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TMU Targets Aortic Dissection Prevention

Posted on by Taipei Medical University

What if one of the most fatal cardiovascular emergencies could be stopped before it even begins?

A research team from Taipei Medical University (TMU) is redefining the future of cardiovascular care. In a breakthrough study published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, TMU researchers have introduced a new concept in cardiovascular medicine – “Biological Structural Intervention,” a pathology-tailored nanotherapy that targets the cellular roots of aortic weakening, shifting care from passive “watchful waiting” to a proactive prevention of aortic dissection (AD).

Ending the Era of “Watchful Waiting”

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening emergency where the inner layer of the aorta tears, often leading to rapid deterioration or sudden death. Currently, patients at risk are managed through hemodynamic control—lowering blood pressure to reduce stress on the wall. However, this “hemodynamic holding” does not address the underlying biological degradation, leaving many patients at risk of late-stage complications.

“Our goal was to move beyond simply managing pressure,” says Professor Chun-Che Shih, Vice Superintendent of TMU Wan-Fang Hospital. “We have developed a way to actively intervene in the biological structure of the aorta, reinforcing it at the cellular level before a rupture happens”.

The Innovation: A Biological Shield

The TMU team developed “triple-responsive” nanoparticles (MPCR NPs) that act as a precision biological shield. Rather than circulating broadly like traditional systemic drugs, these nanoparticles target Galectin-3 (Gal-3)—a protein that serves as a persistent “homing beacon” for inflammation and structural weakening.

Key features of this Biological Structural Intervention include:

  • Precision Targeting: The nanoparticles achieve a selective accumulation in diseased aortic tissue, ensuring therapeutic action is concentrated exactly where the wall is failing.
  • Triple-Responsive Activation: The therapy remains dormant until it senses the specific acidic pH, enzymatic activity, and oxidative stress found at the site of aortic damage.
  • Multimodal Repair: Once activated, the system releases a combination of Nitric Oxide (NO) and Resveratrol (RES) to stabilize vascular muscle cells, restore the protective vessel lining, and block the enzymatic destruction of the aortic wall.

aortic dissection

Transforming the Future of Cardiovascular Care

This research establishes a new paradigm: Active Prevention. By reinforcing the aorta’s structural integrity biologically, this technology bridges the dangerous clinical gap between daily blood pressure pills and invasive emergency surgery.

“This platform demonstrates how nanomedicine can move from simply delivering drugs to actively shaping the biological environment,” explains Professor Fwu-Long Mi. “It provides a scalable strategy for the preemptive treatment of complex vascular disorders”.

The findings mark a significant step toward a future where “precision prevention” replaces “emergency reaction,” potentially saving lives by ensuring the aorta never reaches a breaking point.

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Original Article:

Pathology-tailored nanotherapy via Galectin-3-targeted and triple-responsive nanoparticles enables multimodal therapy against aortic dissection

NCU Validates Taiwan Gyroscope in Space

Posted on by NCUSEC

A Taiwan-developed fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG), a critical navigation sensor for satellites and spacecraft, has successfully completed its first in-orbit demonstration aboard the 3U CubeSat KOYO-1, marking a milestone for the country’s growing space technology capabilities.

The satellite was developed through a collaboration led by National Central University (NCU), together with Taiwanese startup Aegiverse and Indian space startup HEX20. After establishing communications in orbit, the mission confirmed that the domestically developed fiber-optic gyroscope operates reliably in the space environment.

Fiber-optic gyroscopes are widely used for attitude determination and navigation in aircraft, launch vehicles, and satellites. Because they require highly precise optical sensing and signal processing, space-qualified systems remain dominated by a handful of countries. The successful flight demonstration represents Taiwan’s first in-orbit validation of an indigenous fiber-optic gyroscope.

The achievement is the culmination of a 16-year research effort at NCU. Development began in 2009, followed by a successful suborbital rocket test of the core photonic integrated optical circuits in 2014. The project later expanded through collaborations between researchers in photonics and space science, eventually leading to the establishment of Aegiverse to commercialize the technology and develop satellite payloads.

Beyond testing the gyroscope, KOYO-1 will monitor subtle disturbances in low Earth orbit caused by variations in ionospheric plasma density. The observations are expected to improve understanding of ionospheric dynamics and contribute to space weather research.

Measuring just 30 centimeters in length, the CubeSat overall incorporates more than 50% Taiwan-developed technologies. The mission demonstrates not only the readiness of Taiwan’s indigenous photonic sensing technology for space, but also the country’s growing capability to develop advanced satellite systems through academia–industry collaboration. 

New Study Links High Heat to Meat Contaminants

Posted on by Taipei Medical University

As high-temperature cooking methods such as roasting, grilling, and frying become increasingly common in modern diets, food scientists are paying closer attention to heat-induced contaminants that may pose health risk. While glycidyl esters (GEs) and 3-monochloropropanediol esters (3-MCPDEs) have long been associated with refined edible oils, emerging research suggests these compounds may also form directly in meat during cooking. To better understand how cooking conditions affect contaminant formation, researchers from Taipei Medical University (TMU) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) conducted a pioneering study investigating the relationship between heating conditions, fat composition, and lipid oxidation in meat products.

A research team led by Associate Professor Wei-Ju Lee from the School of Food Safety, College of Nutrition at TMU, in collaboration with Professor Selina C. Wang of UC Davis, has published new findings on the formation of heat-induced contaminants in meat. Their study, “Effects of oven heating on the formation of glycidyl esters and 3-monochloropropanediol esters in various meats”, has been published in the international journal Food Chemistry.

Previous studies have shown that GEs and 3-MCPDE are commonly found in refined vegetable oils and processed foods containing such oils. These compounds are considered potential carcinogenic contaminants and are primarily formed during the high-temperature deodorization stage of edible oil refining. In recent years, researchers have also discovered that endogenous fats in foods may generate GEs and 3-MCPDEs during cooking and thermal processing. Meat products, in particular, have attracted growing attention; however, the mechanism underlying the formation of these contaminants and the factors influencing their production have remained unclear.

This study is the first to establish quantitative relationships among fat composition, lipid oxidation, and contaminant formation under different heating conditions using real meat products as research samples. By employing actual meat specimens, the study overcomes the limitations of previous studies that focused on vegetable oil models and fills gaps in the literature. The research examined four commonly consumed meats with varying fat contents (pork loin, pork belly, beef belly, and chicken thigh), which were heated in a high-temperature oven to evaluate the effects of different cooking temperatures (150–300°C) and durations (10–30 minutes) on the formation of GEs and 3-MCPDEs.

The results demonstrated that contaminant concentration increased with both heating temperature and cooking duration, reaching peak levels after heating at 300°C for 30 minutes. At the same time, the meat samples experienced substantial moisture loss. The researchers also found positive correlations between fat content, lipid oxidation indicators, and the concentrations of GEs and 3-MCPDEs. In high-fat meat products, the two contaminants were also highly correlated.

These findings confirm that fat content and lipid oxidation are key factors promoting GEs and 3-MCPDEs during the thermal processing of meat products. The study provides important scientific evidence for improving meat preparation safety and offers valuable insights for the development of safer cooking practices.

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NTU-Led Team Solves Ancient Sea Rise Puzzle

Posted on by National Taiwan University

Understanding how quickly ice sheets can collapse is among the most urgent questions in climate science—and the geological past offers the only real-world test cases. An international research team led by Professor Chuan-Chou Shen of the Department of Geosciences at National Taiwan University (NTU) has now reconstructed the mechanism behind the most extreme warming and sea level rise event of the past million years. Published in Nature Communications in June 2026 and selected by editors as a Featured Article, the study shows that the weakening and subsequent recovery of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) drove a large-scale redistribution of heat within the ocean, triggering rapid ice shelf melting and abrupt sea level rise.

The team focused on Termination IV, a deglaciation roughly 340,000 years ago during which sea levels rose by as much as five meters per century—orders of magnitude faster than today’s rate of a few millimeters per year. Previous research had struggled to establish causality because marine sediment records lacked precise absolute dating. Beginning in 2012, the team conducted repeated fieldwork at Bàsura Cave in northern Italy, drilling flowstone cores and applying high-precision uranium-thorium dating at NTU’s HISPEC laboratory to build an independently dated hydroclimate record of the European westerlies. Integrating this framework with North Atlantic sediment records allowed the first precise reconstruction of the sequence linking circulation change, ocean warming, and sea level rise. The team established a chronology for five termination events across 440,000 years, finding that AMOC weakened for approximately 13,000 years during Termination IV—the longest such interval on record—trapping enormous heat in the deep ocean before releasing it toward polar regions.

The implication is that oceans do not merely store heat passively but actively regulate ice sheet stability through circulation. Professor Shen notes that while conditions 340,000 years ago cannot be mapped directly onto the present, the finding matters because the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are currently shrinking, and whether AMOC weakens or reorganizes will be decisive for future projections. Should deep ocean heat again be delivered rapidly beneath ice shelves, sea level rise may prove abrupt rather than gradual. Completed by more than 15 institutions across Asia and Europe, with core laboratory work and manuscript preparation led by NTU graduate Dr. Hsun-Ming Hu, the study offers a stronger scientific basis for coastal and low-lying regions planning climate adaptation.

NTU Physicist Wins Top Asian Magnetics Award

Posted on by National Taiwan University

Recognition from regional scholarly bodies offers one of the clearest measures of a university’s standing among its peers, and Asia’s magnetics community has just delivered such a verdict. At the Taiwan Magnetics Annual Conference held in Kinmen on July 21, 2026, the Asian Union of Magnetics Societies (AUMS) announced that its highest honor, the AUMS Award, would go to Professor Ching-Ray Chang, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics at National Taiwan University (NTU) and Chair Professor at Chung Yuan Christian University, jointly with Professor Yoshishige Suzuki of the Osaka Institute of Technology in Japan. Conference chair Professor Teruo Ono of Kyoto University presented the award and certificate in person.

Established in 2009, AUMS brings together the magnetics societies of Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Russia, and confers its flagship award every two years to honor Asian scholars whose work in magnetism, magnetic materials, and applications has achieved world-class significance. The award citation highlighted Professor Chang’s pioneering contributions across quantum computing, spintronics, nanotechnology, and quantum education, noting how his research integrates quantum information science, advanced materials, and quantum-inspired computing. It further credited his visionary leadership with advancing international collaboration and cultivating scientific talent throughout Asia, thereby strengthening the region’s strategic position within the global quantum technology landscape. Both laureates have been invited to deliver keynote addresses at the International Conference of AUMS (IcAUMS) in 2028.

The honor follows Professor Chang’s recent inclusion in the Quantum 100, a global list compiled in connection with the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025, underscoring the breadth of a career spanning fundamental physics, applied technology, and science education. NTU’s presence at the awards extended to the next generation as well: Dr. Danru Qu of the university’s Center for Condensed Matter Sciences was among the recipients of the AUMS Young Researcher Award, established to encourage emerging scholars. Taken together, the two awards point to sustained research capacity in spintronics at NTU and to a pipeline of talent connecting established leadership with early-career researchers—a combination increasingly central to how universities build durable influence in strategically important scientific fields.

TMU Identifies New Brain Target for Diabetes

Posted on by Taipei Medical University

Diabetes and obesity remain major global health challenges, and researchers are increasingly looking beyond peripheral organs such as the pancreas, liver, muscle, and adipose tissue to better understand how metabolic diseases develop and progress. The brain, particularly the hypothalamus, has emerged as a key regulatory center for energy balance, blood glucose control, and systemic metabolism. However, the neural mechanisms linking brain signaling to metabolic dysfunction are still not completely clear.

A recent study led by Assistant Professor Ya-Tin Lin at the Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University (TMU), provides new insight into this field. Her research identifies a hypothalamic neuropeptide pathway that may contribute to central insulin resistance and systemic metabolic imbalance, offering a new perspective on the relationship between the brain and metabolic disease.

Hypothalamic arcuate nucleus NPFFR2 signaling impairs central insulin sensitivity and exacerbates diabetes-related metabolic dysregulation in mice, suggesting that its activation exerts a negative modulatory effect on centrally mediated metabolic parameters.

With these research findings, Assistant Professor Lin received 2nd Prize in the 9th (2025) Professor Juei-Hsiung Tsai Excellent Research Award. The award-winning study, “Hypothalamic NPFFR2 attenuates central insulin signaling and its knockout diminishes metabolic dysfunction in mouse models of diabetes mellitus,” was published in the international journal Clinical Nutrition (2024 Impact factor 7.4; ranked in the top 7.1% in NUTRITION & DIETETICS).

The study focuses on neuropeptide FF (NPFF) and its receptor, neuropeptide FF receptor 2 (NPFFR2), in the hypothalamus. The findings show that this neuropeptide system plays an important role in regulating the sensitivity of neuronal insulin signaling pathways. When NPFFR2 is abnormally activated in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, central insulin signaling may be impaired, worsening insulin resistance in the diabetic brain and negatively affecting systemic glucose and lipid metabolism.

Using mouse models of diabetes, together with molecular, cellular, and physiological approaches, the research team demonstrated that deletion of NPFFR2 attenuated both central and peripheral metabolic dysfunction. These findings suggest that NPFFR2 may be a key factor in the progression of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

The research also highlights the active role of the brain in metabolic regulation. Rather than merely passively receiving information about the body’s metabolic state, the brain serves as a central hub that helps coordinate energy balance and blood glucose control. Understanding how neural signals influence peripheral metabolism may therefore open new directions for the prevention and treatment of chronic metabolic disease.

Looking ahead, the NPFFR2 pathway may serve as a potential target for future drug development or nutritional intervention strategies. By improving central insulin resistance, such approaches could create new opportunities for managing diabetes, obesity, and related metabolic disorders.

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NTU-Led Team Pioneers Operando Semiconduct

Posted on by National Taiwan University

As the semiconductor industry pushes transistors toward atomic dimensions, a long-standing measurement bottleneck has threatened progress: no reliable way to directly observe how charge carriers behave at the shrinking contact between metal and semiconductor. A research team led by Distinguished Professor Ya-Ping Chiu of the Department of Physics at National Taiwan University (NTU) has now overcome that barrier, developing a technique capable of probing a working chip at atomic-scale resolution. The findings were published in Nature on July 1, 2026 (Nature 655, 350–356).

The breakthrough centres on a method the team calls Operando Cross-sectional Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (Operando XSTM), which measures electron transport at the metal–semiconductor contact edge while the device is actually powered and operating. Drawing on nearly two decades of cross-sectional STM expertise, the team integrated functioning transistors into an ultra-high-vacuum platform, mechanically cleaved them to expose a clean cross-section, and scanned the contact region point by point under real operating voltages. This allowed the first direct measurement of the carrier transfer length—a core quantity governing contact resistance—without relying on model-based extrapolation. For a monolayer molybdenum disulphide transistor with a bismuth contact, the measured transfer length was roughly 2 nanometres, far below the 9.25 nanometres inferred by conventional models, confirming the design’s promise for next-generation technology nodes.

The achievement reflects a genuinely international, cross-disciplinary partnership. NTU developed the operando inspection platform; National Taiwan Normal University fabricated and electrically characterised the two-dimensional devices; and the National University of Singapore, led by Professor Lain-Jong Li, contributed materials, structural analysis, and simulation—forming a collaboration spanning materials, devices, metrology, and theory. Validated across multiple material systems, the platform establishes a versatile new standard for direct semiconductor inspection and underscores Taiwan’s deepening capacity to lead the frontier of advanced chip research on the global stage.

Student Ingenuity Drives NTU Racing to Win

Posted on by National Taiwan University

Experiential, project-based engineering has become one of the clearest ways for universities to translate classroom theory into real-world capability, and few programmes embody this better than student-run motorsport. At National Taiwan University (NTU), that spirit is captured by NTU Racing, a wholly student-led team that designs, builds, and tests its own electric Formula-style racecars. Its latest machine, Epsilon 6 (EP6), recently delivered the best competitive result in the team’s history, placing 11th in the electric vehicle category at Formula SAE Japan—one of Asia’s premier collegiate racing events—while also earning the JAMA Chairman Award and the Sportsmanship Award.

The road to that result was defined by pressure and problem-solving. After completing EP6 in mid-2025, the team entered Formula Student Taiwan, where rainwater breached the motor system and forced a withdrawal from the endurance race—an early but decisive lesson in waterproofing that the students corrected before travelling to Japan. There, a tougher test came off the track: inspectors initially rejected the car over safety concerns during technical inspection. Rather than accept the setback, the team drafted a formal appeal while preparing on-site modifications as a contingency. The chief judge ultimately upheld their case, allowing EP6 to compete in its original form and secure its landmark finish. For the team, the episode reflected a guiding philosophy that racing is less about building a flawless car than building the best one possible before the deadline arrives.

What distinguishes NTU Racing is a deliberately interdisciplinary and sustainable model. The team recruits students from across the university rather than engineering alone, running hands-on workshops in welding and carbon-fibre fabrication so members of every background can contribute, and it institutionalises knowledge transfer by having incoming leaders shadow veterans for months before each handover. Recently relocated to the upgraded Advanced Vehicle Research Center on NTU’s ShuiYuan Campus, the team is already developing its successor, EP7, which will advance EP6’s torque-vectoring system toward a four-wheel-drive configuration—research the students have presented at the SAE WCX 2026 World Congress. Guided by the motto “Go the extra mile,” NTU Racing offers a compelling model of how iteration, resilience, and cross-disciplinary collaboration prepare students to lead in a fast-moving global industry.

NCU Reveals the Linguistic Creativity

Posted on by NCUSEC

From socialite Lee Ching-ching, whose English-mixed speech became an online sensation, to former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, whose phrase, “Student by day, security guard by night,” (白天是student、晚上是security guard) sparked widespread discussion and imitation, Chinese-English code-mixing has long attracted attention in Taiwan’s online communities. A new study by National Central University (NCU) shows that such language practices extend far beyond simple code-mixing. Instead, they demonstrate how Taiwan’s online communities creatively combine multiple languages and communicative resources to engage in social interaction and commentary, reflecting the dynamic interplay between multilingualism and online discourse. The findings were published in the Applied Linguistics Review, offering new insights into Taiwan’s multilingual digital culture.

 The study was conducted by Professor Liang Mei-Ya of the Virtual Language Learning Lab, National Central University, together with student researchers Wang Chih-Cheng and Lee Shu-Ning. The researchers analyzed 15 discussion threads and 1,145 comments posted between 2019 and 2022 on six major PTT discussion boards—Gossiping, WomenTalk, Tech_Job, Soft_Job, Crosstalk, and NTU—to examine how internet users employ translanguaging strategies in online interaction and commentary.

 The researchers noted that examining translanguaging from historical, critical, and socio-political perspectives provides valuable insights into language norms, workplace hierarchies, and gender bias. The study also offers a new perspective for understanding Taiwan’s multilingual online society and the relationship between language practices and digital communication.

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NTU and Mahidol Deepen AI Healthcare Ties

Posted on by National Taiwan University

As artificial intelligence reshapes the future of medicine, cross-border academic partnerships have become essential to turning technological promise into better patient care. On March 5, 2026, National Taiwan University (NTU) hosted a high-level delegation from Mahidol University for discussions on AI, medical research, and long-term academic collaboration. Led by Vice President Nopraenue Sajjarax Dhirathiti and comprising 12 faculty specialising in information technology and medicine, the delegation was received by NTU Executive Vice President Prof. Shih-Torng Ding and Vice President for International Affairs Prof. Hsiao-Wei Yuan, reflecting the enduring partnership between the two institutions.

Founded in 1888, Mahidol University is among Thailand’s leading universities in medicine, engineering, and health sciences, and maintains close research ties with NTU across medicine, engineering, and information and communication technology. During the visit, the delegation toured the NTU Cancer Center to observe first-hand how AI is being integrated into cancer diagnosis, treatment, and clinical care, before joining NTU’s College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science for talks on future research collaboration, interdisciplinary innovation, and talent cultivation. Both sides expressed particular interest in expanding cooperation in AI for medicine, intelligent healthcare, and digital health technologies.

Representatives from both universities framed the partnership as part of a wider global movement to fuse advanced technological innovation with medical research and healthcare delivery. By strengthening joint research initiatives and academic exchange, NTU and Mahidol aim to cultivate globally competitive talent capable of shaping the future of AI-driven healthcare—reinforcing the role of Asia-Pacific institutions in the international effort to build smarter, more equitable health systems.