Call to reverse world hunger crisis
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE recent increase in the number of hungry people in the world requires immediate action to reverse this situation, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told members of the FAO Council on Dec 4. He noted that the latest hunger figure – 815 million people – marked the first increase after more than a decade […]
How do sports drinks help to hydrate you?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWE are bombarded by advertisements urging us to drink various types of sports drinks after sport to help us rehydrate our body. How do these drinks work? Actually there are three types of drinks: hypotonic drinks, isotonic drinks and hypertonic drinks. A hypotonic drink generally contains less than 4g of sugar (carbohydrates) per 100ml and […]
UPM researchers produce PKC and synbiotics based animal feed
Reading Time: 2 minutesSERDANG: Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) research team has successfully produced animal feed from palm kernel (PKC) and synbiotics. These particular feed is rich in various enzymes, proteins and metabolites that increase the nutritional and prebiotic content of the feed. The product termed as ‘Thohira Symbiotic’, encourages the growth of livestock and is comparable to similar […]
What animal camouflages itself into multiple species of animals?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE mimic octopus which is scientifically known as Thaumoctopus mimicus is an Indo-Pacific species of octopus capable of impersonating other local species. They are notable for being able to change their skin colour and texture for camouflaging reasons in order to blend in with their environments, such as algae-encrusted rock and nearby coral through pigment […]
Novozymes and Grundfos kick off collaboration for clean water
Reading Time: 2 minutesSINGAPORE: Biology and pump technology are combined, when the two leading global players enter an open innovation collaboration to find new solutions to the world’s water challenges. When you combine biotech with cutting-edge water technology, you might find new solutions to some of the most pressing global issues concerning water scarcity. Thereby, you can make […]
Call to African govts to promote agri-biotechnologies
Reading Time: 2 minutesAFRICAN governments need to exert more effort to put in place viable legislation and investments that promote agricultural biotechnologies and address food insecurity. This was one of the recommendations put forward during the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Regional Meeting on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa held from Nov […]
What happens if we drink too much of water?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteALL of the major systems of your body depend on water to work properly. Drinking adequate amounts of water helps your body to regulate temperature, prevent constipation, flush out waste products, and perform all major bodily functions. Most people, who exercise in hot weather, are more concerned about not drinking enough water. However, drinking too […]
How do boats float?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHAVE you ever wondered why ships and boats that carry tonnes of weight can float in water but you can’t walk on water? Boats are a brilliant example of how science solves a simple problem. More than two thirds of Earth’s surface is covered in water so it’s just as well that science helps us […]
Exciting excitonium
Reading Time: 4 minutesDiscovery of new form of matter excites researchers EXCITONIUM has a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign… well… excited! Professor of Physics Peter Abbamonte and graduate students Anshul Kogar and Mindy Rak, with input from colleagues at Illinois, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Amsterdam, have proven the existence of […]
Biotechnology – Cuba narrates its success story
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Petri Dish Editor-in-Chief MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN speaks to HE Ibete Fernandez Hernandez, the Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia and gets a glimpse of the country’s achievements in science despite decades of US blockade on the strong-willed nation. Cuban biotechnology research and industry were born in 1980 when the former President, Fidel Castro saw that need to […]