SCIENCE
Student project wins gold
A Taiwanese high school student’s science project on arthritis medication won a gold medal at the Izmir International Innovation Science Energy Engineering Fair held in Turkey from Thursday last week to Tuesday, the National Taiwan Science Education Center said on Tuesday. Chung Chiao-yun (鐘巧芸), a student in her third year at Taipei First Girls High School, won the gold in biology for her study that found that itraconazole, a medication used to treat fungal infections, has the potential to treat arthritis, the Taipei-based education institute said in a statement. Chung used itraconazole, which has anti-inflammatory properties, to further her understanding of how the C1GALT1 gene causes arthritis symptoms, like inflammation and pain, the statement said. Citing the “2019 Global Burden of Disease Study,” Chung said she decided to study the disease that mainly affects people older than 40 because of the impact it has on their ability to move and their mental health. The 2019 study found there were about 528 million people with osteoarthritis and 18.6 million people with rheumatoid arthritis globally, 20 times higher than the total number of cancer cases, Chung said. Itraconazole can inhibit the C1GALT1 gene, which causes inflammation, and “potentially alleviate arthritis in vivo,” Chung concluded in her article.
Photo courtesy of Taipei First Girls High School
DIPLOMACY
Forum date announced
Taipei and Shanghai simultaneously announced yesterday that the 15th Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum would be held in Taiwan’s capital on Dec. 17. A delegation of about 100 people from Shanghai would attend the event, themed “Smart governance, sustainable future” at the Regent Taipei hotel. “It is expected to continue pleasant interactions, pragmatically promote exchanges, and enhance the well-being of residents in both cities,” a statement on the Taipei City Government’s Web site said. The two sides would sign memorandums of cooperation in “smart medical care” and zoo animal exchanges this year, it said. Taipei and Shanghai have taken turns hosting the forum every year since 2010, with a total of 14 events held and 45 agreements signed. Taipei City Government spokesperson Yin Wei (殷瑋) said that the delegation from China, led by Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源), would engage in exchanges with the Taiwanese side, led by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安). Yin said that there would be three sub-forums focused on “friendly transportation,” “river governance” and “cities of culture.”
INFRASTRUCTURE
Water repairs in Banciao
The water supply to about 26,000 households in areas of New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) would be temporarily suspended from Monday next week for pipeline maintenance, the city’s Water Resources Department announced on Tuesday. Beginning at 9am that day, the water supply would be suspended for 40 hours until 1am on Wednesday next week to carry out maintenance work on an old underground pipeline along Nanya S Road, the department said in a statement. A total of 26,352 households are expected to be affected, and consumers are advised to store water ahead of time, it said. Various makeshift water supply tanks would be available around the city, such as on Fuzhong Road, or people can contact Taiwan Water Corp for water delivery, it added. The wards of Chienkuo, Hanshen, Minchuan and Min’an as well as parts of Guoguang, Shehou and Xianya would be affected.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
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