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Pediatric brain tumors and osteosarcomas often utilize the ALT (Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres) mechanism to length telomeres for cellular immortality. A research team led by Associate Research Fellow Dr. Liuh-yow Chen at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, discovered that orphan nuclear receptors regulate telomere elongation through APBs (ALT-associated PML bodies) in ALT cancer cells. Additionally, they found that arsenic trioxide (As2O3), a treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia, can target APBs and inhibit ALT activity in cultured ALT cancer cells and in mouse xenografts, which opens the possibility of repurposing As2O3 for ALT cancer treatments. This research provides deep insights into the biology of ALT-related cancers and a new potential avenue for their treatment. The study was published in Nucleic Acids Research on May 17, 2024. The first author of the paper is Venus Marie Gaela, a PhD student in TIGP-MCB at Academia Sinica. The research was funded by Academia Sinica and the National Science and Technology Council.

The newest issue of the Journal of Social Sciences and Philosophy has just been published

New Publication of “Dimasa Language: Structure and Texts” by ILAS

In this paper, in situ data of Mars satellite mission MAVEN was analyzed. Direct evidence was found for explosive mass ejections from Mars ionosphere through magnetic reconnections between strong crustal field regions with open magnetic fields. The mass ejections by magnetic reconnection in the Mars ionospheric lead to Mars mass loss and are very similar to the observed solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This study was led by Academician Lou-Chuang Lee of Academia Sinica and Professor Xiao-Jun Xu of Macau University of Science and Technology and was published in Nature Astronomy (April 2024).

The capability to sense and respond to the environment is essential for survival and fitness in all organisms. Recent studies have shown organisms from different kingdoms, such as fungi, plants, and mammals can recognize and respond to conserved nematode pheromones, named ascarosides. However, the mechanisms underlying cross kingdom perception of nematode pheromones remain unclear. A research team led by Dr. Yen-Ping Hsueh at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, revealed that two families of GPCRs are responsible for ascarosides detection, leading to the activation of the cAMP-PKA pathway for trap development in nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora. The expansion of GPCRs in A. oligospora may have been advantageous for recognizing diverse nematode-derived signals to ensure robust prey recognition during co-evolution. Moreover, the identification of ascarosides receptors in a fungal species sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of ascaroside-mediated cross-kingdom communication. This research has been published on April 22, 2024 in Nature Microbiology. The lead author of this research, Chih-Yen Kuo, is a TIGP-MCB student at Academia Sinica, and collaborators of this research includes Dr. Frank Schroeder at Cornell University and Dr. Yu-Chu Chang at Taipei Medical University. Funding was provided by Academia Sinica and the National Science and Technology Council.

This is a popular history of horse racing in China’s leading treaty port, namely Shanghai. This monograph describes how horse racing was introduced, transformed and eventually disappeared due to its implication of British imperialism and colonialism.

We are pleased to announce the new publication of issue 25.2 of Language and Linguistics. This issue includes 4 articles and our annual acknowledgements:

【Foreword】 【Invited Article】 Jiunn-rong Yeh, “Constitutional Dialogism for Basic Rights: Beyond Constitutional Interpretation”

This issue has a total of three research articles. The authors and titles of these articles are as follows:

Please see the table of contents below:

The newest issue of Academia Economic Papers has just been published by the Institute of Economics. Articles in this issue (Vol. 52, No. 1) include:

The latest issue of Taiwan Economic Forecast and Policy has been published. Articles in this issue include: