Newsletter No. 371

4 No. 371, 19.1.2011 CAMPUS NEWS 校 園 消 息 四千校友回母校 • Over 4000 Alumni Came ‘Home’ 諾貝爾學人論抗生素對抗傳染病 • Nobel Chemist on How Antibiotics Work 新 鴻基地產及中大邀得2009年諾貝爾化學 獎得主文卡特拉曼 ‧ 拉馬克里希南教授於 1月6日舉行講座，論述「抗生素如何抑制致病細菌 生產蛋白質？」，吸引逾三百五十名學者、學生及公 眾人士參與，現場座無虛席，反應熱烈。 由致病細菌所引起的傳染病是全球均面對的問題， 近半的抗生素皆以抑制蛋白質合成而發揮功效。講 座中，拉馬克里希南教授介紹抗生素背後的原理， 以及解構核糖體，核糖體是把各種生命體的基因 信息翻譯為蛋白質的分子機器。他亦講述如何利用 核糖體的原子結構，解釋抗生素怎樣抑制核糖體功 能，以及這新技術於研發新抗生素之應用。作風親 切的拉馬克里希南教授更與在場學生及公眾分享 他多年的科研心得。 比較華人社會福利政策 • Social Welfare Policies in Chinese Societies 由 香港中文大學—南開大學社會政策聯合研究中心 主辦、崇基學院協辦、社會工作學系承辦、社會科 學院及譚紉就研究基金贊助的「華人社會福利政策比較研 討會」，在2010年12月10至11日舉行。 兩日的會議一共發表了四個專題演講及二十七個研究報 告。來自中國內地、香港、台灣、澳門和美國等地華人社 會的知名社會福利政策學者，從不同的角度，就青少年政 策、兒童及家庭政策、社會保障政策及社會融合政策等領 域發表研究成果，指出社會政策的問題，引發與會者熱烈 討論，且提出了不少政策和實務建議。 這次會議有一百多位於香港、台灣、澳門及中國內地的政 府機構、非政府組織、私營部門和大學服務的成員，以及 數十位本地大學生出席，他們帶出了不同地域社會政策問 題的特點與對策。 O rganized by the CUHK–Nankai Joint Research Centre of Social Policy, co-organized by Chung Chi College, hosted by the Department of Social Work and sponsored by the Faculty of Social Science and the Madam Tan Jen Chiu Fund, the International Conference on ‘Comparative Research on Social Welfare Policies in Chinese Societies’ was held on 10–11 December 2010. Four keynote speeches and 27 plenary presentations were made in the conference. Renowned scholars from Taiwan, mainland China, Macau and the US shared their findings on youth policies, child and family policies, social security policies and social inclusion policies in Chinese societies from a comparative perspective, which attracted enthusiastic discussion among participants and S un Hung Kai Properties and CUHK presented a public lecture on 6 January on ‘How do Antibiotics Block the Protein Factory of Pathogenic Bacteria?’ by Prof. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. The lecture drew a full house of over 350 academics, students and members of the public. Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria have become a world-wide problem. Nearly half of antibiotics act by blocking protein synthesis in bacteria. In his talk, Professor Ramakrishnan gave a brief introduction to the idea behind antibiotics, and then talked about the ribosome, the large molecular machine that translates the information in our genes to make proteins in all forms of life. He concluded by showing how the atomic structures of the ribosome were used to see directly how antibiotics would block its function, and about how this information is now being used in the design of new antibiotics. During the lecture, Professor Ramakrishnan closely interacted with all participants by sharing his valuable experience in scientific research over the years. led to recommendations on specific policy and practice. Over 100 participants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and mainland China, serving in the government, NGOs, private sectors, or universities, and students from local universities attended the conference. Their discussion highlighted the various characteristics and measures of social policy in different places. 四 千多校友於2010年12月19日重返母校，參加中大校友日，與 同窗好友及師長重聚，並見證大學的最新發展。活動以「你我 創造」為主題，由校友主導及設計，節目豐富，有綜藝表演、講座、主 題參觀、開蓬巴士遊覽和攤位遊戲等。 T he CUHK Alumni Homecoming 2010 held on 19 December drew over 4,000 alumni to the campus to take part in programmes organized by alumni and friends of the University. They witnessed the latest development of the University and reunited with their fellow classmates on this special occasion. The Alumni Homecoming featured activities, including variety shows, lectures, guided tours, open-top double deck bus tours, and a carnival and game booths.