It’s hard to distinguish a shamrock from a clover. Consumers often have the same trouble telling good herbal products from bad ones. According to Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor), an ancient doctrinal Chinese medical group of texts, Chinese medicinal formulas can be categorised into soup, powder, pill, ointment and elixir. In view of the vast array of herbal products in the market today, how can we tell which is authentic? What does blockchain have to do with Chinese medicinal materials? In this Cubic Zine issue, Prof Shaw Pang Chui of the School of Life Sciences, who pioneered the use of molecular authentication of herbal products in 1990s, shares with us how he traces DNA of herbal materials even in boiling soup. Let’s hear his story. In this issue: #TMC #DNAauthentication #Blockchain #traceability #HKGenuineProducts #JoyNTearOfEducation

Under the pressure of the epidemic, the trend of "e-learning" has revealed its advantages. The emergence of virtual reality teaching has further promoted the education sector to enter the era of digital learning. We can also ride the "STEM wave" and find the key to coping with changes and challenges. Professor Morris Jong, the cover story of this issue of Cubic Zine, fell in love with computers from playing computer games, and then researched the combination of games and learning, which not only satisfied the many wishes of local non-Chinese students, but also extended the teaching effect to overseas universities.

An incumbent Associate Professor of CUHK’s School of Journalism and Communication, Donna is well versed in new media and popular culture research (thus the latest craze among youngsters). CUHK is indeed where she took root – she earned her bachelor’s degree here too.

"Oftentimes in life, simply making a choice is not as straightforward as it seems." Referring to the indecision plaguing the eponymous hero of her favourite play, Hamlet, she likens his struggles to the confusion met by many deaf individuals including their parents. To communicate or not to communicate with sign language, that is the question.