Nobel Laureate Sir Andre Geim Opens NTU’s Taiwan Bridges Program

Taipei — On November 10, National Taiwan University (NTU) hosted the inaugural lecture of the newly launched Taiwan Bridges Program, marking the beginning of one of the most ambitious academic exchange initiatives in Taiwan’s history. NTU joins Academia Sinica and 10 partner institutes nationwide to invite 31 Nobel laureates to Taiwan between 2025 and 2026, fostering high-level dialogue between global scientific leaders and Taiwan’s academic community.

NTU Researchers Identify Gene Clusters Linked to Insulin Resistance in Taiwanese Population

A multidisciplinary research team from National Taiwan University (NTU) and other renowned institutions has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the genetic basis of insulin resistance (IR)—a key driver of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The study, published in Nature Communications, represents one of the most comprehensive genome-wide association studies ever conducted in an East Asian population.

iPSC-based Vaccines: New Hope for Preventing and Treating Colorectal Cancer

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are pluripotent cells, generated through genetic reprogramming techniques, recognized for their high potential in disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. Previous studies have shown that iPSCs share many tumor-associated antigens with human cancer cells and can prevent tumor formation in various cancer-bearing mouse models, including breast, skin, and pancreatic cancers. However, the precise molecular mechanisms have not been deciphered, and whether iPSCs potentially could be developed into therapeutic cancer vaccines remains unknown.

Doing More with Less — Reducing Material Usage in Light-Driven Energy Conversion

Converting sunlight into renewable fuels is a central goal of clean energy research. One promising approach is photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, that is, using semiconductor electrodes to harness sunlight to split water into its two elements: hydrogen, a clean fuel, and oxygen. Among candidate materials, tantalum nitride (Ta₃N₅) has long been attractive because it efficiently absorbs visible light. However, its performance has been limited by poor electrical conductivity, requiring thick films that consume large amounts of tantalum—a rare and costly element.

Multimodal AI Boosts Circular Economy Transformation

As the consumption of global resources mounts and human pressures on the environmental intensify, the problem of balancing economic growth with sustainability has become a shared challenge for governments, industries, and academia. The “circular economy” model is widely touted as a promising solution, yet identifying optimal strategies amid complex policies, industrial data, and resource flows in diverse contexts remains a formidable task.

A Novel Discovery in the Regulation of Cellular Metabolism and Vesicle Transport

Intracellular organelles, bounded by biological membranes, reply on vesicle transport for nutrient exchange, signal transmission, material recycling, and waste processing—functions analogous to the circulatory system in the human body. Nearly a hundred genetic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cancers have been linked to disruptions in vesicle transport.

Max Planck–IAS–NTU Center Inaugurated in Taiwan

Taipei — On September 1, 2025, the Max Planck Society (MPG), the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and National Taiwan University (NTU) jointly inaugurated the Max Planck–IAS–NTU Center for Particle Physics, Cosmology, and Geometry. The inauguration ceremony was held at NTU’s Leung Center for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics (LeCosPA), commencing a new era of international collaboration at the frontiers of fundamental physics.