A research team led by Professor Jane Zhou Jie and Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung, from the Department of Microbiology under the School of Clinical Medicine in the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with Professor Hans Clevers from the Hubrecht Institute, a pioneer in organoid technology, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in virology research. The team successfully utilised human respiratory organoids (mini-organs) established by their team to propagate human rhinovirus C (HRV-C), which had previously been refractory to conventional virus cultivation. This breakthrough opens new avenues for understanding these common respiratory viruses and expediting the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. The research findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Communications [link to publication].

In new research, Maytal Saar-Tsechansky uses artificial intelligence to judge the judges: to evaluate the rates at which experts make successful decisions. Her machine learning algorithm can appraise both doctors and other kinds of experts — such as engineers who diagnose mechanical problems — when their success rates are not publicly available or not scrutinized beyond small groups of peers.

Although extremely flammable, cotton is one of the most commonly used textiles due to its comfort and breathable nature. However, in a single step, researchers from Texas A&M University can reduce the flammability of cotton using a polyelectrolyte complex coating.