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From fungus to fashion: Chinese scientists develop sustainable ‘living textiles’

The fabric can clean and repair itself, opening the door to recyclable fashion and biodegradable packaging Chinese scientists have developed a way to create clothing and textiles from a fungus that can self-clean and regenerate. The fabric can also be customised – for example to add colour or protect the wearer from ultraviolet (UV) rays – with the help of other microorganisms, according to a study published on Friday. A persistent challenge for engineered living materials (ELMs) has been scaling up microscopic living cells into large, durable structures that remain alive and functional. A research team led by the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology tried to address this challenge by developing a method to make ELMs using a fungus called Cordyceps militaris. Also known as caterpillar fungus, it is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and can create threadlike structures. The study highlighted the material’s sustainability. Environmental assessments confirmed it degraded within 41 days, raising the possibility the material could be used to make circular fashion – clothing that is designed to be reused or recycled.

July 27, 2026

Business

CXMT shares rise 472% as DRAM maker becomes largest China-listed firm by total market cap

China’s leading DRAM maker completes the biggest-ever Star Market IPO amid an AI-driven memory boom Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, rose 472 per cent on their Shanghai trading debut, giving the company a market capitalisation of 3.31 trillion yuan (US$489 billion). CXMT has become the most valuable company listed on the mainland Chinese market. The size of the closely watched offering, up to 66.6 billion yuan, is set to surpass the 53.2 billion yuan raised by chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in 2020. There were market concerns that CXMT would draw funds away from other Chinese technology stocks, prompting the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to hold a series of meetings with representatives of listed companies, securities firms, fund managers and academia. Participants called for stronger guidance of market expectations and a more institutionalised market-stabilisation mechanism, while the regulator pledged to respond to concerns and enhance the market’s inherent stability, according to a CSRC statement issued on July 21.

July 27, 2026

Business

Hong Kong’s lawmakers don’t need to be coddled

While increased attendance in Legco is a welcome development, it shouldn’t be too much to expect first-year legislators to hit the ground running Lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei called it a “groundbreaking opportunity” for legislators to study and deepen their understanding of national conditions. Showing up eager to learn and to better grasp how Hong Kong can play a more proactive role in national development is indeed commendable. Lifelong learning is crucial. We don’t expect our lawmakers to be know-it-alls, but we do expect them to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments and constant shifts in this fast-paced world. It is also excellent to see that the current slate of legislators has made genuine efforts to show up in the chamber. Only three lawmakers had an overall attendance rate below 90 per cent. It’s hard to imagine, but it hasn’t always been this way.

July 27, 2026

Business

Ex-China security guard admits to top university after 8 attempts, targeting Harvard PhD

A harsh comment from a stranger – a mother warning her child not to end up with a job like his – served as a powerful push to keep going A former security guard from northeastern China has successfully secured a spot in a postgraduate programme at the prestigious Tsinghua University after an impressive eight attempts and is now ambitiously pursuing a PhD at Harvard. Yang Xiao, 31, hailing from Shenyang in Liaoning province, has harboured the dream of attending Tsinghua since childhood, as reported by the mainland media outlet Jiupai News. After sitting for the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, in 2013, he was accepted into the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where his unique painting style was deemed a more suitable match. Upon graduating in 2018, Yang returned to Shenyang, established an art school, and nurtured a stable relationship. He subsequently applied for postgraduate study at Tsinghua, motivated not only by his childhood aspirations but also by a promise to his girlfriend. Unfortunately, his first attempt was disheartening: he fell over 100 points short of the required acceptance score.

July 27, 2026

Business

Amber rainstorm warning cancelled, while morning and full-day schools suspended

Hong Kong Observatory cancels signal at 9.15am on Monday, while Education Bureau says only afternoon schools will proceed as usual The weather forecaster cancelled the signal at 9.15am after earlier downgrading the warning from red to amber at 7.47am. It urged residents to stay alert to dangers that may be brought about by river flooding. The forecaster said that, under the influence of an active southwesterly airstream, heavy showers and squally thunderstorms were initially expected to persist over the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta on Monday. Classes at afternoon schools would proceed as usual, the bureau said. The rainy weather comes in the wake of Typhoon Noul, which triggered a No 9 signal for six hours on Sunday morning.

July 27, 2026

Business

Hong Kong international, private school enrolment grows amid drop in student numbers

Admissions consultant attributes growth to 2022 introduction of top talent scheme, but kindergarten sector continues decade-long decline Enrolment at Hong Kong’s international and private schools grew for a third consecutive year following the introduction of a government talent scheme in 2022, despite an overall decline in the city’s student population, according to official statistics. Latest Education Bureau data showed that kindergartens and local public primary schools bore the brunt of the decline, with a record 30 preschools, or 3 per cent of all kindergartens, having shut down or set to close this academic year. A veteran admissions consultant said the talent schemes introduced in 2022 had brought a significant inflow of mainland Chinese families, many of whom enrolled their children in private and international schools. The bureau’s annual headcount statistics, collected every September at the start of the academic year and released the following July, showed that 87,220 students were currently enrolled in international and private schools, marking a 12 per cent increase from September 2022, just before the launch of the Top Talent Pass Scheme.

July 27, 2026

Business

How Trump’s Iran ‘own goal’ is hitting long-term US strategy to contain Chinese influence

An Indian-backed port long seen as a counterweight to Beijing is now caught in the crossfire of the US war against Iran The Iranian port of Chabahar has received strong backing from India, which hoped it would gain both a trade corridor into Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypassed Pakistan and a strategic counterweight to the Chinese-operated Pakistani port of Gwadar. Successive US administrations recognised Chabahar’s value in helping to counter that risk and quietly granted sanctions waivers that allowed the Gulf of Oman port to continue operating even as Washington turned up the heat on Iran.

July 27, 2026

Business

Why Indonesia needs legal trust, not tax cuts, to build a finance hub

From Singapore to Dubai, global capital favours predictable courts over tax breaks. Experts say Jakarta should take note Tax breaks used to be enough. Not any more. Analysts say a new generation of investors is prioritising legal certainty and regulatory stability over incentives – and Asia’s most successful international financial centres will be those that successfully secure trust. Enforceable contracts, predictable regulation and robust dispute resolution mechanisms were now the most important prerequisites for global investors, said Ramkishen Rajan, an economist and Yong Pung How Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. “While tax incentives can attract some firms, they cannot compensate for erratic policy or weak supervision,” he said. Established hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong had succeeded because of their ability to build strong, predictable institutional environments that nurture investor confidence, said Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, a law professor and head of the Singapore Capital Markets Initiative at Singapore Management University.

July 27, 2026

Business

Venezuela opposition leader Machado says she will not take part in US-backed talks

Washington had hailed the August talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodriguez as an important step towards political reconciliation Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Sunday she will not take part in US-backed talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodriguez that are scheduled for August. In a statement co-signed by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who ran for president in Venezuela’s 2024 elections, Machado said the opposition would “not participate” in the “design, development and operation” of the talks. In mid-July, Rodriguez’s interim government and a group of former opposition members of parliament from the 2015-2020 term announced a work plan for “strengthening democracy” in the country. “It is not our place to explain its scope and decisions. Those promoting it must inform the country of its objectives, its method, and its timeline,” reads Machado’s statement, which was shared on social media.

July 26, 2026

Business

US border tsar says vetting of ICE officer is under internal review after Maine shooting

Tom Homan said if claims that David Brouillette had a history of mental health struggles are true, he should not have cleared vetting US President Donald Trump’s border tsar said on Sunday that the vetting of an immigration officer involved in the deadly shooting of a Colombian native in Maine is under internal review after relatives revealed to Associated Press that he had a history of serious mental health struggles and violent behaviour. Tom Homan said if the allegations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer are true, “I don’t think he should ever have cleared vetting.” “There’s several things under review,” Homan said on CNN about the officer, Army veteran David Brouillette. “The training is under review. I know this specific case, as far as the vetting, is under review by the internal affairs section.” Questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s rush to hire, train and deploy thousands of new ICE officers to carry out Trump’s immigration crackdown have come into stark focus after back-to-back fatal shootings of immigrants in Maine and Houston.

July 26, 2026

Business

Nobel laureate Simon Johnson on the AI race and China’s ‘over-automation’ problem

Simon Johnson is a professor of entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he won a joint Nobel Prize for economics in 2024 for his research into how institutions shape national prosperity. On June 8, the British government announced Johnson as chair of its new AI Economics Institute. In this interview, conducted on the sidelines of the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong, Johnson discussed the...

July 26, 2026

Business

Mexico adopts new trade strategy amid Trump tariffs

By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. As the Trump administration raises tariffs and questions longstanding trade agreements, Mexico is taking a very different approach, even as its economy remains deeply tied to its northern neighbor.

July 26, 2026