UKM becomes World Class University in 2025
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBy Aini Hidayah Abdul Hadi BANGI: Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Dato’ Ir Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor (pix) has set an aim for UKM to become a World Class University (WCU) by 2025. His objectives and targets were presented during Bicara Perdana Naib Canselor 2020 which was attended by UKM’s top management, staff […]
Covid-19 sniffer dogs are here!
Reading Time: 2 minutesWHAT could be more accurate, faster and cheaper than the current diagnostic test kits for Covid-19 detection? It is man’s all-time best friend – yes, dogs! Dogs nature of sniffing everything may be annoying to some humans but looks like researchers around the world are actually benefiting from it. Researchers are now taking advantage of […]
Anti dengue drug from rubber trees!
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE rubber industry, unlike many other commodity-related industries in Malaysia is booming with soaring demand for latex surgical gloves with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, if you think rubber trees are only valued for their latex or rubber elastomer here’s a surprise to marvel at. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] Scientists from the Malaysian Rubber Board […]
Long wait over for Kenya A new dawn rises for this East African nation’s cotton farmers as Bt cotton enters commercial farming
Reading Time: 2 minutesAFTER many years of waiting, Kenya has finally commenced commercial farming of Bt cotton heralding a new dawn for cotton farmers in the country. Recently, the country planted its first Bt cotton seed in an open field outside confinement during a historic launch held at Alupe University, western Kenya. The country now becomes the seventh […]
New way to chart human genome
Reading Time: 3 minutesIN SEARCH of new ways to sequence human genomes and read critical alterations in DNA, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully used the gene cutting tool CRISPR to make cuts in DNA around lengthy tumor genes, which can be used to collect sequence information. A report on the proof-of-principle experiments using genomes […]
‘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 […]
Newly-developed edible cotton seeds are packed with protein – not poison
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCOTTON is a widely-grown crop and its seeds are full of protein, so you might think they’d be a great source of food. Unfortunately, though, they’re toxic to humans. That said, such is not the case with a newly-developed variety of the plant. Ordinarily, cotton plants (including the seeds) contain a toxic organic compound known […]
Aqueous stream of palm oil processing yields hidden gem
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY JAYASYALINY JAYARAJ KUALA LUMPUR: What has traditionally been ignored in the palm oil milling stream, has turned out to become a blockbuster bioactive supplement – now rolling out from a manufacturing plant in Mexico. The supplement, Palm Fruit Bioactive Complex (PFBc) has now [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] “come to be” because Malaysian scientists […]
Parkinson’s disease may start before birth
Reading Time: 2 minutesPEOPLE who develop Parkinson’s disease before age 50 may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades, according to new Cedars-Sinai research. The research points to a drug that potentially might help correct these disease processes. Parkinson’s occurs when brain neurons that make dopamine, a substance that helps coordinate muscle movement, […]
Golden Rice moves towards full cultivation
Reading Time: < 1 minuteON BEHALF of the 151 Nobel Prize winners and 13,292 cosigners supporting GMOs, we were delighted to hear of the recent announcement of the approval by the Philippine Department of Agriculture to authorize the direct use of Golden Rice as Food and Feed or for Processing (FFP). This brings the cultivation of Golden Rice in […]