Latest news with #WestlakeUniversity
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Peking University dropout cracks IUT – the ‘alien's language' that can upend mathematics
Zhou Zhongpeng, a 28-year-old Peking University doctoral dropout turned tech engineer , has deciphered one of mathematics' most cryptic frontiers dubbed the 'alien's language' for its impenetrable 2,000-page framework and extraterrestrial-like notation. Advertisement Japanese professor Shinichi Mochizuki's Inter-universal Teichmueller Theory (IUT) has baffled experts since its 2012 debut as a proposed proof for the ABC conjecture , a Holy Grail problem with radical implications for number theory. Armed with late-night study sessions and a discarded academic career, Zhou's breakthrough may have transformed the ABC conjecture from conceptual abstraction to computationally usable tool. The feat, achieved during weekends between gruelling 14-hour shifts as a Beijing algorithm engineer, not only revives Mochizuki's controversial theory but threatens to eclipse Andrew Wiles' famed 1995 proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in scope. 'His results are infinitely stronger than Wiles,' declared Professor Ivan Fesenko, a leading IUT authority who now mentors Zhou at Westlake University. Advertisement Kyoto University mathematician Shinichi published a 500-page paper claiming to prove the ABC conjecture in 2012.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
Chinese Neurosurgical Journal Report Identifies FAM111B as Key Molecular Driver of Glioma Progression
Study shows FAM111B overexpression enhances glioma malignancy via PI3K/AKT pathway, suggesting a novel treatment target BEIJING, CHINA, May 29, 2025 / / -- Gliomas are among the deadliest brain tumors, with limited treatment options and poor survival rates. Scientists from China identified FAM111B, a DNA-repair-associated protein, as a key driver of glioma progression. The study shows that FAM111B overexpression enhances tumor growth and aggressiveness by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway. This is the first research to link FAM111B to gliomas, offering a promising new biomarker and therapeutic target for this intractable disease. Gliomas are the most prevalent and aggressive form of primary brain tumors in adults, with dismal survival rates despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Scientists continue to search for molecular drivers that could serve as new therapeutic targets. Now, researchers led by Dr. Quan Du from Zhejiang Chinese Medical University and Westlake University in China have identified a promising candidate: a protein known as FAM111B. 'Our findings revealed that FAM111B affected glioma malignancy by modulating the PI3K/AKT pathway,' highlights lead researcher Dr. Du. 'This presents a new potential avenue for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of glioma.' The study, published on May 19 2025, in the Chinese Neurosurgical Journal, is the first to examine the role of FAM111B in gliomas. Prior research had linked FAM111B to cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, and fibrosis-related diseases. However, its function in brain cancer was previously unknown. Using genomic databases including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), the research team found that FAM111B expression is significantly elevated in glioma tissues compared to healthy brain tissue. Moreover, higher expression levels correlated with older patient age, more advanced tumor grade, and poorer clinical outcomes—including reduced overall survival and disease-free survival. The authors confirmed these findings experimentally. Glioma cell lines and tumor samples showed significantly higher levels of FAM111B protein compared to normal tissues. When FAM111B was overexpressed in glioma cells, their proliferation, invasion, and migration dramatically increased. Conversely, knocking down FAM111B suppressed these malignant traits. Further, in vivo experiments using mice confirmed FAM111B's role in promoting tumor growth. Mice injected with glioma cells overexpressing FAM111B developed significantly larger and heavier tumors than controls. To uncover the molecular mechanism behind these effects, the team conducted pathway enrichment analysis. Results pointed strongly to the PI3K/AKT signaling cascade—a pathway long associated with tumor growth and resistance to therapy. Further tests showed that FAM111B overexpression increased phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT, while silencing the protein had the opposite effect. 'FAM111B regulates glioma cell malignant features via the PI3K/AKT pathway,' the Dr. Du wrote. 'These results support the hypothesis that FAM111B influences the malignant features of glioma cells primarily through the PI3K/AKT pathway.'Treatment with a PI3K inhibitor reversed the aggressive behavior caused by FAM111B overexpression, strongly suggesting a direct regulatory role. This not only strengthens the case for FAM111B as a key driver of glioma but also highlights it as a promising therapeutic target. The study's strength lies in its comprehensive approach, combining bioinformatics, cell culture, animal modeling, and molecular assays. However, the authors acknowledge the study's limitations, particularly the small patient sample size and the need for broader validation across multiple research centers. Nonetheless, the implications are significant. Identifying FAM111B as an independent prognostic marker and a key modulator of a known cancer pathway adds a valuable tool to the glioma research arsenal. While therapies targeting the PI3K/AKT pathway already exist, this research may pave the way for more precise, FAM111B-guided interventions. 'FAM111B has emerged not only as a critical biomarker for the development of glioma,' Dr Du concludes, 'but also as a promising novel target for therapeutic intervention.' As researchers work to solve the complex puzzle of brain cancer, FAM111B may soon take center stage. *** Reference Title of original paper: The role of FAM111B in the malignant progression and molecular regulation of human glioma through the PI3K/Akt pathway Journal: Chinese Neurosurgical Journal DOI: Yi Lu Chinese Neurosurgical Journal +86 10 5997 8478 [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
South China Morning Post
24-04-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Award-winning chemist Shang Rui will leave Japan to start lab at a Chinese university
Professor Shang Rui, a chemistry professor at the University of Tokyo, will return to China later this year to join Westlake University, where he will establish a new lab focused on sustainable catalysis and functional molecules. Advertisement Shang completed both his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Science and Technology of China before continuing his academic journey at the University of Tokyo. He was promoted to associate professor in 2020 and advanced to the position of distinguished professor last year. Westlake University in Zhejiang province, eastern China, has confirmed his plans to return home this year, where he will lead the development of his research lab. Professor Shang declined interview requests from the South China Morning Post. 08:30 Why are more Chinese scientists leaving the US to return to China? Why are more Chinese scientists leaving the US to return to China? His decision to leave Japan comes amid a growing wave of scientists choosing to return to China for research opportunities. As funding for research and higher education declines in developed countries, including the United States and Britain, many researchers are looking to China for international academic positions, particularly in fields where China has become a global leader, such as chemistry and materials science. Shang, a well-respected figure in the academic community, was selected as a member of the early career advisory board for Science of Synthesis in 2022. He also serves as an associate editor for Organic Chemistry Frontiers and Science China Chemistry journal, and is a section editor at Luminescence journal. Additionally, he was named a JSP Fellow at the 2022 Burgenstock Conference in Switzerland. Shang has received multiple prestigious awards in the past three years, including the Japanese Chemical Society's award for young chemists and the Thieme Chemistry Journals Award. Advertisement His research interests span a wide range of catalytic reactions and includes the development of high-performance electronic materials with commercial potential.
South China Morning Post
23-03-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
AI expert Guo-Jun Qi leaves US for China
Award-winning artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and entrepreneur Guo-Jun Qi has joined Westlake University in Hangzhou after a decade-long career in the United States Advertisement The 43-year-old Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers fellow and distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery is now a full-time faculty member at Westlake's School of Engineering, where he leads the Machine Perception and Learning (MAPLE) Lab, according to a university social media post. A former Microsoft researcher and chief AI scientist at Huawei Research USA, Qi now heads a team of 20 researchers to explore AI and deep learning for image, video and virtual environment generation. 'I was drawn to the free-spirited atmosphere at Westlake University and wanted to come back and pursue something I truly wanted to do,' the Chinese-born expert said in an interview with the university. Qi earned a bachelor's degree in automation from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2005. He later obtained two PhDs – one from USTC in 2009 and another from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2012. Advertisement During his doctoral studies, Qi won several prestigious awards, including the Microsoft Fellowship, IBM Fellowship and the award for best paper at the Association for Computing Machinery's International Conference on Multimedia – a leading event in the field.
