Professor Ruibang LUO, Assistant Director (Learning Experience & Student Enrichment) and Associate Head of AI & Data Science Division in the School of Computing and Data Science (CDS) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been awarded the 2026 APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) in recognition of his pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for genomic analysis. Professor Luo was selected as the sole winner of this year’s prize by regional vote among nominees from APEC’s 21 member economies.

Professor Jay Siegel, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), delivered a visionary address at the 2026 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai on 10 September. In his speech, Professor Siegel emphasised the necessity of a human-centric AI economy and the critical importance of anticipating the long-term societal impacts of rapid technological advancement.

The HKU Academy for the Talented (the HKU Academy), a global talent platform for secondary school students worldwide managed by the Admissions Office of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS, and Tencent WeTech Academy, have successfully concluded the third edition of “AI Adventures: When AI Meets Games with Tencent”. The programme brought together secondary students in Secondary 4 to 6 (Years 11 to 13 / Grades 10 to 12) for five days of immersive learning at the intersection of artificial intelligence and game development. The response from participants was overwhelmingly positive. 

A single blood draw that screens for more than 50 cancers substantially increased cancer detection when added to standard screening, identifying cancers that otherwise might have gone undetected until later stages, according to a new study from the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.

The results from the PATHFINDER 2 study, published today in Nature Medicine, show the efficacy of GRAIL’s Galleri^® test, which uses a machine-learning algorithm to examine chemical patterns that distinguish cell-free DNA originating from healthy cells versus cancerous cells.

The Bezos Earth Fund is granting $18 million for ROOTS, a three-year Salk project to test deeper-rooted, more resilient crops that can store more carbon in soil. The project builds on six years of work through Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, which has identified 347 gene candidates and advanced 37 projects across genes and crops. The grant brings the Bezos Earth Fund’s total support for Salk to $48 million.

Researchers from FIU studied how children with a higher body mass index (BMI) showed differences in several brain regions. The study is one of the first to use an advanced MRI technique to examine the relationship between body weight and brain development in preschool-aged children.

Emory University researchers have developed NutriCamp, a dietary assessment app available on iOS and Android. Users can record what they eat through photos, text or voice. NutriCamp identifies foods, estimates portions and calculates 65 nutrients and food components, including macronutrients such as protein, fat and carbohydrates, and micronutrients such as vitamin D, iron and folate. Going beyond weight loss, this app supports individual nutritional needs, including those with medical conditions.