Reflection and renewal
Reading Time: 8 minutesAs we draw the curtains on 2018, The Petri Dish’s Shamira Shamsuddin and Farah Nadzri asked young technopreneurs who are MTDC fund recipients to share their ups and downs of this year and their resolution for the coming year. These young innovators also share their hopes and aspirations for Malaysia to embrace homegrown technologies. Zharif Sharif CEO, […]
Human actions impact wild salmon’s ability to evolve
Reading Time: 3 minutesONCE spring-run chinook salmon disappear, they are not likely to re-emerge, indicates genetic analysis of the revered wild fish in a study led by the University of California, Davis. Prompt conservation action could preserve spring-run chinook, as well as their evolutionary potential. The study, published online recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy […]
Study shows how mussels handle microplastic fibre
Reading Time: 2 minutesHUMAN-MADE microplastics exist throughout the global ocean, from busy coastal areas to remote regions far from human habitation. They have myriad impacts: microplastics are eaten by tiny animals called zooplankton, play host to bacterial colonies, and can even change how energy and nutrients flow through ocean ecosystems. “The big pieces of plastic you find on […]
Cancer hazard in old honey
Reading Time: 2 minutesA recently concluded workshop on communicating research hosted by Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (Mabic) and Monash University Malaysia, found potential “science journalists” among researchers. The article published here is also a testimony of the success of the first home-grown science communication teaching module created by Mabic. The writer was given an opportunity to write popular […]
Monash-created zebrafish model to aid epilepsy research
Reading Time: 2 minutesA recently concluded workshop on communicating research hosted by Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (Mabic) and Monash University Malaysia, found potential “science journalists” among researchers. The articles published here is also a testimony of the success of the first home-grown science communication teaching module created by Mabic. The writers were given an opportunity to write popular […]
Your brain on imagination: It’s a lot like reality, study shows
Reading Time: 2 minutesIMAGINE a barking dog, a furry spider or another perceived threat and your brain and body respond much like they would if you experienced the real thing. Imagine it repeatedly in a safe environment and soon your phobia–and your brain’s response to it–subsides. That’s the takeaway of a new brain imaging study led by University […]
An ancient strain of plague may have led to the decline of Neolithic Europeans
Reading Time: 2 minutesA TEAM of researchers from France, Sweden, and Denmark have identified a new strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, in DNA extracted from 5,000-year-old human remains. Their analyses, publishing December 6 in the journal Cell, suggest that this strain is the closest ever identified to the genetic origin of plague. Their work […]
What makes rain smell so good?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteARE you a pluviophile, a person who loves rain and the smell of rain? Did you know that the earthy smell when rain hits the ground is called petrichor? The word petrichor was coined from Greek which petros means “stone” and ichor means “the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods”. Petrichor has […]
Medicine from crop waste
Reading Time: 2 minutesTohoku University researchers are optimising methods to produce useful compounds from biomass A TEAM of researchers have identified a one-step process to easily convert a plant-based sugar into a chemical compound, which can then be used to manufacture other substances, including a natural pharmaceutical used to treat conditions such as congenital heart disease and erectile […]