A grim scenario as ‘cousins’ of SARS-CoV2 stealthily circle the globe
Reading Time: 2 minutesSARS-CoV-2 is known to have mutated and different strains are going around the globe. In a recent preliminary study that has not been peer-reviewed, scientists have identified 14 mutations in Spike protein and counting. Spikes on a virus are responsible for binding and entry into host cells and is a major target of neutralising antibodies. The scientists […]
Covid-19 – Are electric air-dryers safer than toilet paper? And must we sanitize our ringgits and sen?
Reading Time: 2 minutes“THE VIRUS is so invisible and could be anywhere. You may be wearing a mask to prevent it from entering your upper respiratory tract. You may practice social distancing, perhaps you are locked down at home. But what about the coins and bank notes that you just cannot avoid touching? How about the jet air […]
The plot thickens as ‘accomplices’ of SARS-CoV-2 circle the globe
Reading Time: 2 minutesMICROBIOLOGISTS and related scientists in UK and Germany are having their hands full. As they continue their detective work on SARS-CoV-2 – the plot thickens on their hands! SARS-CoV-2 is spreading around the planet, keeping billions of people under lockdown, another billion hospitalised and it has snuffed out the lives of over a 100,000 – […]
Pangolins – Protectors of the environment
Reading Time: 2 minutesA SINGLE pangolin is said to consume up to 70 million ants and termites a year. That’s about 191,780 insects per day! Pangolins [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] are natural pest controllers and save both forest trees and agricultural crops from this insect pestilence. One pangolin can protect an area as large as 31 football fields (41 acres) from termite destruction. […]
Malayan Pangolins: The mixing bowl for SARS-CoV-2?
Reading Time: 3 minutesTHE bat is the known “villain” in the current Covid-19 episode. Of course, not to mention the ultimate villain, that is homo sapiens (human beings) and their appetite for exotic meat. While everyone now knows that bats are the reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is wreaking havoc globally, the virus seemed to have made […]
Scientists prove SARS-CoV-2 not made in lab but come from nature
Reading Time: 4 minutesTHERE is now a steady stream of speculation and conspiracy theories that SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19 was deliberately or accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Such speculations are not new. There is still a school of thought that says earth is flat, 9/11 was a self-attack, and A(HINI) [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ […]
The big teacher in Covid-19
Reading Time: 3 minutesA 125NM PARTICLE is shaking up the world, thousands of lives are lost, world economy is crashing down and the world has come to an almost standstill. In the midst of this chaos, what are the valuable lessons that we can draw from this pandemic? What does COVID-19 teach us? A lot of things apparently, […]
‘Eureka’ moment for scientists who saw beyond the oil
Reading Time: 6 minutesBY MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN SERENDIPITY in research is every scientist’s dream. For Dr Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi and her co-researchers, it is not just serendipitous research but spontaneous thinking and capturing what missed the attention of many. Ravigadevi and team at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board were the first scientists in the world to make a major discovery […]
The need for good toilet science
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN AS we live in the era of Industry 4.0 (IR4.0), IoT, cloud computing, 5G, gene drive and synthetic biology – in some parts of the world and quite pointedly in Asia and Africa, domestic and public sanitary systems remain derelict, dirty and disgusting. Today, November 19, is World Toilet Day. This specified […]
Soybean – The kingmaker in feed technology and animal nutrition
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Conference – a convergence of nutrition and biosecurity The conference saw a convergence of scientists, feed millers and formulators, animal nutritionists, veterinarians, quality control personnel and livestock producers. Avian Influenza (AI) and African Swine Flu (ASF) took centre stage at this conference as the latter is threatening farmers in Asian countries. So […]