdf

I captured an interesting game below:


image source: ACS

Congratulation!

a news from International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva about the great achievement of a Hong Kong biotech startup. 

http://www.inventions-geneva.ch

"The Grand Prix of the 43rd International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva was awarded to the company VITARGENT INTERNATIONAL from Hong Kong, China, for its in vivo detection system for toxins without using animals. The company uses embryos of zebra fish whose reactions make it possible to study more than a thousand toxins at the same time. It is also possible to target specific toxins as well as the toxicological mechanics of the samples studied."

More about Vitargent: www.vitargent.com





image source: http://www.freakingnews.com/Tropical-Zebra-Fish-Pics-43474.asp

Congratulation!

Dr Tom Hiu Tung Cheung, Assistant Professor of the Division of Life Science, and Dr Kam Tuen Law, Assistant Professor of the Department of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were honored the prestigious Croucher Innovation Awards 2015 by the Croucher Foundation for their distinguished scientific research achievements. Each award carries a value of up to HK$5 million over five years.

Click here for the whole article:
Two HKUST Professors Honored The Croucher Innovation Awards 2015

More about Dr. Tom Hiu Tung Cheung
http://life-sci.ust.hk/faculty/Dr.T.H.Cheung/

More about Dr. Kam Tuen Law
http://physics.ust.hk/phlaw/

A story about your daily life with chemical engineering - if you are ice-cream lovers. 

This is a tasty story from University of Connecticut:

"Ice cream’s semi-solid state is the result of a fragile balance of ingredients, and it’s no easy trick to replace old-fashioned sugar and still get the rich taste and texture that makes the Creamery’s ice cream so popular."


Click here for the entire story: 
Engineering Ice Cream, University of Connecticut
http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2015/04/engineering-ice-cream/


The following video reveals the real works in an ice-cream factory