If an animal could speak, would we listen?
Mention Dr Dolittle, and it is impossible not to hum the film's Oscar-winning ditty written by Leslie Bricusse and sung by Rex Harrison: 'Think what it would mean if I could talk to the animals, just imagine it/Chatting to a chimp in chimpanzee/Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah/What a neat achievement that would be.'
The famed, fictional naturalist has now inspired a lucrative science prize aimed at cracking the challenge of inter-species communication. Last week, an inaugural US$100,000 (S$129,000) went to a US team studying dolphin whistles.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trial of new dengue vaccine begins recruitment for child participants in Singapore
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The study's lead investigator in Singapore, Assistant Professor Chia Po Ying (left), and Dr Zhong Youjia, another investigator on the study. SINGAPORE – A phase three clinical trial is being conducted here to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new quadrivalent dengue vaccine in children aged two to 17. Developed by US-based pharmaceutical firm MSD, V181 is a single-dose vaccine that aims to provide protection against all four serotypes, or strains, of the dengue virus. Phase three clinical trials are typically the last stage of testing before a drug's details and clinical trial results are submitted to the regulatory authorities for approval. The study's lead investigator in Singapore, Assistant Professor Chia Po Ying, noted that V181 is a live-attenuated vaccine, which uses weakened versions of all four dengue serotypes. 'Using the weakened forms of all these four dengue serotypes stimulates a human immune response to create protection against dengue infection in future,' said Prof Chia, who also heads the National Centre for Infectious Diseases Research Office. The new study here hopes to recruit at least 700 healthy children between the ages of two and 17, including both those who have previously contracted dengue and those who have never had the disease, said Dr Zhong Youjia, another investigator on the study. This particular study focuses on children as they are more vulnerable to dengue and are also at a greater risk of severe infection, said the associate consultant at National University Hospital's (NUH) Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children's Medical Institute. Side effects from the vaccine have been mild and short-lived, said Prof Chia, noting that they include muscle aches and fatigue. Children enrolled in the study will be randomly chosen to get a single shot of either the vaccine or a placebo. 'There have been no serious adverse events linked to vaccination with V181 to date, and the previous trials actually have shown a very good and favourable safety profile,' Prof Chia said. In Singapore, the study is being conducted at NUH and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which have already started recruiting participants. Only a handful of children have been recruited so far for the study here, which began in June, said Dr Zhong. A third recruitment site, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, is also in the works. As at July 12, there have been 2,816 dengue cases recorded here in 2025, according to figures from the National Environment Agency (NEA). In May, NEA noted that the number of dengue cases recorded here between January and May 2025 has dropped by about 74 per cent from the same period in 2024. Worldwide, the study aims to enrol about 12,000 healthy children, also between the ages of two and 17, who will receive either a single dose of V181 or a placebo. It aims to include more than 30 trial sites in dengue endemic areas in the Asia-Pacific, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Developing effective dengue vaccines has been difficult as the four serotypes are effectively four different viruses, said Prof Chia. While getting infected by one serotype grants lifelong protection against that particular strain, it provides only short-term protection against the other three, she said. This short-term protection eventually wanes, she noted, adding that those who contract dengue more than once risk antibody-dependent enhancement – a phenomenon where antibodies that are generated due to a vaccine or prior infection actually increase the severity of an infection. Dr Zhong noted this can result in dengue shock syndrome, otherwise known as dengue haemorrhagic fever, a potentially life-threatening complication with symptoms including circulatory failure. Designing a dengue vaccine has been challenging as it has to take into account this phenomenon, Prof Chia said. Should the trials be successful and the vaccine meet regulatory requirements, V181 could be commercially available as early as within the next three to five years, said Dr Zhong. Dr Paula Annunziato, senior vice-president for infectious diseases and vaccines global clinical development at MSD Research Laboratories, noted that half the world's population live in areas at risk for dengue. 'If successful, V181 could provide an important single-dose option for at-risk populations, regardless of previous exposure to dengue, to help reduce the significant burden around the globe,' she said. Dengvaxia, developed by Sanofi Pasteur, is currently the only dengue vaccine approved for use in Singapore. However, it is available only for those between 12 and 45 years old who have previously been infected and poses an increased risk of causing severe dengue in those who have never been infected. In May 2024, another quadrivalent vaccine, Qdenga, received pre-qualification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) – a process that aims to ensure the safety and efficacy of treatments – with WHO recommending the vaccine's use for children aged between six and 16 in dengue-prone areas. Developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda, Qdenga was made available in Malaysia in June 2024 . Qdenga was submitted for approval here in 2022. However, the following year, the Health Sciences Authority said Takeda had withdrawn its application. The authority said then that the company could submit another application with further clinical data on the vaccine meeting the 'required safety, efficacy and quality standards for use locally'.
Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Straits Times
More stingrays, fewer sharks for sale at S'pore's fishery ports, say researchers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. A whitespotted whipray being sold alongside other species of fish at Jurong Fishery Port. SINGAPORE - Two researchers in Singapore have in recent years observed an unexpected trend at Singapore's fishery ports: There are fewer sharks, but a rising number of stingrays being sold. Both sharks and stingrays have similar life history traits that make them vulnerable to overharvesting. They take several years to reach reproductive age, and produce few offspring. But more attention is usually paid to the plight of sharks, which are prized for their fins, especially in Asia. Now, research by independent shark and stingray researchers Naomi Clark-Shen and Kathy Xu shows that stingrays, too, could be suffering from overharvesting. Through visits to Singapore's fishery ports, they found that the number of stingrays there had almost doubled over the years. They counted 6,984 stingrays in the first year of their surveys, from September 2017 to September 2018. This rose to 11,649 between March 2024 and March 2025. In the same period, the number of sharks counted fell from 1,470 to 933. The duo conducted surveys at Jurong Fishery Port twice a month. The researchers also included figures from Senoko Fishery Port in their counts prior to its closure in March 2024. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore Both Bukit Panjang LRT disruptions in July linked to newly installed power system: SMRT Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Asia Johor Bahru collision claims lives of e-hailing driver and Singapore passenger Sport Arsenal arrive in Singapore for pre-season matches with AC Milan and Newcastle Business Crypto exchange Tokenize to shut down Singapore operations Singapore More initiatives and support for migrant community announced at Racial Harmony Day event Singapore ComfortDelGro to discipline driver who flung relative's wheelchair out of taxi They said that two species of stingrays were especially common: the whitespotted whipray (Maculabatis gerrardi) and sharpnose whipray (Maculabatis macrura). The researchers counted 5,806 stingrays from both species from 2017 to 2018, and 8,598 stingrays from 2024 to 2025. The two species – both globally endangered – are often sold in hawker centres as sambal-laden barbecue stingray. Sharks and stingrays belong to a group known as elasmobranchs, which also includes wedgefish and guitarfish. The pair said that when they first started the port surveys in 2017, they used to see hundreds of wedgefish, guitarfish, sharks and stingrays. But after greater protection was granted to wedgefish, guitarfish and sharks under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), they started showing up less frequently in Singapore's fishery ports. Cites governs the international trade in wildlife parts and products. In 2022, 60 species of sharks were listed on Appendix II of Cites. This means that trading these species internationally would require permits from exporting countries. All 10 species of wedgefish and the six species of guitarfish were similarly listed on Cites Appendix II in 2019. Dr Clark-Shen said: 'The fishermen who used to catch (endangered) fish species may find another market if they are listed on Cites, whether it's the black market, or selling their catch within their own country for a reduced price, causing local consumption to pick up.' Dr Clark-Shen and Ms Xu said the imposition of trade regulations on some species may also have ripple effects on species that are less protected. The whitespotted whipray and sharpnose whipray, for example, are not protected under Cites' regulations, which means that no permits are needed for their trade. A stingray vendor at the Jurong Fishery Port who declined to reveal his name told The Straits Times that he sells between 400kg and 600kg of stingrays on a weekday, and up to 1,000kg of the fish in a day during the weekend. He said: 'In the past, we used to source stingrays only from Malaysia, and could take 1,000kg or 2,000kg per day. 'But when many other vendors began selling them, we started including stingrays from Jakarta, Surabaya, Bangka and other small islands in Indonesia.' The vendor added that he takes in only female stingrays under 3kg in mass, as males tend to smell more strongly of ammonia, and younger rays tend to have softer and more tender meat. Mr Melvin Wee, 56, a seafood supplier who has worked in the industry for about 40 years, said that aside from a possibly growing supply, local demand for stingray in Singapore has also increased. He pointed to the rise in popularity of the sambal stingray as a contributing factor, saying this dish appeared in local markets about 30 years ago. Dr Mark Erdmann, vice-president of Asia-Pacific marine programmes at Conservation International, a global environmental non-profit organisation, said that the data from Singapore's fishery ports highlights the urgency for stingrays to be better protected. Dr Erdmann said: 'It is well-known that the demand for shark fin has decreased dramatically over the past decade – in part due to increased awareness of the negative impacts of shark fin consumption, but also due to strengthened international trade controls. 'But a large number of ray species are now considered to be threatened with extinction, due to the increasing numbers being landed in Singapore and South-east Asia.' He said: 'Simply put, they cannot be harvested at a commercial level in a way that could ever be defined as sustainable, and should hence not be consumed – it's the marine equivalent of putting sun bears or sugar gliders on the menu.' Unlike bony fishes, which can lay millions of eggs at a time, stingrays and sharks give birth to only a few live young each year. The two whipray species commonly found here reach maturity between four and nine years old, and give birth to only one to five offspring each time, according to a paper published in March 2025, which the two researchers co-authored alongside a team of scientists. Dr Anna Wong, the senior director of wildlife trade at the National Parks Board, said consumers are advised to adopt more sustainable alternatives, or opt for other dishes altogether. 'If members of the public must consume sharks and rays, they should always check the source of origin and species being harvested to ensure that they are not a Cites-listed species before consumption.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
AI system developed in Singapore could help predict liver cancer recurrence
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Dr Joe Yeong is a co-author of the study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature. SINGAPORE - A scoring system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that was developed by researchers here could help predict the recurrence of a common form of liver cancer. Developed by scientists from A*Star's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH), the system can predict relapses of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Affecting more than 20 out of every 100,000 people here annually, HCC is the fourth-most-common cancer among men in Singapore, as well as the third-most-common cause of cancer deaths among males here. The Tumour Immune Microenvironment Spatial (Times) score analyses the precise spatial distribution, or the exact location, of immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells and five specific genes within liver tumour tissues. NK cells are a type of white blood cell that destroys diseased cells, such as cancer cells, and a lower number of NK cells is an indicator of a higher risk of relapse. 'Instead of just counting how many NK cells are present, we analyse exactly where they are positioned relative to the cancer cells,' said Dr Joe Yeong, a principal investigator at both A*Star IMCB and SGH's anatomical pathology department. 'By understanding how NK cells are distributed and how they interact with cancer cells – for example, whether they are close enough to attack the cancer effectively – we can predict the likelihood of cancer returning after surgery,' said Dr Yeong, one of the study's authors. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure Asia How China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities have raised alarm around the world Asia At least 34 killed as tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Halong Bay Singapore 1 dead, 1 injured after dispute between neighbours at Yishun HDB block Singapore Vessels from Navy, SCDF and MPA to debut at Marina Bay in NDP maritime display Asia Autogate glitch at Malaysia's major checkpoints causes chaos for S'porean and foreign travellers Asia SIA, Scoot, Cathay Pacific cancel flights as typhoon nears Hong Kong Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Identifying these spatial patterns allows Times to predict the risk of recurrence with about 82 per cent accuracy. Existing staging methods – frameworks that evaluate how advanced the cancer is, allowing doctors to recommend the most suitable treatments – vary in their accuracy. Dr Yeong – who is also director of immunopathology at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Pathology Academic Clinical Programme – noted that up to 70 per cent of liver cancer patients experience recurrence within five years. An accurate prediction method would allow doctors to more easily identify patients at greater risk of cancer recurrence, he said. 'Times offers a significant advancement in predicting these outcomes, enabling clinicians to intervene at the earliest possible stage. This can significantly enhance patient care and improve survival outcomes.' He noted that the precision medicine approach seeks to tailor treatments that meet patients' specific needs, based on factors such as genetics and lifestyle. Even though a large proportion of liver cancer patients experience relapses, it is not viable to offer all of them therapeutics as it would be very costly to them, Dr Yeong said. Getting an accurate prediction of their risks would help optimise the costs to patients, he added. AI was used to analyse vast amounts of data, with more than 100 trillion data points gathered from liver tumour samples, as well as create a scoring system tailored to Asian patients. It is also currently being used to refine the Times score for clinical use, Dr Yeong said. 'By automating the analysis of patients' surgical tissue samples, AI ensures the process is efficient and consistent, paving the way for integration into routine clinical workflows, such as through a potential diagnostic test kit,' he added. The study was the cover story for the April 15, 2025, issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature. Ms Denise Goh, the study's co-first author, said the Times scoring system 'transforms routine tissue slides into powerful predictive tools'. 'By identifying patients at higher risk of relapse, we can proactively alter treatment strategies and monitoring, potentially saving more lives,' said the senior research officer at A*Star IMCB. The researchers validated the accuracy of the Times system using samples from 231 patients across five hospitals in Singapore and China. The technology is now accessible through a free web portal for research use, with plans under way to integrate Times into routine clinical workflows. The team is planning further studies at SGH and the National Cancer Centre Singapore to validate the technology, scheduled to begin later in 2025. Discussions are ongoing with partners to develop Times into a clinically approved diagnostic test kit.
