Geologists from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) have made a breakthrough in understanding how the Earth’s early continents formed during the Archean time, more than 2.5 billion years ago. Their findings, recently published in Science Advances, suggest that early continental crust likely formed through deep Earth processes called mantle plumes, rather than the plate tectonics that shape continents today.

The HKU Robocon Virtus team from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has claimed the top prize at this year's "Robocon Hong Kong Contest 2025". As champions, they will represent Hong Kong at the upcoming “ABU Robocon 2025” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this August. Additionally, Team Sapientia secured the third-place, demonstrating HKU’s strong performance in the competition.

The private Swiss NOMIS Foundation is investing €20 million to support research at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg—a partnership that focuses on daring science. Starting in 2026, projects will be funded for five years that break new ground and therefore have the potential to deliver substantial leaps in our knowledge.

Project Mingde, a non-profit initiative by the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been recognized for its Duling Educational and Cultural Centre (the Project) as the Architizer A+ Jury Winner in the “Concepts – Architecture + Community” category. Additionally, the project was shortlisted as a finalist in three other categories: “Concepts – Architecture + Localism,” “Concepts – Architecture + For Good” and “Built – Sustainable Cultural Building." This marks the second international accolade for the project, following its success in November 2024, when it won The Architecture MasterPrize under the category of Educational Buildings.

Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) is an innovative approach revolutionising the construction industry. To advance the sustainable development of MiC and align with the government’s strategic vision for high-quality development and the creation of "better houses", MiC Laboratory (MiCLab) of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) hosted the International Conference on Modular Integrated Construction: New Paradigm on 26 June 2025 at the Rayson Huang Theatre. The conference brought together over 400 local and international experts from government, industry, and academia to share groundbreaking advancements in MiC and exchange insights into innovative modular construction practices and knowledge.

Researchers in Japan have successfully generated lung cells similar to alveolar epithelial type 2 (AT2) cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts without using stem cell technology. The AT2-like cells were generated in just 7 to 10 days—a significant reduction compared to the approximately one month typically required by conventional stem cell-based differentiation methods. This approach may pave the way for treating interstitial pneumonia and other serious respiratory diseases.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team has developed an index for determining appropriate irradiation conditions for laser treatment and conducted an in-silico-supported meta-analysis that analyzed treatments within that index.