1. How a Cantonese-American chef in New York uses MSG to celebrate his culture
On his left upper arm, Cantonese-American chef Calvin Eng has a tattoo that pays tribute to his upbringing and his identity as a chef. It is a heart with a banner bearing the letters MSG – the abbreviation of flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate – and it shows just how dedicated he is to the ingredient that has drawn controversy for decades.
2. He’s spent half his life researching how to age well. Here’s his advice
He did not win the US$250,000 prize, but Jed Ray Gengoba Montayre was one of 10 finalists out of 100,000 candidates for the 2025 Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award. Montayre, a gerontologist – or healthy ageing specialist – and associate professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Nursing, was considered for the award for his groundbreaking research.
3. Resilience helps us deal with stress and loss, but how to build it up?
While working with children with cancer and other blood diseases as a graduate school student in the United States, Maria Sirois wondered why some families grew stronger and closer as they rallied against severe illness. Watching their stories unfold inspired her to learn more about why some of us develop resilience while others fall to pieces.
