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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS