Better way to treat paraneoplastic encephalitis

Singapore doctors have come up with a treatment approach for a rare condition associated with tumours in the ovary, and have recommended it as the way to go in a scientific journal.

Paraneoplastic encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain which sets in when an ovarian cancer triggers the patient's over-active immune system to attack the brain.

Doctors here recommended that chemotherapy be considered as one of the main treatments.

From treating five such cases here, they have found that chemotherapy seems to prevent the immune system from attacking the brain.

The Straits Times (Dec 31 09)

1st Singapore Woman to reach South Pole

The seven women of the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition had planned to have a day off from skiing, but the South Pole was in sight and they just could not wait.

They had travelled 900 km on skis, and the final 12 took them to the South Pole at about 10am on 30 December 2009 (Singapore time).

Among them was Singaporean Sophia Pang, 37, the first Singapore woman to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole.

The training programme was conducted by the Singapore Sports Medicine Centre and the Changi Sports Medicine Centre.

A four-man Singapore team skiied to the South Pole in 2000, while another four-man Singapore team simultaneously scaled the highest peak in Antarctica.

The Straits Times (Dec 31 09)

Singaporean named Best Female Athlete of SEA Games

AFTER a historic 10 days of sporting action in Laos, the SEA Games bade 'saukdee' (goodbye in Lao) to the former French colony and thanked the city of Vientiane and its people for their gracious hospitality.

The 20,000 spectators who packed into the National Stadium were serenaded by singers and entertained by elaborate cultural performances during Friday night's three-hour-long closing ceremony.

Besides hosting the Games for the first time in its history, there was also much to celebrate for Laos who surpassed their target of 25 golds by winning 32 of the 370 on offer. It placed them seventh on the table, just behind Singapore (33).

Singapore swimmer Quah Ting Wen's five golds, two silvers and one bronze helped her clinch the women's honour.

Singapore is IB's new HQ for Asia-Pacific

Four years after the first local school started offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme, the organisation behind it has made Singapore its Asia-Pacific headquarters.

As one of three global centres - the other two being The Hague in Holland and Maryland in United States - Singapore will provide training and support to 11,000 teachers in the region.

IB director-general Jeffrey Beard said Singapore's strategic location, good infrastructure, status as an education hub, and the fast growing demand for IB programmes in the region were compelling reasons for making it the Asia-Pacific HQ.

Singapore to host APPF 2010

Parliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific region will gather in Singapore next month for the 18th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parlimentarian Forum (APPF).

To be held at Suntec convention centre from Jan 17 to 21, the five-day forum will see officials from 26 member countries, including China and the United States, meeting over issues that matter to the region.

NP Researchers developed recycled-glass tiles that are tougher than concrete

Researchers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Environmental and Water Technology Centre of Innovation have developed an eco-friendly way of converting discarded glass products into building materials with more than twice the strength of concrete.

The research offers a more environmentally friendly way of using waste glass, which is currently either dumped as landfill waste or exported to countries such as Malaysia, where it is melted down at a scorching 1,600 deg C. This is not only energy-intensive, but also bad for the environment.

Ngee Ann has approached the Housing Board to explore the use fo the recycled products in its housing projects.

The next target is to develop materials with the quality of marble but cheaper.

3 local think-tanks on list of top Asian research centres

3 Singapore think-tanks are on a list of 29 "research centres of excellence" in Asia that has been drawn up by the philantropic Rockefeller Foundation.

The trio are the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas) and the Asia Research Institute (ARI).

The criteria used included the quality of research and research staff, the institution's network and collaborative relationships in the region, its ability and interest in shaping policies, and communication of research results, among others.

Breakthrough work on plants by Singapore duo

Two Singaporean researchers, along with a host of other international scientists, have made a discovery which could help crops survive harsh conditions such as drought and heat.

The two PhD students from the National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrated Sciences and Engineering - Ms Ng Ley Moy and Ms Soon Fen Fen - went to the Van Andel Research Institute in Michigan in June to work on this topic with a team of 19 other researchers from around the world.

Over 12,000 families in quake-hit Sumatra get special treat from Singapore

More than 12,000 needy families in areas affected by the recent earthquake in Sumatra received a special treat from Singapore.

Some 630 sheep, worth more than S$122,000, were donated by Muslims in Singapore for the annual korban ritual over the weekend. The meat was distributed to the needy families in Sumatra as part of the Hari Raya Haji celebrations.

The event was organised by Singapore's humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief, and the number of families given the meat exceeded their initial target of 7,000.

The families came from 15 districts in Palembang, Pangalengan and Padang - areas badly affected by the recent earthquake.

Source: Channel NewsAsia