March eNews
Welcome to this month's eNews!
If you have questions or feedback, connect with us at news@alphagalileo.org
Enjoy reading this edition!
Best regards, The AlphaGalileo News Team
Marketing and Communications in Higher Education Conference 2025
This month we are sponsoring Universities UK Marketing and Communications in HE Conference taking place on Thursday 13 March 2025.
Join us in London, or online, to explore the latest developments within the sector.
The conference will explore the latest strategies in university marketing and communications, from building reputation and digital innovation to student engagement and authentic representation. Experts from leading institutions and organisations will share case studies, discuss impact-driven campaigns, and provide insights to help institutions thrive in a competitive landscape.
Key topics include:
- Building the reputation of universities
- The future of campaigns: Digital innovation at work
- Engaging students successfully in your content
- The importance of authentic representation in your marketing
- Driving impact: Modern marketing and communications that work
- Innovative university marketing and brand case studies
- Strategic planning and crisis response management
We look forward to seeing you there!
Top 5 in February
1. Where land meets the sea: how Portugal is driving change in ocean research. INESC Brussels HUB, published on 19/02/25
Amid uncertainty and troubled waters stirred by climate change, the urgent push for energy transition, and geopolitical pressures, Europe turns to the ocean for answers. Overlooking the Atlantic, Portugal is advancing plans to restore ocean health through research and innovation, citizen engagement, and blue investments.
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2. Newly launched book interprets the new UN Ocean Biodiversity (BBNJ) Treaty for Policymakers and Scientists. ERINN Innovation, published on 04/02/25
More than twenty researchers from across the world have come together to publish a collaborative book, ‘Decoding Marine Genetic Resource Governance Under the BBNJ Agreement’, which is set to launch at the International BBNJ Symposium in Singapore taking place from the 18-19 February 2025. The book provides practical guidance and tools to scientists, commercial end-users and policymakers to better understand aspects of the new BBNJ Treaty, which is set to fundamentally change the way biodiversity is governed in two-thirds of the ocean.
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3. NTU Singapore spin-off launches AI-powered tool for early dementia screening with Osler Group. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, published on 04/02/25
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) spin-off company Gray Matter Solutions is partnering with Osler Group, a premium health and wellness organisation in Singapore, to offer a new screening tool that detects mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – the early stage before dementia – efficiently and affordably using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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4. Shaping Future of Displays: Clay/Europium-Based Technology Offers Dual-Mode Versatility. Chiba University, published on 03/02/25
Electrochemical reaction-based stimuli-responsive materials are shaping up the era of innovative display devices. By embedding luminescent europium(III) complexes and color-changing viologen derivatives in a layered clay matrix, the device achieves simultaneous control of light emission and color at low voltage. The use of clay-based materials also highlights an eco-friendly approach to enhancing electronic device performance. This innovation could revolutionize display technology and the development of sensors, adaptable to changing light conditions.
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5. Repeated exposure to deepfakes makes you more likely to believe their claims, finds international study by NTU Singapore. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, published on 11/02/25
An NTU Singapore study has found that repeated exposure to deepfakes makes people more likely to believe their claims. The scientists leading the international study of 8,070 participants suggest that this is due to the illusory truth effect. This psychological phenomenon shows that people are more likely to believe information is true simply because they have encountered it multiple times, regardless of its accuracy. The NTU scientists also looked at the national differences in the perceived believability of deepfakes. They found that respondents in Singapore were the least likely to be deceived by deepfakes among the eight countries, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines.
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Editor's choice
Clues of advanced ancient technology found in the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia, published by Ateneo de Manila University on 21/02/2025
The ancient peoples of the Philippines and of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) may have built sophisticated boats and mastered seafaring tens of thousands of years ago—millennia before Magellan, Zheng He, and even the Polynesians. In a new paper coming out in the April 2025 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Ateneo de Manila University researchers Riczar Fuentes and Alfred Pawlik challenge the widely-held contention that technological progress during the Paleolithic only emerged in Europe and Africa.
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Image caption: New archaeological evidence suggests that ancient inhabitants of the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia had the advanced plant-working technology needed for sophisticated boat building and open-sea fishing. CREDIT: Pawlik, 2025
Image of the month
Researchers discover new role for immune defence cells: they impact hormonal balance, published by Turun yliopisto (University of Turku), on 17/02/2025
Finnish researchers show in a new study that pituitary macrophages, the immune cells located in the pituitary gland, help regulate hormonal balance. It is possible that in the future, macrophage cells could be used to treat endocrine disorders that can lead, for example, to infertility.
The pituitary gland is a small, pea-sized endocrine gland located at the base of the brain. The hormones it secretes are involved in almost all major body functions, such as growth, reproduction, water/salt balance, and the regulation of blood pressure and stress. Life is not possible without the hormones produced by the pituitary gland.
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Image caption: Macrophages, marked in yellow, connect hormone-secreting cells (magenta) and blood vessels (grey) in the mouse pituitary gland. Scale is 10 µm. Photo: Henna Lehtonen