Media

HKU weekly notice

28 Apr 2017

 

HKU and Kyoto U reveal a new strategy to enhance the efficiency of cereal straw for biofuel production
Straw is commonly used for feeding animals, burning, baling, etc. As one of the “Three Canton Treasures”, straw can actually be used as a raw material to produce biofuel. With an increasing demand on biofuel in recent years, cellulose from non-edible plant materials (e.g. sugarcane leaves, corn stalks, rice straw) has been used as raw materials for bioethanol production. However, since cellulose is crosslinked with lignin in plant cell walls, it is very difficult and inefficient to release glucose from cellulose.

A collaborative research effort by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Kyoto University (Kyoto U) has revealed a new strategy to allow cellulose in rice straw to release its fermentable sugar more efficiently. The yield of glucose was increased by 37% without any chemical treatment. This research breakthrough was recently published in a notable plant science journal Plant Physiology.

HKU plant biochemist Dr Clive Lo Sze-chung and Dr Lydia Lam Pui-ying will meet the media to elaborate how their rice straw can be a more efficient raw material for biofuel production.

***For those who attend the briefing, please kindly arrange to have the article published from 6 a.m. on May 4 (next Thursday). ***

Details of the media briefing are as follows:
Date: May 2, 2017 (next Tuesday)

Time/Activity/Venue:
10:50 Gathering on G/F, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building, Main Campus, HKU, Pokfulam, HKU (Map)
11:00 Photo taking at Greenhouse, 9/F, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building
11:15 Press briefing at Conference Room, Room 6N-11, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building

Spokespersons:
-Dr Clive Lo Sze-chung, Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, HKU
-Dr Lydia Lam Pui-ying, Research Assistant, School of Biological Sciences, HKU
-Dr Clive Lo is an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, HKU. His laboratory has been elucidating biosynthesis pathways of flavonoids in cereal crops for applications in metabolic engineering. His research projects are supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.

Dr Lydia Lam joined the Summer Science Institute during her secondary school years and was then inspired and determined to study Biotechnology. She was admitted to HKU in 2008 and received her Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) Degree in Biotechnology. Afterwards, she was awarded the highly competitive Hong Kong PhD Fellowship and completed her PhD study in December 2016.

Media enquiry:
Ms Rhea Leung, Communication and Public Affairs Office (tel: 2857 8555/ 9022 7446; email: rhea.leung@hku.hk);
Ms Cindy Chan, Faculty of Science (tel: 3917 5286/ 6703 0212; email: cindycst@hku.hk).

The Stephen Hui Geological Museum to present the largest exhibition on private mineral collections in Hong Kong

Period:  Now till August 31, 2017

This exhibition will showcase over 200 precious minerals from 18 collectors from Hong Kong homes. Highlights are the infinite variety of minerals on display including one of the best gemmy single crystals of Tanzanite from Merelani Mine, a very rare large gem quality Aquamarine on Albite with large fluid inclusions from Balochi, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and a 18 cm large gemmy Rhodochrosite on Quartz from the famous Sweet Home Mine in Colorado, U.S.A.. The mineral display cabinet of the late Dr Stephen Hui Sze-fun with a selection from his private collection is also included.

Details of the Exhibition:
Venue:  1/F, Stephen Hui Geological Museum, James Hsioung Lee Science Building, Main Campus, the University of Hong Kong
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed on Saturdays and Sundays, University and Public Holidays
Free Admission

Special Weekend Openings from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on:
May 13/14, 2017 (International Museum Day)
June 10/11, 2017
July 15/16, 2017
August 12/13, 2017

Stephen Hui Geological Museum website: http://www.earthsciences.hku.hk/shmuseum/
The Mineralogy Society of Hong Kong website: http://www.minsochk.org/ENG/home.php

General Enquiries:
Tel: (852) 22415472  / Email: shmuseum@hku.hk

Media Enquiries:
HKU Communications and Public Affairs Office Rhea Leung (Tel: 2857 8555/ 9022 7446; Email: rhea.leung@hku.hk)

UMAG exhibitions
1. Illustrious Illuminations II: Armenian and Georgian Christian Manuscripts from the Eleventh to the Eighteenth Century --- Exquisite manuscripts from the Caucasus

Period: Now till June 11 2017 (Sunday)

Armenian illustrated manuscripts are some of the most lavishly decorated codices of the Christian churches from the Middle East. The Gospels are paramount among these, primarily because of the Armenian community’s respect for the sacred texts, revering them in the same way that Greek and Russian Christians regard holy icons. Such texts were carried into war by Armenian rulers and individual copies of the Gospels were often given sacred names and believed to hold miraculous powers.

Few Armenian manuscripts predate the Middle Ages. Individual examples of manuscripts from the seventh century are among the earliest known. Since the eighth century, Arab domination within Armenia largely suppressed Christian artistic expression, and no work is known prior to the end of the Caliphate in the mid-ninth century. Although a few manuscripts survive from the later ninth and tenth centuries, extant Armenian illustrated manuscripts are not common until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Examples from these early periods begin the exhibition’s chronological display, introducing the tradition of teaching the Gospel through both word and image. The show is then complemented by a set of Georgian Gospel leaves illustrating the Evangelists.

The UMAG is grateful to Robert McCarthy for his generosity in sharing these many fine works with the general public.

Venue: 1/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

2. Louis XV’s Qianlong Tapestries and Battle Scene Prints at the Imperial Court in Beijing A crossover of Chinese and French Imperial Collections

Period: Now till May 28 2017 (Sunday)

This unprecedented exhibition highlights four of the magnificent chinoiserie tapestries of Chinese Emperor Qianlong and the print of the Conquests of the Qianlong Emperor. This exhibition is one of the events of Le French May this year.

Venue:  1/F, T.T. Tsui Building, UMAG, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

Opening Hours:
09:30 – 18:00 (Monday to Saturday)
13:00 – 18:00 (Sunday)
Closed on University and Public Holidays

Tel/Email: (852) 2241 5500 (General Enquiry) / museum@hku.hk
Admission: Free
Website: www.umag.hku.hk/en/

Media enquiries:
UMAG Communication Officer Miss Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk.