Keep up to date with developments on COVID-19, as NUS News brings you the latest research in the fight against the virus. 

The photo above shows microscopic imaging of the control (left) and rejuvenated fibroblasts (right), with fluorescent labels highlighting the nucleus (blue), nuclear envelope (green), and cytoskeleton (in magenta). The presence of more contractile proteins (in red) in the rejuvenated fibroblasts indicates that they have recovered their ability to contract.

NUS staff, students and alumni are stepping in to ensure that underprivileged families and students have access to laptops, with schools having adopted home-based learning amid the COVID-19 crisis. NUS Communications and New Media has extended its laptop distribution programme, while NUS Arts and Social Sciences alumnus Mr U.K. Shyam has also initiated a donation drive.

NUS researchers have created a new collection of atomically thin two-dimensional materials. Using novel synthesis conditions for transition metal dichalcogenides, more than 10 new materials have been made by the team, with many more still to be discovered.

COVID-19 and home-based learning can exacerbate socio-economic inequalities, leading to wider learning gaps. NUS Centre for Family and Population Research Founding Director Professor Jean Yeung suggested concerted interventions are needed to mitigate gaps among Singaporean children.

NUS researchers have created a device called a ‘shadow-effect energy generator’ that makes use of the contrast in illumination between lit and shadowed areas to generate electricity. This novel concept opens up new approaches in harnessing indoor lighting conditions to power electronics.

Nine NUS researchers were part of a team that went on a five-week long voyage to the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone to obtain baseline data on the biodiversity of abyssal polymetallic nodule fields.

NUS and UNESCO have announced the establishment of the UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia. Professor Ho Puay Peng, Head of the Department of Architecture at NUS Design and Environment, was appointed as the Chairholder on 12 May.

Dr Thomas Reindl, the Lead Author of the “Update of the Solar PV Roadmap of Singapore”, explains how renewable energy in Singapore could have a bright future.

Since Singapore saw its first case of COVID-19 on 24 January 2020, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) has collated the emerging evidence base and produced the SSHSPH COVID-19 Science Report for researchers, policymakers and regional colleagues.