SCIENCE
Student project wins gold
A Taiwanese high school student’s science project on arthritis medication won a gold medal at the Izmir International Innovation Science Energy Engineering Fair held in Turkey from Thursday last week to Tuesday, the National Taiwan Science Education Center said on Tuesday. Chung Chiao-yun (鐘巧芸), a student in her third year at Taipei First Girls High School, won the gold in biology for her study that found that itraconazole, a medication used to treat fungal infections, has the potential to treat arthritis, the Taipei-based education institute said in a statement. Chung used itraconazole, which has anti-inflammatory properties, to further her understanding of how the C1GALT1 gene causes arthritis symptoms, like inflammation and pain, the statement said. Citing the “2019 Global Burden of Disease Study,” Chung said she decided to study the disease that mainly affects people older than 40 because of the impact it has on their ability to move and their mental health. The 2019 study found there were about 528 million people with osteoarthritis and 18.6 million people with rheumatoid arthritis globally, 20 times higher than the total number of cancer cases, Chung said. Itraconazole can inhibit the C1GALT1 gene, which causes inflammation, and “potentially alleviate arthritis in vivo,” Chung concluded in her article.
Photo courtesy of Taipei First Girls High School
DIPLOMACY
Forum date announced
Taipei and Shanghai simultaneously announced yesterday that the 15th Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum would be held in Taiwan’s capital on Dec. 17. A delegation of about 100 people from Shanghai would attend the event, themed “Smart governance, sustainable future” at the Regent Taipei hotel. “It is expected to continue pleasant interactions, pragmatically promote exchanges, and enhance the well-being of residents in both cities,” a statement on the Taipei City Government’s Web site said. The two sides would sign memorandums of cooperation in “smart medical care” and zoo animal exchanges this year, it said. Taipei and Shanghai have taken turns hosting the forum every year since 2010, with a total of 14 events held and 45 agreements signed. Taipei City Government spokesperson Yin Wei (殷瑋) said that the delegation from China, led by Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源), would engage in exchanges with the Taiwanese side, led by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安). Yin said that there would be three sub-forums focused on “friendly transportation,” “river governance” and “cities of culture.”
INFRASTRUCTURE
Water repairs in Banciao
The water supply to about 26,000 households in areas of New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) would be temporarily suspended from Monday next week for pipeline maintenance, the city’s Water Resources Department announced on Tuesday. Beginning at 9am that day, the water supply would be suspended for 40 hours until 1am on Wednesday next week to carry out maintenance work on an old underground pipeline along Nanya S Road, the department said in a statement. A total of 26,352 households are expected to be affected, and consumers are advised to store water ahead of time, it said. Various makeshift water supply tanks would be available around the city, such as on Fuzhong Road, or people can contact Taiwan Water Corp for water delivery, it added. The wards of Chienkuo, Hanshen, Minchuan and Min’an as well as parts of Guoguang, Shehou and Xianya would be affected.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
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