Science News Corner of the Hong Kong Science Museum is an information centre for exhibiting science research projects of local universities, new discoveries and the latest technology. It helps to keep the public informed of the latest science news.

50 sq metre Corner situating in the permanent exhibition hall on the second floor of the Museum, features three distinct zones of interest, namely, SciTech Focus, Science Window and Science Web.

SciTech Focus focuses on science research projects that are currently being conducted in local universities and are related to frontier science and latest technology. New discoveries and inventions with scientific and social significance will be on the top of the list.

Science Window elaborates the exhibition contents through science documentaries and video programmes of relevant subjects.

Science Web enables visitors to have a further understanding on the topics through surfing recommended websites with in-depth information.

Current Topic - Life in the Universe (20.8.2010 - 5.1.2011)

How did life emerge on Earth? Are there other planets with life elsewhere in the Universe? These are some of the most fundamental questions not only for scientists but also for all mankind. For the first time in history, we now have the ability to attempt to answer these questions scientifically. With ground-based and space-based telescopes, astronomers have now discovered the building blocks of life in space, in the form of many complex organic molecules and solids. These extraterrestrial organics enriched the early Solar System and evidence for widespread organic star dust is found in meteorites, asteroids, and comets. Geological studies have revealed evidence of past impacts from extraterrestrial objects. These impacts brought large amounts of organics to the young Earth and may have accelerated the development of life 4 billion years ago. The discovery of microorganisms in cold, arid deserts of Antarctica suggests that life can flourish in extremely difficult conditions, bringing up the possibility of the existence of life on the cold surface of Mars. The discovery of over 350 planets in other solar systems beyond our own also leads us to believe that life may be common in the Galaxy.

Previous Topic

Transgenic Fish for Rapid Monitoring Estrogenic Pollution (Mar 2010 - Aug 2010)
(Information provided by Department of Biology and Chemistry of City University of Hong Kong)

Bio-hydrogen Production from Wastewater (Sept 2009 - Feb 2010)
(Information provided by Department of Civil Engineering of The University of Hong Kong)

Science of Human Locomotion (May 2009 - Sept 2009)
(Information provided by Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain (Dec 2008 - May 2009)
(Information provided by Department of Biochemistry of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Artificial Intelligence and Railway Engineering Works Scheduling (Jun 2008 - Dec 2008)
(Information provided by the Department of Computer Science of City University of Hong Kong)

Palmprint Identification system (Jan 2008 - Jun 2008)
(Information provided by the Biometric Research Centre of The Polytechnic University of Hong Kong)

Cochlear implants - offering a hearing world for the hearing-impaired (Aug 2007 - Jan 2008)
(Information provided by Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Discoveries on Reproduction, Development and Growth: From Gamete to Adult (Apr 2007 - Aug 2007)
(Information provided by Centre for Reproduction, Development and Growth of The University of Hong Kong)

Grapefruit Forms Bone? (Sept 2006 - Mar 2007)
(Information provided by the Faculty of Dentistry of The University of Hong Kong)

DNA Technologies for Chinese Herbs Authentication (Apr 2006 - Sept 2006)
(Information provided by the Institute of Chinese Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Health Benefits of Tea (Dec 2005 - Apr 2006)
(Information provided by the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong)

Ozone Application (Jul 2005 - Dec 2005)
(Information provided by the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Virtual Aquarium (Dec 2004 - Jun 2005)
(Information provided by the Department of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Climate and Sea-level Changes in Hong Kong During the Past 500,000 Years (Jul 2004 - Dec 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Earth Sciences of The University of Hong Kong)

Photocatalytic Technology for Air and Water Purification (Mar 2004 - Jul 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Chemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Extremes of the Universe (Nov 2003 - Feb 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Physics of The University of Hong Kong)

Fruit Fly - Drosophila (Jun 2003 - Oct 2003)
(Information provided by the Department of Biochemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Automatic Face Image and Sketch Recognition (Jan 2003 - May 2003)
(Information provided by the Department of Information Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Plant and Fungal Biotechnology (Oct 2002 - Dec 2002)
(Information provided by The UGC AoE Plant and Fungal Biotechnology Centre of the Department of Biology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong )

Nanotechnology (Jun 2002 - Sept 2002)
(Information provided by the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)