The University of Hong Kong

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

From graphs to caregiving: at HKU’s Social Technology & Research Lab, the team turned HIN (Heterogeneous Information Network) research into HINCare & TimeTeer — practical, affordable platforms linking volunteers with elders. Key ideas: listen first; build single‑app subscription models so NGOs can join easily; use AI to recommend people-to-people matches that strengthen long-term mutual support; and design for privacy, accessibility and low cost.

Not every social-good AI needs the most advanced and expensive model — often what matters most is humility, iteration and partnerships. Want to pilot in your community? Let’s talk. 🤝🧡 #HKUESG #HINCare #HKU #SocialImpact #AIforGood @reynoldcheng

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Read more: https://t.co/t26DB0hXKW

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #heatwave #climate #geography

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Researchers at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) have uncovered a critical, under-recognised trade-off in global environmental policies: While essential for improving public health, large-scale air pollution reductions are unintentionally intensifying warm-season surface urban heat islands (UHI) in humid climates.

A research team led by Professor @Zhou_HKU, Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, and Professor Peng Gong, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development), Chair Professor of Global Sustainability at the Department of Geography and the Department of Earth Sciences at HKU, has demonstrated that UHI responses to background aerosol mitigation diverge significantly depending on the local hydroclimate. When aerosols are reduced, more downward solar radiation reaches the Earth, warming both urban and rural surfaces.

In humid climates, such as East Asia and Indonesia, this creates a severe imbalance. Urban areas, dominated by impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt, have limited capacity for evaporative cooling. In contrast, surrounding rural areas benefit from the increased sunlight, rainfall, and vegetation growth, which enhance their natural cooling processes. Consequently, urban warming significantly outpaces rural warming, exacerbating the UHI effect.

The urgency of this issue is most acute in rapidly urbanising humid zones, including parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. Published in the prestigious journal @NatCities, the findings highlight the urgent need for integrated policies that address both air quality and urban heat adaptation, particularly in rapidly urbanising, humid regions.

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Meet the missing piece of the puzzle! 🪐

Professor Nicolas Dauphas, Chair of Cosmochemistry at HKU, is one of the world’s leading planetary scientists and geochemists. When he joined the University in 2025, he saw the chance to be the “missing piece” that could elevate its already excellent Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences to a new level.

We asked Professor Dauphas why fundamental research into the galaxy is so important, how HKU-involved space missions like the Mars-bound Tianwen-3 could revolutionise the field, and what drew him to HKU. 🌌

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #science #space #mars #Tianwen3 #港大 #香港大學

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

🎶💼 Pioneering arts initiative gives creatives the business savvy and tech awareness they need to thrive in today’s music industry.

📖Read and 🎧listen now at the #HKUBulletin: https://t.co/4wZhceZx1T

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Patients with back pain and other muscle and bone conditions can wait up to eight years⏳for treatment. An AI-enhanced tool was developed to reduce the bottleneck, and is already in use in three cities.

📖Read and 🎧listen now at the #HKUBulletin: https://t.co/4sWiUaHDSQ

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

https://t.co/RNN3Fs1wlc

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #biology #science

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

A research team led by Professor Chaogu Zheng from @HKUSBS at The University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with scientists from Princeton University and Columbia University, has discovered how sensory-motor circuits — nerve circuits that turn sensory signals into reflex actions — remain reliable even when some genes or neural connections are disrupted.

Using the gentle touch reflex of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model, the team found that this essential survival response is not controlled by a single biological component. Instead, it is supported by several overlapping mechanisms, including existing alternative neural pathways and molecular components that enable neurons to send and receive signals. These layers of genetic redundancy help maintain the touch response and improve the animal’s ability to escape from predators.

The study provides new insight into how nervous systems protect essential behaviours. It shows that robust neural circuits can be built through overlapping genes, synapses, and neural pathways, so that the loss of one component does not necessarily stop the behaviour.

“From an evolutionary perspective, the findings suggest that components which appear redundant in a standard laboratory test may still be preserved because they improve survival in real-life situations, such as escaping from predators,” Professor Zheng explained. “In this way, redundancy is not merely a backup system, but part of how neural circuits produce reliable and effective behaviour.”

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

🎥👀VR technology, now assisted by AI, is changing how stories are told and experienced. Professor Tim Gruenewald of HKUArts has been following VR’s development for over a decade and explains its significance.

📖Read and 🎧listen now at the #HKUBulletin: https://t.co/BTGEJuUqHu

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Want to see their work for yourself? Check out the Global Migration Data Explorer here: https://t.co/ghe6nJGUcN

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

You’ve heard people say “the world is more connected than ever before.” But what does that mean in practice? What do these connections look like? Where are people leaving, and where are they going?

For decades, a complete picture of global migration has eluded researchers – the result of insufficient data, differing definitions, and an overreliance on fixed data points like censuses. Now, HKU sociologist and demographer Professor Guy Abel @guyabelguyabel is using new data sets and innovative new tools like deep learning to fill in the blank spaces on the map.

Professor Abel’s most recent paper, published this month in Nature, features a transformative new dataset – developed together with Dr Thomas Gaskin of LSE – showing that global migration nearly tripled in the 2000s, from 13 million people per year in 2000 to 35 million in 2023.

Equally important, the pair’s work sheds new light on often-overlooked or misunderstood aspects of the global migration picture, from the rise of South Asian migration to the Middle East to migration within the Global South.

“As populations age, migration within the global north is declining and increasing in the global south,” Professor Abel says. “Having a better understanding of these patterns is important. It’s not just about migrating to rich regions, people also move to neighbouring countries.”

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #sociology #香港大學 #港大

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Read more: https://t.co/06qgDxEuMU

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

The "Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project”, organised by the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, held a "Safeguard Our Children by Oral Health" milestone celebration on June 15!

Since its inception in 2019, the Project has conducted oral screenings for kindergarten children in school settings with the objective of identifying caries risk early and implementing preventive interventions. In addition, the Project delivers workshops, seminars, and supplementary educational materials to promote proper oral hygiene among children, parents, and kindergarten teachers, aiming to enhance the overall oral health status of preschool-aged children.

Over the past six and a half years, the Project has yielded significant results, successfully reducing the incidence of dental caries among young children. In addition to commemorating these milestones, the event also aimed to update the public on the Project’s progress and outstanding achievements, including following up on Silver Diamine Fluoride treatment effectiveness and reducing dental fear and anxiety among young children.

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

To learn more about how Dr Andersson is working to conserve Hong Kong’s yellow-crested cockatoos, check out our video here: https://t.co/oJUAojfY6l

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

A new genomic study by researchers from the HKU School of Biological Sciences (SBS) has found that Hong Kong’s introduced population of yellow-crested cockatoos retains unexpectedly high genetic diversity and could serve as a genetic reservoir for this critically endangered species!

Hong Kong is home to around 200 Yellow-crested Cockatoos—about 10% of the remaining global population. Although this urban population is small and isolated, it has so far avoided the severe genetic decline often expected in such cases. Some individuals may even carry genetic lineages that have disappeared from parts of the species’ native range in Indonesia.

“Hong Kong’s population presents a natural, 60-year test case for the genetic impacts of interbreeding Yellow-crested Cockatoos subspecies,” says Dr Astrid Andersson of HKU SBS, lead author of the study. “Instead of dismissing urban, introduced populations as ecologically redundant, we should view them as a potential ‘Biodiversity Ark’ that can actively help prevent extinction.”

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

📕A new book by Professor Xu Guoqi of @ITHC_HKU argues that Chinese and foreigners alike struggle to pin down what is meant by ‘China’ and what exactly defines ‘Chineseness’.

📖Read and 🎧listen now at the #HKUBulletin: https://t.co/dpFDExCPI0

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

💧⚡Major breakthrough by @ShinLabHKU enhances performance stability and long-term reliability in an electricity generator which runs on humidity.

📖Read and 🎧listen now at the #HKUBulletin: https://t.co/lERIMms7RF

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has solidified its position in the highest echelons of global higher education, securing the 11th spot globally for the second year running in the QS World University Rankings 2027.

By retaining this historic high, HKU firmly cements its standing as a premier institution both globally and locally, leading the city’s higher education sector as a beacon of academic excellence and global impact.

Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, said, “HKU’s vision is to be a world-leading university that transforms humanity’s future, building on our 115-year legacy. The University’s success is built upon a solid foundation: attracting premier global talent, fostering an environment where scholars can thrive, and driving original research with real-world impact. As we support national strategies to build a leading nation in education, we extend our deepest gratitude to our nation and the HKSAR Government, the University community, and all our dedicated supporters for making these achievements possible.”

Read more: https://t.co/35nBSj1Rms

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #universityrankings #QS #studyinHongKong #香港大學 #港大

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Read the fully study here: https://t.co/jded0uQ8GX

[The University of Hong Kong @HKUniversity]

Professor Chen Shanquan of HKU’s LKS Faculty of Medicine, together with a multinational team, has found that the effective use of hearing aids is associated with a lower risk of probable dementia among older adults with hearing loss!

The study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, found that hearing aid users had a 9% lower risk of probable dementia compared to hearing-impaired non-users. Importantly, the benefit appeared to depend on the effectiveness of the devices. Participants who reported good hearing improvement with hearing aids had a 14% lower risk of probable dementia, whereas those who reported poor hearing improvement showed no significant reduction in risk.

The study also found that the association between hearing aid use and lower dementia risk was more pronounced among women, unmarried individuals and those with lower educational attainment. This suggests that hearing rehabilitation may be particularly important for socially vulnerable groups, who may face a higher risk of isolation or reduced access to health resources.

Building on these findings, the researchers have called for future research using objective hearing assessments, real-world device-use data, and more representative samples from low-resource settings. They also recommend that hearing care should be better integrated into dementia prevention, primary care, and healthy-ageing strategies.

#hku #UniversityofHongKong #medicine #ESGatHKU