Taiwanese inventors won 97 medals and 6 special prizes, including 30 gold medals, at the 41st International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva (725 exhibitors from 45 countries), an annual fair considered the world’s largest marketplace for inventions. A 74-member Taiwanese delegation showcased 101 inventions. The Taiwanese inventors also won 53 silver medals and 14 bronzes. Last year, Taiwan won 45 gold, 52 silver and 25 bronze medals, as well as 8 special prizes. According to the Taiwan Invention Association, Taiwan's six winners of special prizes in the 2013 show are all conventional inventions for daily life, such as a "lifesaving electric socket" that shuts off automatically when a fire breaks out and activates a red guiding light to show the exit direction in dense smoke. Others include an interactive plant pot that can automatically gauge the amount of water needed to maintain the plant and a dietary supplement purported to relieve depression and suppress appetite. One of the inventions was a carbon monoxide sensor which could activate both open a window and turn on an exhaust fan if it detects dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. This invention could potentially safe lives, debuting at the invention fair to great acclaim. The product, which also won a gold medal, is named "Happy Banana" and is made from banana skins. It was developed and produced by Taipei-based biotechnology company TCI Co. The interactive water-saving picture frame for plants was an eye-catching exhibit at the fair.

Contents
A joint study by National Cheng Kung University and Ohio State University found vitamin E to have properties to prevent and treat cancer – The National Science Council nominated 40 candidates for startup grants, comprising teams from 22 research organizations and universities, covering fields such as biotechnology, cloud computing, industrial design and technical services – Researchers located a gene that causes neuromuscular disorder – National Tsing Hua University presented the results of their latest research on biological and bio-inspired materials – National Chiao Tung University built a new type of high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) that has the highest oscillation frequency in the world – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) spend most in R&D among Taiwanese companies – Taiwan Biomaterial Company is working on novel brain surgery material – the National Applied Research Laboratories’ (NARL) Instrument Technology Research Center announced an important breakthrough in producing large-diameter aspheric lenses for FORMOSAT 5 – National Taiwan University Hospital discovered the mechanism controlling the pigmentation of bird feathers, which could lead to a cure for graying hair.

Taiwan’s Science Parks
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, Taiwan ranks first in its “state of cluster development” index. More than a dozen science parks in Taiwan are organized into three geographic groups: Hsinchu Science Park, Central Taiwan Science Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park.’ Newcomers to the science park system, currently in the startup stage, include the Yilan Science Park, the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, and the Advanced Research Park in Nantou County. Expansion of a number of other parks is also underway.
Taiwan’s science parks are designed and administered to provide ideal conditions for high-tech business operations. These include affordable leases, secure supplies of water, power and materials, and efficient shipping services. The parks also provide excellent environments for developing powerful synergies with clusters of related enterprises, some in nearby industrial parks, as well as with public R&D institutions.

Related Websites:
• National Science Council:
http://www.nsc.gov.tw
• Department of Industrial Technology, Ministry of Economic Affairs:
http://www.moea.gov.tw/Mns/doit
• Atomic Energy Council: http://www.aec.gov.tw
• National Applied Research Laboratories:
http://www.narl.org.tw
• Industrial Technology Research Institute:
http://www.itri.org.tw
• Institute for Information Industry:
http://www.iii.org.tw
• Hsinchu Science Park:
http://www.sipa.gov.tw
• Southern Taiwan Science Park:
http://www.stsipa.gov.tw
• Central Taiwan Science Park:
http://www.ctsp.gov.tw

President Ma Ying-jeou said that Taiwan must make further efforts in investing in research and development even though his target for R&D spending of 3 % of GDP has been met. Taiwan has no natural resources, but is successful in “digging brain mines.” In the World Bank's Knowledge Economic Index rankings for 2012, Taiwan ranked 13th among 146 evaluated countries around the world and was first among Asian countries, he said, attributing the result to the country's education system. Although Taiwan has been winning many prizes in international invention and design competitions, few of the awarded works have been commercialized or turned into thriving businesses. To take better advantage of the island’s innovative capacity, Ma said, his administration has decided to set “the commercialization of patented inventions” as one of its major priorities.

Contents
Taiwan’s leading research institute urges an education and science reform – the findings in an international scientific project could lead to fire ant control – the National Science Council (NSC) unveiled its scientific development blueprint – Sargassum horneri is regarded a worthy algae – Taiwanese researchers establish evolutionary tree of ginko.

Premier C. Chen promised to leave no stone unturned in implementing the four-year science and technology blueprint (2013-2016) proposed by the National Science Council. It contains seven goals: upgrading academic research, protecting intellectual property rights, promoting sustainable development, strengthening research and industry cooperation, encouraging integrated science projects, boosting scientific and technology innovation, and tackling sector brain drain.
The Tang Awards, created by Ruentex Group Chairman Samuel Yin, are to become known as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, aiming to raise Taiwan’s profile in the international academic community. With the help of Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institution, it will honor individuals, regardless of nationality, who have made outstanding contributions or who have achieved significant breakthroughs in sustainable engineering, medical and biotech research, Sinology studies, and law. A cash prize of NT$ 50 mio. will be presented to the winner in each of the four categories. The Tang Awards are to be presented every two years.

News Highlights:
Neurosurgery professor Lin Shinn-zong of China Medical University in Taichung City has been named a Charter Fellow of US-based National Academy of Inventors – National Cheng Kung University developed a digital painting pen that allows users to change brush strokes and colors with a single pen when drawing on a computer screen – cognitive neuroscientists found cross-cultural universality of brain networks for recognizing word shapes and handwriting gestures during reading – National Cheng Kung University developed an optical system to quantify the properties of biological tissues noninvasively – Taiwan is adjusting the focus of climate change research (a new study on how agriculture and ecology are influenced by climate change) – Academia Sinica researchers develop a new approach of using a “molecular dam” to enhance the mass transport of protein molecule enrichment, which could helop accelerate the detection of disease in the preliminary stages – National Taiwan Normal University and Pennsylvania State University establish an international research center to promote Chinese language learning – Three Taiwan think tanks rank among Asia’s top 40 research institutes – Kaoshiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital is to conduct experimental hand transplants – a research team from the National Chung Hsing University produced the world’s first cloned miniature pigs – scientists at the Genomic Research Center developed potential carbohydrate-based vaccines against breast cancer.