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Lei Liu

Senior Research Fellow, Southern Cross University
Dr Lei Liu, also known as 'Ben', completed his PhD on 'Phytochemical and Pharmacological Perspectives of Wheat Grain and Lupin Seed' in 2010. Currently, Dr Liu is a senior research fellow at Southern Cross University, Australia. He has a wide research interest in biologically active phytochemicals. Dr Liu has proven expertise in the isolation, identification and quantification of bioactive metabolites. He has studied cereal grain quality, starch digestion, lipidomics, cotton, coffee, macadamia, seaweed, Australian native plants, Chinese traditional medicine and natural pesticides. Dr Liu has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Dr Liu has devoted himself to studying health-promoting functional food, nutraceuticals, and environmentally sustainable agriculture. He has worked with several local farmers to identify possible ways to add value to their products. Dr Liu has supervised 10 PhD, 2 Masters and 3 honours to completion. He is currently supervising 4 PhD and 1 Masters students. He is aiming to train all his students to be careful observers, critical thinkers and more independent researchers.

Dr Liu has also developed an undergraduate unit "Analysis of Food and Natural Products" in 2022. He has been teaching that unit and several other undergraduate units at Southern Cross University. Dr Liu currently serves as the Deputy Director of Higher Degree Research Training (HDRT) for the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University. This role is dedicated to managing and facilitating the PhD and Master by Thesis programs within his Faculty.

Economy

Gold Price Holds Above $4,130 as Fed Rate Outlook and Middle East Tensions Support Safe-Haven Demand

Gold prices remained resilient on Thursday, staying above the $4,130-an-ounce mark as investors continued buying on recent dips despite rising oil prices and growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could keep...

Asian Stocks Rally on AI Spending Optimism as Middle East Tensions Push Oil to Six-Week High

Asian stock markets advanced on Thursday as strong artificial intelligence (AI) investment plans from major U.S. technology companies boosted confidence in the regions semiconductor sector, while escalating conflict in the...

Australia Jobs Surge in June Strengthens Case for More RBA Rate Hikes

Australias labor market posted a stronger-than-expected performance in June, reinforcing expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could raise interest rates again to curb persistent inflation. Data released by...

Oil Prices Rise as Houthi Attacks on Saudi Tankers Heighten Middle East Supply Fears

Oil prices extended their rally for a fifth consecutive session during Asian trading on Thursday as renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East fueled concerns over potential disruptions to global crude supplies. The...

South Korea Q2 GDP Beats Forecasts as AI Chip Exports Drive Growth

South Koreas economy expanded faster than expected in the second quarter of 2026, supported by resilient semiconductor exports as global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continued to boost the countrys...

Politics

Arizona Primaries Set High-Stakes Governor and House Battles Ahead of Midterm Elections

Arizonas Republican primary delivered major victories for candidates backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, setting up closely watched contests for governor and a key U.S. House seat in the November 3 midterm elections....

Amish Shah Wins Arizona Democratic Primary in Key U.S. House Race

Moderate Democrat Amish Shah has won the Democratic primary for Arizonas 1st Congressional District, according to media projections, setting up a closely watched general election contest that could play a significant role...

Trump Administration Opens Civil Rights Probes Into Five U.S. Medical Schools Over Admissions

The U.S. Department of Education has launched civil rights investigations into five medical schools over alleged racial discrimination in admissions, expanding President Donald Trumps campaign against diversity, equity,...

ASEAN Forum Puts Middle East Conflict, South China Sea Tensions in Spotlight

Top diplomats from Asia, Europe, and North America gathered in Manila on Thursday for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), with the escalating Middle East conflict and South China Sea tensions expected to dominate discussions....

Rubio Rejects AI ‘Kill Switch’ Claims as U.S. Defends American Technology Abroad

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed American diplomats to push back against claims that the United States has a kill switch capable of shutting off access to U.S. technology products, according to a State...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Intel, AMD Seek Long-Term China Server CPU Deals as AI Demand Drives Supply Crunch

Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are negotiating long-term purchase agreements with Chinese server customers as demand for data center processors continues to outpace supply, according to people familiar with the...

Alphabet Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates as AI Spending, Google Cloud Growth Fuel Outlook

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) delivered stronger-than-expected second-quarter 2026 results, driven by rapid growth in Google Cloud and continued investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Despite beating Wall Street...

Elon Musk Fuels SpaceX-Tesla Merger Speculation After Earnings Call

The possibility of a merger between Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX gained fresh attention after Teslas second-quarter earnings call, with Deepwater Managements Gene Munster increasing the odds of a deal taking place in...

IBM Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates as Software Growth Offsets Infrastructure Weakness

International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) reported second-quarter 2026 earnings that missed Wall Street expectations, although its shares gained about 3% after the company had already warned investors about weaker...

OpenAI Australia Data Center Switches Cooling Strategy After Recycled Water Plan Fails

OpenAIs planned mega data center in Australia will rely on a more energy-intensive cooling system after developers abandoned plans to use recycled water, according to a Reuters report published Thursday. The change comes...