Recently in the Asia Category


July 2, 2012 1:38 PM |

A New Record for Retractions? (Part 2)

Japanese panel finds 19 years' worth of publications were fabricated
June 25, 2012 4:23 PM |

Chinese Crewed Sub Sets National Record

Jiaolong carries three-person team 7000 meters deep in the Pacific
June 5, 2012 1:40 PM |

Japan and the United States Eye Cooperation in Disaster Research

NSF chief Subra Suresh visits Tokyo
May 29, 2012 11:34 AM |

Tokyo's Governor Eyes Controversial Site for Marine Research

Senkaku Islands focus of territorial dispute
May 4, 2012 10:47 AM |

Tobacco Scientists' Prize Aspirations Go Up in Smoke

After a huge uproar, a tobacco research project nominated for a prestigious Chinese science prize has been withdrawn from further consideration, according to a story today in Science and...
April 13, 2012 4:59 PM |

A New Uproar Over Chinese Tobacco Research

Anger over a project nominated for a top science award
April 11, 2012 12:37 PM |

A New Record for Retractions?

193 papers by a Japanese anesthesiologist are under review
March 28, 2012 10:24 AM |

Australian Synchrotron Sails Into Calmer Waters

Science minister unveils rescue package
March 19, 2012 1:46 PM |

India's Budget Plan Disappoints Scientists, Despite New Mission to Mars

NEW DELHI—The announcement of India's maiden mission to Mars is doing little to cheer Indian scientists disappointed with proposed spending increases for research in a new government budget plan....
March 15, 2012 11:39 AM |

India Joins European Neutron Facility in Grenoble

NEW DELHI—India has become the first non-European country to join the international neutron research facility at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, operator of one of the most...
March 9, 2012 10:38 AM |

China's Booming Solar and Wind Sector May Be Put On Hold

For observers of Monday's opening session of the annual gathering of the National People's Congress (NPC), Premier Wen Jiabao's announcement that China "will put an end to blind expansion...
March 5, 2012 10:44 AM |

Another Bumper Year for Chinese Science

BEIJING—Another year, another chance for scientists here to pop the champagne corks. In a draft budget released today at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress, China has...
February 27, 2012 3:22 PM |

ITER Dodges Trouble With Superconducting Cables

A potential stumbling block that threatened to delay construction of the huge ITER fusion reactor—an international project based at Cadarache in France—looks like it has been resolved. Tests last...
February 27, 2012 1:13 PM |

Indian Space Scientists Protest the Blacklisting of Colleagues

NEW DELHI—India's scientific community is turning up the heat on the government over its controversial sanctions of four former officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for alleged...
February 13, 2012 12:01 PM |

World Bank Frets Over Urban Flooding in Asia

TOKYO—"Flooding is the most common of natural disasters [and] it is increasingly an Asian phenomenon," Abhas Jha, a World Bank disaster management expert, said today at a briefing here,...
February 8, 2012 10:54 AM |

Japan Snares First Kavli Institute

The University of Tokyo announced today that the Kavli Foundation is giving $7.5 million to its Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU). The award is...
January 27, 2012 12:00 PM |

Japanese Experts Question Safety of—and Need for—Nuclear Power

TOKYO—Japan is preparing for the possibility of a summer without nuclear power as utilities and safety experts squabble over the safety of the country's remaining reactors. And a key...
January 25, 2012 10:58 AM |

Whistleblower Uses YouTube to Assert Claims of Scientific Misconduct

An anonymous whistleblower has created a YouTube video that details alleged duplication of images by a prominent Japanese scientist. Alleged image fraud by Kato lab at the University of...
January 25, 2012 10:21 AM |

Leukemia Drug and Magnet Material Net Japan Prizes

TOKYO—A trio of American researchers will share one of this year's Japan Prizes for bringing their work on a leukemia drug from a basic discovery to a clinical success,...
January 20, 2012 10:58 AM |

University of Tokyo Considers Shifting Academic Year

Worried about being left behind in the globalization of higher education, the University of Tokyo is laying plans to shift the start of its school year from April to...
January 19, 2012 11:28 AM |

Japan's Reconstruction Plans Hit Some Walls

How do you protect coastal areas from a once-in-a-millennium tsunami? You don't, planners in Japan have concluded. So they are rebuilding the coastal seawalls washed away by the 11...
January 12, 2012 4:21 PM |

India Marks 1 Year Without Polio, But Global Eradication Remains Uncertain

Today, India celebrated a long-sought milestone in its fight against polio: By all indications, the country has gone 1 year without a single case. (Final confirmation is expected in...
January 4, 2012 10:24 AM |

Singh Promises Windfall for India's Scientists

BHUBANESWAR, INDIA—India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has vowed to more than double his nation's spending on R&D over the next 5 years and build two major research facilities. The...
December 13, 2011 4:05 PM |

Francis Collins on Partnering With India

While in India last week to sign an agreement on diabetes research, Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spoke with ScienceInsider about his visit. Collins...
December 12, 2011 11:43 AM |

Beijing Lands $1.5 Billion Merck Research Commitment

Merck may be a latecomer among the giant pharmaceutical companies setting up research shops in China, but it has made by far the largest single research investment to date....
November 28, 2011 2:27 PM |

In Wake of Fukushima Disaster, Japan's Scientists Ponder How to Regain Public Trust

TOKYO—Public confidence in Japan's scientists and engineers took a major hit from the 11 March earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. How to regain it was...
November 21, 2011 10:42 AM |

ITER and Monju on the Chopping Block?

An advisory panel on 20 November called on the Japanese government to cut funding next year for the ITER fusion reactor project and the Monju experimental fast breeder reactor....
November 15, 2011 11:38 AM |

National University of Singapore Clears Ito of Misconduct Charge

The National University of Singapore (NUS) announced today that it has found no evidence of research misconduct by Yoshiaki Ito, a high-profile cancer researcher accused of data fabrication. However,...
October 28, 2011 11:38 AM |

Japan's New Okinawa Institute Officially Becomes Graduate University

A budding new Japanese graduate school backed by the likes of Nobel laureates Sydney Brenner, Susumu Tonegawa, Jerome Friedman, and others has cleared the last hurdle required to start...
October 17, 2011 11:49 AM |

UPDATES: Floods in Thailand and The Scientist Finds a New Owner

As of today, the Thailand Science Park north of Bangkok was still dry despite heavy flooding, but because of high water in surrounding areas the park will remain closed...
October 14, 2011 12:14 PM |

Thai Floods Threaten Public and Private Research

Flood waters creeping toward Thailand's biggest research park have forced the evacuation of dozens of public and private labs. Emergency personnel are piling sandbags around facilities in hopes of...
October 13, 2011 11:07 AM |

East Asia's Universities Need To Play Bigger Economic Role, Says World Bank

TOKYO—Universities in East Asia aren't giving their countries the economic boost they should because of educational and research shortcomings, concludes a report released today by the World Bank. In...
October 6, 2011 11:03 AM |

New Center to Battle Future Food Crises

NEW DELHI—Hoping to kick-start another green revolution, the Indian government on 5 October announced the creation of a research center to develop wheat and maize varieties that thrive in...
September 30, 2011 11:39 AM |

Japan to Boost Science Spending, Reduce Support for Nuclear Power

TOKYO—Japan's ministry of education wants to boost overall science-related spending next year by 5.8%, to $14.7 billion. But amid increasing support for most programs there is one big loser:...
September 29, 2011 3:26 PM |

Lasker Award Rekindles Debate Over Artemisinin's Discovery

The Lasker Foundation's first ever award to a Chinese scientist working on the mainland has reignited a 30-year controversy over whether one person should be recognized for developing a powerful...
September 23, 2011 12:44 PM |

Protests Drive Out Egypt's Antiquities Chief

Just 2 months after Zahi Hawass was removed as chief of Egypt's antiquities, his successor has submitted his resignation. Mohammad Abdel Fatah, a former Cairo University professor, told ScienceInsider...
September 16, 2011 2:09 PM |

Indian Scientists Blast Proposal to Improve Animal Welfare

Indian scientists are calling for a major rewrite of a proposed animal welfare law that they say could undermine research involving animals. A government draft of the legislation is...
September 13, 2011 3:40 PM |

Chinese University Fires Administrators, Offers Compensation After Lab Accident

On the heels of a damaging laboratory outbreak that sickened 27 students, leaders at China's Northeast Agricultural University last week dismissed two administrators, apologized for insufficient safety practices, and...
September 6, 2011 11:04 AM |

Indian Professors Charged Over Radiation Death

NEW DELHI—Six senior professors at the University of Delhi face up to 2 years in prison over their roles in India's first fatality from accidental exposure to radiation. On...
August 12, 2011 1:03 PM |

Where to Locate Taiwan? Chinese Co-Authors Disagree

Collaborations between scientists on Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have been steadily increasing for the past decade, reflecting the gradual rapprochement between the two governments. But a bit of Cold...