Newsletter No. 536

大豆的諾言 A Leguminous Promise Well-Kept 生命科學學院及大豆研究中心主任林漢明教授以大豆研究屢獲國際 學術界肯定，不過，原來當年他對大豆認識不多，全情投入研究，除 緣於矢志貢獻所學，促進農業發展，更重要的是對一位傾囊相授前 輩的承諾。 在4月1日「智慧的探索」公開講座系列第三講中，林教授以「大豆研 究：一段從實驗室到農田科研之旅」為題，縷述他的大豆之旅。 旅程始於1998年北上到中國農業科學院尋找研究課題，因而認識了 該院的邵桂花研究員。「她長期從事耐鹽中國大豆的田間實驗工作， 但由於年齡和實驗條件所限，無法完成有關研究。我冒昧地建議由我 帶領的中大研究團隊接棒，並必會把之完成，」林教授說。 漫長的旅程由此展開，林教授先後破解了三十一個野生大豆及培植 大豆的基因組密碼，獲2010年12月號 Nature Genetics 刊登為封面 故事，為相關研究項目與計劃奠定基礎。2014年，成功從野生大豆識 別和複製出嶄新的耐鹽基因，大大提升發展耐鹽大豆的可能性，研究 成果同年刊於 Nature Communications 。2019年完成全球首個野生 大豆的參考基因組。 林教授更把研究成果帶出實驗室，與內地大豆育種專家合作，成功 在甘肅育成三個耐逆大豆新品種，已經開始在中國西北部的半乾旱 和全旱地區應用。此外，他去年啟動STEAM@SOYBEAN大豆培植 探究實驗計劃，培養中學生對培植大豆的興趣。 二十年前的一個承諾，如今終於兌現。可是，林教授的大豆之旅仍然 繼續，講座當晚即遠赴南非，商討協助當地小農戶栽種耐逆大豆。 Recognized internationally for his research in soybean, Prof. Lam Hon-ming, director of the Centre for Soybean Research and professor of the School of Life Sciences, disclosed that he knew little about soybean before engaging in the research. His work is a result not only of his commitment to advancing argricultural development, but also of a promise made to a senior scientist in the field. On 1 April, Professor Lam hosted the third lecture of ‘The Pursuit of Wisdom’ Public Lecture Series entitled ‘Soybean Research: A Journey from Laboratory to Field’. The journey started with Professor Lam’s trip to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences—where he met Prof. Shao Guihua—in 1998 for exploring research topics. ‘Professor Shao devoted most of her career life in the field research of salt tolerance in soybeans. Limited by age and lack of proper facilities, she could not complete the study by herself. I proposed to achieve this goal with my team from CUHK and pledged to deliver my promise,’ said Professor Lam. Since then, Professor Lam has decoded the genomes of 17 wild and 14 cultivated soybeans. The publication of these findings in the cover story of Nature Genetics in 2010 laid down the foundation for related research projects and programmes. In 2014, he successfully identified and cloned a new salt-tolerant gene from wild soybeans. The findings were published in Nature Communications in the same year. In 2019, his research team completed the world’s first reference-grade wild soybean genome. Professor Lam also applied his findings to practice. By collaborating with mainland soybean breeders, three new varieties of stress- tolerant soybean were successfully bred in Gansu Province. The new varieties have been applied in semi-arid and drought-stricken areas in Northwest China. In 2018, he launched the STEAM@SOYBEAN Project to promote secondary school students’ interests in soybean cultivation. The promise made 20 years ago has been fulfilled. But the journey goes on. Right after delivering the lecture, Professor Lam got on a flight to South Africa to help local peasants to cultivate stress-tolerant soybeans. 與俄羅斯有約 A Rendezvous with Russia 學生事務處於3月21至29日首辦俄羅斯文化節，帶領 觀眾認識俄羅斯及受其文化薰陶的國家，如烏克蘭、 波蘭、哈薩克斯坦和吉爾吉斯坦，體驗豐厚多采的俄 國文化。文化節邀得烏克蘭裔ViuTV主持王詠嘉小姐 主講開幕講座，分享其雙重文化身分的體會。其他活 動包括哈薩克斯坦電影放映會、文化分享會以及旅遊 和歷史講座。 The first Russian Culture Festival organized by the Office of Student Affairs went in full swing on campus from 21 to 29 March. To present the diversity and dynamics of Russian culture, the Festival spotlighted some other countries within the Russian cultural sphere, such as Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Its opening talk ‘Ukrainian Blood, Hong Kong Heart’ featured a sharing by Miss Victoria Wang, the Ukrainian-born host of ViuTV. Other events included a Kazakh movie screening and a culture sharing session, as well as talks on travel and history. 向巾幗致敬 Salute to Women 女性及家庭友善政策小組於三八婦女節當日舉辦慶 祝會，表揚女僱員的貢獻。段崇智校長、小組召集人張 妙清教授及霍泰輝教授與六十多位教職員同場慶賀。 會上小組匯報多項家庭友善新措施，如延長全薪產假 及侍產假和於賽馬會研究生宿舍添置哺乳室等。女教 員支援網絡的顧問及成員則分享如何透過建立師友 關係共同成長。 The Task Force on Women and Family-Friendly Policies celebrated the International Women’s Day on 8 March to pay tribute to female colleagues. Among those who attended the event were Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rocky S. Tuan, Co-convenors of the Task Force Prof. Fanny M.C. Cheung and Prof. Fok Tai-fai, plus more than 60 colleagues. The Task Force reported on an array of enhanced family-friendly provisions including extended full-pay maternity leave and paternity leave and a forthcoming nursing room in Jockey Club Postgraduate Hall. An advisor and advisee of the Female Professorial Staff Support Network, who are senior and junior women professors respectively, gave a sharing on how the mentoring relationship facilitates one another’s professional and personal growth. 無創「叮」死癌細胞 Killing Cancer with Microwaves 醫學院胸腔外科團隊於3月4日完成亞太區首宗使用 微波治療肺癌的無創手術，透過電磁導航的支氣管 鏡，將消融探頭帶到肺癌組織處釋出微波，令癌細胞 溫度升至超過攝氏六十度，破壞病變組織。另外通過 「C型機械臂影像裝置」，醫生可即時監測消融導管 位置和消融效果。微波消融術為非入侵手術，無疤、 近乎零出血，需時僅十至二十分鐘，大部分病人術後 無任何痛楚，且併發症風險較低。 Thoracic surgical professors from the Faculty of Medicine performed Asia-Pacific’s first non-invasive bronchoscopic microwave ablation for lung cancer on 4 March. By means of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, surgeons can deploy the microwave catheter tip for ablation into the lung cancer and raise the surrounding temperature to above 60°C, under which the lesion is destroyed. With the help of real- time tomography scans, surgeons can be assured of the proper placement of the catheter and monitor the ablation outcomes. The non-invasive surgery leaves no scars and incurs almost no blood loss. It takes only 10 to 20 minutes, with most patients feeling no pain afterwards and a low risk of complications. 大灣區中文系代表聚首 Get-together for Chinese Departments 「大灣區中文論壇」3月23日於中大深圳研究院舉 行，由研究院的語言學研究中心主辦，中大中國語言 及文學系、中山大學中國語言文學系、澳門大學中國 語言文學系協辦。論壇是粵港澳大灣區規劃提出以來 區內中文系代表的首次聚會，也是首個以大灣區名義 舉行的中文教研學術研討會，匯聚逾五十位院長、系 主任、課程負責人和專家學者，分享教研經驗，探討 中文教研的定位和未來。 The Greater Bay Area Chinese Forum was held on 23 March at CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute. Organized by the Institute’s Research Centre for Linguistics and co-organized by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of CUHK, the Department of Chinese of Sun Yat-sen University and the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the University of Macau, the forum marked the first gathering of representatives of Chinese departments within the region. It was also the first conference on Chinese teaching and learning in the name of the Greater Bay Area, bringing together over 50 participants to share experience in Chinese education and discuss its position and future directions. 加強雙學位課程合作 Doubling Down on Double Degree Programmes 中大將與五所世界頂尖高等學府包括北京大學、清華 大學、日本早稻田大學、西班牙IE商學院以及英國倫 敦大學城市學院卡斯商學院合作，開辦多個雙學位本 科課程。合作除加強中大與國際級院校的聯繫，更助 學生開闊國際視野與人脈，提升日後在全球職場的競 爭力。 CUHK is collaborating with five world-class tertiary institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Waseda University in Japan, IE Business School in Spain and Cass Business School of City, University of London in the UK, to offer dual undergraduate degree programmes. The collaboration not only strengthens the ties between CUHK and the partner institutions, but also helps students expand their global vision and personal networks to become better equipped for the global job market. 05 # 5 3 6 | 1 9 . 0 4 . 2 0 1 9