Why doesn’t it get dark when you blink?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWHEN you first read the title above, you will blink your eyes automatically. Is it right? So, why doesn’t it get dark when you blink? About every five seconds we close our eyes and blink to moisten them. During this brief moment no light falls on our retina yet it is not constantly dark and […]
Disruptive technologies are changing Asian agriculture
Reading Time: 5 minutesAGRICULTURE has historically depended on disruptive discoveries and innovations to make big strides. With the re-discovery of Mendel’s laws, modern plant breeding started to produce new crop varieties with higher potential yield in the twentieth century and hybrid seed became the major driver of increases in maize yield in the USA. Indeed, maize yield increased […]
Jumping genes can speed-breed drought-resistant crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS from the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress triggers the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and colour in tomatoes. Their characterisation of Rider, published today in the journal PLOS Genetics, revealed that the […]
Drinking tea improves brain health
Reading Time: 2 minutesA RECENT STUDY led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that regular tea drinkers have better organised brain regions – and this is associated with healthy cognitive function – compared to non-tea drinkers. The research team made this discovery after examining neuroimaging data of 36 older adults. “Our results offer the […]