Genes that can ‘beef up’ cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutesBEEF cattle improvement programmes have focused for decades on promoting the rapid growth of calves. Now, the goal is to improve other traits, such as meat tenderness or ribeye muscle area. Researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil who are studying the genome of the Gir breed of Zebu cattle have identified 35 […]
What animal has teeth in its stomach?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe animal that has teeth in the stomach is a lobster. Lobsters have their teeth in their stomach. They chew their food in their stomach, which is very close to their mouth, between three grinding surfaces that look like molar teeth called the “gastric mill”. The gastric mill is found in crabs, lobsters, crayfish, barnacles, krill, and many others. These invertebrates don’t […]
How do hot air balloons work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA HOT AIR BALLOON is a unique flying craft which works because of hot air rises. By heating the air inside the balloon with the burner, it becomes lighter than the cooler air on the outside. This causes the balloon to float upwards, as if it were in water. Obviously, if the air is allowed to cool, the balloon begins to slowly […]
Astronomers discover the giant that shaped the early days of Milky Way
Reading Time: 2 minutesSOME ten billion years ago, the Milky Way merged with a large galaxy. The stars from this partner, named Gaia-Enceladus, make up most of the Milky Way’s halo and also shaped its thick disk, giving it its inflated form. A description of this mega-merger, discovered by an international team led by University of Groningen astronomer […]
How sleeping in a car can kill you?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteFOR many of us the car is not only a vehicle that we use to travel from Point A to Point B. Some of us take a short nap during a long drive inside the car itself. But do you know this can be fatal? Research has revealed sleeping in the car with the air conditioner “on” can be dangerous and even life-threatening due […]
UM food scientist takes ‘Women in Science’ award
Reading Time: 2 minutesKUALA LUMPUR: University of Malaya (UM) researcher Dr Chai Lay (pix) Ching was awarded the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science National Fellowship for her research in developing a real-time method to detect dangerous bacteria causing food-borne diseases in raw chicken. Chai, a food microbiologist from Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, has been named as […]
Older plantation crops release more CO2 in M’sia
Reading Time: 2 minutesOLDER rubber trees and oil palm plantations in Malaysia release more carbon dioxide from the soil into the atmosphere than younger groves, according to new research in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science. Forests and plants store carbon dioxide to produce energy. However, when plants drop their leaves or die, soil microbes go to […]
Bioeconomy Corp moves to MOA
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMALAYSIAN Bioeconomy Development Corporation (Bioeconomy Corp) is now under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MOA), effective November 2, 2018. The economic development agency for the bio-based industry was previously under the purview of Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation, now knowns as the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and […]
Indonesia’s first GM crop to hit the market
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE government of Indonesia has approved the first locally developed genetically modified crop which will soon be commercialised in the country. The biotech sugarcane event NXI-4T which contains the betaine gene was developed by the state-owned sugar company, PT Perkebunan Nusantara XI (PTPN XI). The gene expressed osmoprotectant compound which was introduced using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated […]