Biotech experts gather at White House Summit
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY ALAN BOYLE MORE than 100 biotech researchers, industry executives and government officials met at the White House recently for a summit focusing on America’s bioeconomy — the range of products, services and data derived from biological processes and bioscience research. “The bioeconomy is already an integral part of the general economy,” White House chief […]
Fermentation technology for ‘nicer’ coconut water
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY ASMAHANIM AMIR A RESEARCH TEAM from the National University of Malaysia (UKM) has successfully developed a cutting edge technology which removes turbudity in matured coconut water. Known for its cloudy and poor quality, turbid coconut water is not marketable as a beverage. The research team applied fermentation method to remove turbidity and made the […]
Enabling a successful AgriFood Innovation Park in Singapore: What should it focus on?
Reading Time: 7 minutesBY PAUL TENG, ANDREW POWELL AND ROB HULME Background The success in growing an agrifood sector is considerably improved when supported by one or more agrifood innovation parks (AFIPs) judging from experience in countries such as Taiwan and The Netherlands. Singapore has announced that it intends to develop a new 18ha Agri-Food Innovation Park in […]
Is Malaysia ready to face agri challenges through gene technologies?
Reading Time: 2 minutesIN RECENT months Malaysians have been experiencing a spike in vegetable prices, some more than 100 per cent. For an example, the price of tomatoes has gone up from RM3 per kg to RM6. Although there are multiple factors that influence price of food crops, one reason is the low farm production. Our golden crop, […]
Guacamole lovers, rejoice! The avocado genome has been sequenced
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS have sequenced the avocado genome, shedding light on the ancient origins of this buttery fruit and laying the groundwork for future improvements to farming. With regard to modern affairs, the study reveals for the first time that the popular Hass avocado inherited about 61 percent of its DNA from Mexican varieties and about 39 […]
The ‘new normal’ cometh
Reading Time: 3 minutesBiotech Crops continue to help meet the challenges of feeding increased global populations and mitigating climate change. TOKYO, JAPAN: A total of 70 countries adopted biotech crops through cultivation and importation in 2018 – the 23rd year of continuous biotech crop adoption, according to the Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/GM Crops in 2018 (ISAAA Brief […]
Study shows potential for reduced methane from cows
Reading Time: 2 minutesAN international team of scientists has shown it is possible to breed cattle to reduce their methane emissions. Published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers showed that the genetics of an individual cow strongly influenced the make-up of the microorganisms in its rumen (the first stomach in the digestive system of ruminant animals which […]
Bio hub to recreate Pulau Indah’s landscape
Reading Time: 4 minutesMOHAMAD Razif Abdul Wahab is excited and ready for the challenges that lie ahead, following his recent appointment as the new CEO of Central Spectrum Sdn Bhd (CSSB), the main industrial park developer in Pulau Indah. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Razif aspires to develop Pulau Indah into a progressive and […]
Changing my community through science communication
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY HABIMANA JEAN CLAUDE IT IS Saturday morning in southern Rwanda. Nyiramana’s face is drenched in sweat as she plants maize in her two-acre family farm. She expects to make a decent profit this season given she got the seed at a bargain. A couple of weeks later, Nyiramana’s hope begins to dwindle. The rains […]
Political support reaps benefits from Bt brinjal for Bangladesh farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBT EGGPLANT or brinjal (Solanum mel- ongena) as it is more commonly known in Bangladesh, has revived the country’s egg- plant industry by increasing fruit yield and reducing insecticide use, according to a study led by scientists from Cornell University and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). Grown by an estimated 150,000 resource- poor farmers […]