End stranding during storms with the construction of two bridges linking Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) collaborates with Japanese experts to assess long-span bridge projects connecting the country's main island groups. This proposal aims to reduce travel time and port congestion, offering a permanent solution to the problem of stranding during weather disturbances. The project's engineering solutions draw inspiration from successful international bridge constructions. Business leaders welcome the development, emphasizing the economic benefits and increased efficiency in travel and goods delivery. Budget support is crucial for the realization of this ambitious plan.
Kyoto University The Hidetoshi Sakurai laboratory reports two new markers that should advance iPS cell therapies for muscle degeneration. Muscular dystrophy describes a group of muscle degenerative congenital diseases. The severity and rates differ between disease and patient, but in all cases the degeneration progresses, sometimes leaving patients in wheelchairs and unable to breathe without artificial respiration. With no present cure, scientists are experimenting with the transplantation of muscle progenitor cells, but the amounts needed can only be made from stem cells such as iPS cells. A new study by CiRA Associate Professor Hidetoshi Sakurai and colleagues report two cell surface receptors, CDH13 and FGFR4, that are expected to advance iPS cell therapies for these diseases.