What is the colour of the sun?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe almost certainly drew the Sun in the shape of a face in our notebook, and invariably, the color of the Sun’s face would have been yellow or orange. The real color of the sun is white. The reason that the Sun looks yellow to us is because the Earth’s atmosphere scatters higher wavelength colors, […]
Malaysia’s sweet potato expert gives her take
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Petri Dish (PD) recently interviewed Dr Tan Swee Lian, a former plant breeder with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) for 37 years. During this time, she worked mainly on cassava and the sweet potato crops. Through her research initiative MARDI came up with some fascinating cassava and sweet potato varieties. PD: […]
Why ozone levels pose a challenge to food security
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY DIVYA PANDEY Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute, York, AXA Research Fun LISA EMBERSON SEI York Centre Director, University of York SOFIE MORTENSEN Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute OZONE is a well-known and interesting gas. It is thought of as a “good” gas when present in the stratosphere, where it forms the ozone layer sitting […]
Sweet odyssey!
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhich came first, sweet potatoes or human? An awe-inspiring read on the humble tuber crop. EVIDENCE reported in the journal Current Biology on April 12 shows that sweet potatoes arose before there were any humans around to eat them. The findings also suggest that the sweet potato crossed the ocean from America to Polynesia without […]
Why does food turn black when it’s burnt?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteYOU may have witness foods turn black when it gets overheated. Not blue or green or any other color. Have you ever wondered what brings that black hue to burnt food? Not just food but most organic matter, is made of carbon, along with a few other elements, like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and others. [ihc-hide-content […]
Why there are stones alongside a railway track?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWHEN you travel with a train you get to witness a lot of things, like the stunning view of nature or busy cities. One more thing that you always see, are those small stones lying alongside the track. Have you ever thought why there are stones alongside a railway track? [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]The […]
How do people become allergic to things?
Reading Time: < 1 minute AN allergy is a condition that is caused by the hypersensitivity of an individual’s immune system to something that’s present in their environment. People can become allergic to things in two ways. They can either be allergic to something from birth due to their genes, or they can become allergic as they grow up. […]
Dining out danger!
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDining out more at restaurants, cafeterias and fast-food outlets may boost total levels of potentially health-harming chemicals called phthalates in the body, according to a study out today. Phthalates, a group of chemicals used in food packaging and processing materials, are known to disrupt hormones in humans and are linked to a long list of […]
Mycologist: 16 species of Magic Mushrooms found in Sabah
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY JOSEPH MASILAMANY According to a mycologist (mushroom expert) 16 species of Magic Mushroom have been identified in Malaysia. These mushrooms were discovered from 2012 till 2016 on different types of “substrates” such as soil, grassland, deadwood and animal dung. According to Dr Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan, from the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, […]
Breakthrough world staple crop
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new study has isolated a gene controlling shape and size of spikelets in wheat in a breakthrough which could help breeders deliver yield increases in one of the world’s most important crops. The team from the John Innes Centre say the underlying genetic mechanism they have found is also relevant to inflorescence (floral) […]