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.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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