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Associated Press
8 hours ago
- Associated Press
Chun Wo Innovation Student Awards 2024 Successfully Concluded Four Outstanding Projects Showcase the Future of Engineering Innovation
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 July 2025 - Organised by Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited ('Chun Wo'), the Chun Wo Innovation Student Awards 2024 ('CWISA') concluded successfully with an award presentation ceremony celebrating a new generation of engineering talent and their innovative solutions. Themed 'Engineers: Overcoming World's Challenges', this year's competition attracted over 40 teams from 18 higher education institutions and universities across Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. By using cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) to develop engineering solutions for 'Climate Action', 'Sustainable Cities and Communities', and 'Innovative Architecture and Infrastructure'. The award ceremony was attended by government officials, industry leaders, and academic representatives. A total of HKD 200,000 in cash prize was presented across the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit Awards. Chun Wo will assist winning teams to execute their innovative ideas by providing appropriate resources or investments. Sr Stephen LEE, Chairman of Chun Wo Construction Holdings Company Limited remarks, 'It is inspiring to witness the rise of future talents in engineering and innovation from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. By leveraging innovation and technology to address challenges like infrastructure and climate change, the students have shown immense potential. We hope the award-winning students will continue to explore new possibilities and work together to create a better future for society.' Ir Michael FONG, JP, Director of the Civil Engineering and Development remarks, 'Having served as a judge for two consecutive years, I am deeply impressed by the level of innovation showcased in this year's entries — it not only demonstrates the students' growing ambition in their creations but also reflects the younger generation's spirit of breaking conventions and pioneering new possibilities.' The Gold Award of CWISA 2024 was presented to a team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for their project 'Renewable Material Coagulant', which uses industrial by-products to develop a low-carbon solidifying agent as a replacement for traditional cement in ground stabilisation. The project achieves more than 80% carbon emission reduction and offers a revolutionary alternative for green construction and land rehabilitation. The Silver Award went to a cross-institutional team from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Their project 'RiceFort' upcycles discarded rice husks into eco-friendly fibreboards for use in furniture and construction. The project demonstrates high performance, low cost, and recyclability, and also won the Best Social Impact Award for its green entrepreneurship potential and community value. The Bronze Award was awarded to a team from City University of Hong Kong for their project 'AI-Driven Self-cleaning Air-to-Hydrogen System', which combines air-to-water extraction, solar photocatalysis, and AI-powered self-cleaning to produce hydrogen with zero carbon emissions and no external water consumption. The solution is especially suitable for arid and remote areas, and also won the Best Sustainable Solution Award. In addition, a joint team from The University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University won the Best Business Potential Award for their project 'Generation Alpha Building Emergency System', which features an AIoT-powered fire detection system with high accuracy and low false alarm rates, offering an advanced fire safety solution for older buildings and high-density urban environments. Chun Wo aims to continuously inspire the creativity and sense of social responsibility among young engineers through the CWISA platform. The company will continue working with academia, industry, and government partners to promote the implementation of innovative technologies and nurture more engineering talent with global vision and a commitment to sustainability, contributing to a smarter and greener future. Download High-Resolution Photos HERE Photo Captions: Hashtag: #ChunWoDevelopment The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About Chun Wo Innovation Student Awards The Chun Wo Innovation Student Awards ('CWISA') is a biennial competition established in 2018 by Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited. It aims to inspire young innovators to develop creative engineering solutions that strengthen urban connectivity and promote sustainable city development. Since its inception, CWISA has attracted over 650 students from more than 20 tertiary institutions and universities across Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The fourth CWISA is themed 'Engineers Overcoming the World's Challenges,' motivates students to propose innovative engineering solutions in response to climate action, sustainable cities and communities, and innovative architecture and infrastructure. By leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), students are encouraged to help shape a better future for society and the environment. The Awards recognise outstanding ideas with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit Awards. The Gold Award winner will receive a cash prize of HK$100,000, with a total cash prize of approximately HK$200,000 for all winners. For more information, please visit: About Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited ('Chun Wo') was founded in 1968 and is a key subsidiary of Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited (stock code: The Company is principally engaged in the core construction and property development businesses with the professional capability to undertake large integrated construction projects. Recent examples of large infrastructure projects which the Company has undertaken works include the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel Tseung Kwan O Interchange, the Central-Wan Chai Bypass, the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Infrastructure, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Passenger Clearance Building, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Hong Kong Section), the MTR Shatin to Central Link and the Redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital (Phase 2) etc. About Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited (Stock Code: Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited ('Asia Allied Infrastructure', 'the Group') is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under stock code 00711. The Group operates businesses such as construction engineering and management, property development and assets leasing, security and facility management, tunnel management, non-franchised bus services, as well as medical technology and healthcare. Its subsidiary 'Chun Wo' is a renowned construction contractor and property developer in Hong Kong. Chun Wo's solid construction experience and professional capabilities have enabled the Group to seize suitable development opportunities, allowing the Group to enhance its overall profitability and investment value.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Find Secret Code in Human DNA
One person's junk is another's treasure. An international team of scientists have found that strings of "junk" DNA in the human genome that were previously written off as having no useful function are actually pretty important after all. The work, published as a study in the journal Science Advances, focuses on transposable elements, a class of DNA sequences that can "jump," via a biological copy-and-paste mechanism, to different locations in a genome. These "jumping genes" take up nearly 50 percent of human DNA; in other organisms, the proportion is even higher. What the researchers from Japan, China, Canada, and the US found is that a particular family of these TEs, called MER11, can strongly influence gene expression and act like "genetic switches" — without actually changing the underlying DNA. "Our genome was sequenced long ago, but the function of many of its parts remain unknown," study coauthor Fumitaka Inoue from Kyoto University said in a statement about the work. MER11 sequences are what's known as long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. Spookily, these are believed to have originated from an endogenous retrovirus (ERV) that infected a simian ancestor tens of millions of years ago, hijacking the DNA of the cells it invaded to produce copies of its genetic makeup that have never gone away, but have largely remained inert. Per the researchers, at least eight percent of the human genome comes from these retroviruses. That, plus all the other TEs littering our genome, makes for a lot of puzzling clutter for human scientists to sift through. The authors argue that the current methods for classifying and annotating TEs are inaccurate, leading to DNA sequences being overlooked as genetic junk. This inspired them to test their own classification system. "The proper classification and annotation of LTR instances is critical to understanding their evolution, co-option and potential impact on the host," the authors wrote in the study. The researchers' system classified MER11 sequences based on their evolutionary relationships and how well they were preserved in primate genomes, according to the researchers' statement. Then, they divided MER11 into four separate subfamilies, MER11_G1 through G4, based on their age. This allowed the team to compare the MER11 subfamilies to what are known as epigenetic marks: chemicals that can affect how important proteins function, and as a consequence affect gene activity. Crucially, epigenetic marks don't have to physically alter a cell's DNA to modify a cell's behavior, such as silencing a gene that should be expressed. Accurately tying the MER11 subfamilies to the markers is a key step to revealing the extent of their impact on gene expression. With that as a springboard, the team tested some 7,000 MER11 sequences from humans and primates, measured how much each one affected gene activity, and found that the youngest MER11 subfamily, G4, had a strong ability to influence gene expression — namely, by bearing its own DNA "motifs" that attract proteins called transcription factors that regulate what genes are switched on and off. "Young MER11_G4 binds to a distinct set of transcription factors, indicating that this group gained different regulatory functions through sequence changes and contributes to speciation," lead author Xun Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said in the statement. The implications are fascinating. Though these strands of DNA may have started as "junk," they have gradually insinuated their way to playing a role in gene regulation today — suggesting a vast portion of unknown evolutionary history that we're only scratching the surface of. "Transposable elements are thought to play important roles in genome evolution, and their significance is expected to become clearer as research continues to advance," Inoue said. More on genetics: Elon Musk Using Eugenics Startup to Inspect DNA of Potential Babies for Intelligence
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Chinese research ship detected off Alaskan coast, Coast Guard says
A China-flagged research vessel was detected Friday off the coast of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard reported Saturday that the Xue Long 2, an icebreaker, was detected about 290 nautical miles north of Utqiagvik, Alaska, in the North American Arctic. The Xue Long 2 is operated by China's Polar Research Institute. The ship was in the U.S.'s Extended Continental Shelf, or ECS, which is a portion of the continental shelf that goes beyond 200 miles nautical miles off the coast, according to the State Department. The ship was determined to be 130 nautical miles inside the ECS. "The U.S. has exclusive rights to conserve and manage the living and non-living resources of its ECS," the Coast Guard said in its news release. A Coast Guard C-130J Hercules, a long-range surveillance aircraft, responded to the ship. The Coast Guard also released a photo of the vessel. "The U.S. Coast Guard, alongside partners and other agencies, vigilantly monitors and responds to foreign government vessel activity in and near U.S. waters to secure territorial integrity and defend sovereign interests against malign state activity," said Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District, in a statement. CBS News reached out the Coast Guard for clarification on how it was dealing with the vessel. Earlier this week, Canada's CBC News reported that the Canadian military was monitoring the movements of the Xue Long 2 in the Arctic. In a statement provided to the CBC Tuesday, Maj. Alexander Naraine, a spokesperson for the military's joint operations centre said that the Xue Long 2 was "not currently in Canadian territorial waters." Canada was using a Lockheed CP-140 Aurora aircraft based out of Alaska to "actively" monitor the Chinese ship, Naraine said. This comes after four Russian military planes were spotted and tracked flying near the Alaskan coast Tuesday by North American Aerospace Defense Command. The aircraft flew through a section of international airspace called the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. While the Alaska ADIZ is considered part of international airspace, it is defined as an area where sovereign U.S. airspace ends but "that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security," according to NORAD. In January, American and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled after Russian warplanes were also spotted in the Arctic, NORAD said. The Russian warplanes remained in international airspace. And in July 2024, the U.S. intercepted several Chinese or Russian bombers near the Alaskan coast. At the time, a U.S. defense officials said it marked the first time ever that Russian and Chinese aircraft have jointly entered the Alaska ADIZ, and the first time Chinese H-6s have encroached off Alaska. While many believe 10,000 steps a day is optimal, new study suggests different DOJ's closed-door meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell fuels pardon speculation California artist brings Bob's Big Boy statues back to life Solve the daily Crossword
