Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2003

From DNA to SARS (25th September) Prof. De n n is Lo Yu k -m i ng Associate dean (research) of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Lo's scientific adventures managed to kindle his audience's interest in biological and medical research. He described how he and his research team had discovered the genetic sequence of the SARS coronavirus and come up w i th an accurate SARS plasma test. Prof Lo's fascination with DNA technology has led to many biomedical breakthroughs, including the development ofnew cancer tests and the diagnosis of a host of chronic diseases. I The Governance of Hong Kong (26th September) Prof. L au S i u - k ai Head of the Central Policy Unit, professor of sociology Prof. Lau examined governance p r o b l ems c a u s ed b y socioeconomic and political changes in Ho ng Kong in the last 20 years f r om the macro, historical, and comparative perspective. In his lecture, Prof. Lau highlights the gradual erosion of 'consensus' and the challenges and progress of its reconstruction. I Hong Kong Vegetation Studies: Joy and Sorrow (29th September) Prof. H u Shiu-ying World-renowned botanist, CUHK honorary professor of Chinese medicine A wo r ld authority on Hex, Hemerocaulis, Paulonnia, Compositae, and Orchidaceae, Prof. H u has produced and identified as many as 18,980 plant specimens in Hong Kong and founded Ho ng Kong's only teaching and research herbarium at The Chinese University. In her lecture, Prof. H u talked about the mystery and beauty of Ho ng Kong's flora and the sunshine and rain of her research. P r o f. Hu, aged 95, is the first Chinese woman to have studied on a scholarship at Harvard University and obtained from it a Ph.D. Dubbed a Walking Botanical Encyclopaedia', her life has been inseparable from plants. She has travelled all over Hong Kong's hills, islands, and seashores. Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2003 16