During a ceremony commemorating the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Microbiota Consortium, a National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University academic yesterday said that he hoped there would be more collaboration between organizations in Taiwan and Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia on microbacteria research and potential academia-industrial partnerships.
The university’s College of Medicine vice dean Wu Chun-ying (吳俊穎), the consortium’s president, said the global market value for microbacteria research and its applications could reach US$1.37 billion by 2029.
The consortium hopes to establish a healthy ecology for cross-region, cross-field and cross-facility research collaborations on specimen examination and clinical information sharing, he said.
Photo courtesy of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Studies on this subject are an evident global trend, and the establishment of the consortium hopes to spearhead microbacteria research in the Asia-Pacific region, Wu Chun-ying said.
How relevant microbacteria research is translated into industrial innovations would determine how Taiwan’s biotechnology industry would compete with others, he added.
There is a lack of clinical research on how microbacteria affected genetics, immunology, endocrinology, body inflammation, metabolism, food and drink consumption, and human psychology, said Professor Emad el-Omar, editor-in-chief of the monthly peer-reviewed medical journal Gut.
The US and Europe have a relatively mature academia-industrial research alliance on microbacteria, and the founding of an Asia-Pacific-based partnership would greatly improve research capacity in the region and the world’s goal to attain precision health, el-Omar said.
Asia University College of Medical and Health Sciences dean Wu Jiunn-jong (吳俊忠) said the National Science and Technology Council would be announcing a new project starting next year to translate existing microbacteria research into usable data that could help the industry develop innovative concepts and products.
The ceremony also featured talks on the formation of microbacteria and how they can be applied to diagnose various cancers, the relation between health and substances created via lactic acid metabolism, the relevance of gastrointestinal microbiota and the formation of fat, as well as the possible use of gastrointestinal microbiota for biological cures.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
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WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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