MUST breakthrough in research on shortsightedness

Chair professor Zhang Kang of the Faculty of Medicine of MUST

An innovative piece of research conducted by a scholar at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) has recently been included in the Nature Communications journal.
The journal is a highly regarded peer-reviewed publication. It is a multidisciplinary journal and covers natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medicine and biology.
In association with the Fudan University in Shanghai, chair professor Zhang Kang of the Faculty of Medicine of MUST successfully published the article, titled “Aberrant TGF-β1 signaling activation by MAF underlies pathological lens growth in high myopia.”
Manson Fok, dean of the Faculty, outlined how the pioneering research by Zhang used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to assess the shape of the lens. The research team discovered that the increase in size of the lenses of those suffering from severe myopia is positively correlated to a specific type of lens protein.
According to scholars Holden and team, it is estimated that in 2050 the number of severely shortsighted population will reach 938 million. Severe myopia can lead to blindness, and rates of diagnosis are increasing across the world.
There has been a significant amount of research attempting to reveal the onset and developmental mechanism of the disease. However, knowledge of the lens of the eyes, which primarily helps focus images as they are mapped onto the retina, has been scarce.
The development of severe myopia may lead to pathological changes of the lens, and the increase in intraocular lens replacement has caused a series of perioperative problems, such as ectopic intraocular lens.

MUST, PwC sign cybersecurity pact
MUST has recently signed a cooperative agreement on cybersecurity with international consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers’s (PwC) office in Macau. With the agreement, the two entities shall co-build a joint entity called the Macau Security Operation Centre (SOC).
The SOC shall provide Macau enterprises with all-weather network security monitoring services to support their network and data security. It will play to the strengths of the two parties in network security technology and scientific research capabilities, and use the advantages of the “industry-university-research” cooperation model to integrate the university’s research and development results. Students will also be able to learn about the latest network security technology and network security concepts through this platform. The center will become a security information release platform for Macau and the Greater Bay Area.