Press Releases

17 Apr 2023

NUS researchers uncover new differences in bacteria’s sugar coat to aid pneumococcal vaccine development

In a ground-breaking discovery by scientists at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the structures, type of linkages and combinations of the sugar layer called the capsular polysaccharide (CPS), which encases many disease-causing bacteria like Streptococcus pneumoniae, matter greatly in allowing the bacteria to better attach and survive on the lining of the upper and lower human respiratory tracts.

14 Apr 2023

NUS researchers report potential new treatment for leaky gut using milk-derived extracellular vesicles

It is unclear whether milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) protect the gut barrier and treat leaky gut. To this end, Assistant Professor Jiong-Wei Wang of NUS Medicine's Nanomedicine Translational Research Programme and Centre for NanoMedicine, in collaboration with Professor Huaxi Yi of Ocean University of China, led a research team to investigate the potential treatment effects of mEVs on the leaky gut.

05 Apr 2023

Tuberculosis patients see dramatic cut in treatment duration, treatment effectiveness remains

In a study conducted across Asia and Uganda, Africa, the research team led by Professor Nicholas Paton from NUS Medicine, NUH, and Singapore SCRI discovered that a TB treatment strategy with an initial 8-week treatment period, followed by retreatment of a small minority who were not cured, showed the same efficacy level as the standard 6-month treatment.

25 Mar 2023

Zeroing In On Population Eye Health Care

The new Centre for Innovation and Precision Eye Health at NUS Medicine aims to improve the overall eye health of the population though bringing greater eye care accessibility to the community, tapping on AI and data science to understand and detect eye diseases and investing in gene and cell therapy to treat rare eye diseases.

22 Mar 2023

Unmasking the secret of broadly neutralising COVID-19 therapeutic antibodies

It is still uncertain whether new emerging variants of the COVID-19 disease can escape the protective immune response triggered by vaccines and whether pre-existing antibodies present in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can neutralise them. Homing in on this, Associate Professor Justin Chu, Director of the Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Core Facility and Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine, led a joint study conducted by the BSL-3 Core Facility and Tsinghua University in China, to investigate how broadly neutralising antibodies acquire their ability to neutralise all variants of SARS-CoV-2 tested.

21 Mar 2023

Promoting healthy longevity should start young: pregnancy complications lift women’s risk of mortality in the next 50 years

Pregnancy is a critical reproductive event for women, with substantial life-long health implications. Homing in on this, Prof Zhang Cuilin from NUS Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology led a collaborative study to investigate the question on how having pregnancy complications may inform one’s long-term mortality risk, relative to those without the complications.

14 Mar 2023

NUS researchers develop new imaging approach to diagnose advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The only form of diagnosis for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is via a liver biopsy, which is often painful and invasive to patients. To tackle this issue, Assistant Professor Wang Jiong-Wei from the Department of Surgery and Nanomedicine Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine, in collaboration with Professor Liu Bin from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the NUS College of Design and Engineering, led a team to develop an enzyme-sensitive nanoprobe to improve the accuracy and sensitivity of diagnosing NASH using a Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique.

23 Feb 2023

Take a 30-minute afternoon nap for a mid-day refresh and memory boost

Is there a recommended duration for a mid-afternoon nap that achieves a balance between practicability and meaningful benefits? A study led by Dr Ruth Leong and Prof Michael Chee of the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at NUS Medicine addresses this. Following their usual amount of sleep at night, 32 young adults underwent four experimental conditions: wake, a 10-minute nap, a 30-minute nap, and a 60-minute nap on separate days.

21 Feb 2023

Good mental health and positive life outlook play an important role in longevity: SG90 Study

A study by Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore researchers of 1,000 Chinese Singaporeans between 85 years old and 99 years old has found that good mental health, a positive outlook and life satisfaction, despite poor physical health, can have beneficial effect in enhancing longevity beyond 85 years old.

15 Feb 2023

Metabolites better reflect consumption of the Mediterranean diet during pregnancy compared to self-reported dietary measures, study finds

In the context of preventing gestational diabetes, and chronic diseases associated with it, maternal metabolites may reflect a more objective assessment of the consumption of a Mediterranean diet among pregnant women, as compared to self-reported dietary information.