MPOB: Oil palm a more viable cash crop
Reading Time: 2 minutesKUALA LUMPUR: Being the most widely used and traded cash crop in the world and yet the most controversial, palm oil is here to stay. Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Director General Datuk Ahmad Kushairi Din said this at the recently concluded 14th International Symposium on Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology (ISBAB 2018) in Kuala Lumpur […]
Older plantation crops release more CO2 in M’sia
Reading Time: 2 minutesOLDER rubber trees and oil palm plantations in Malaysia release more carbon dioxide from the soil into the atmosphere than younger groves, according to new research in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science. Forests and plants store carbon dioxide to produce energy. However, when plants drop their leaves or die, soil microbes go to […]
IOES, FJIO promote ocean observation technology through training course
Reading Time: 2 minutesJOINTLY organised by the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), University of Malaya (UM) and the Fujian Institute of Oceanography (FJIO), China, 2018 Overseas Training Course on China-Malaysia Multidisciplinary Ocean Observation Technology was held as part of the China-Malaysia human resources training cooperation programme. The two-week training course took place at UM, Universiti Malaysia […]
Cushioning impact of earthquakes
Reading Time: 2 minutesUPM researchers invent structural vibration absorber BY AZMAN ZAKRIA SERDANG: Researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) have successfully developed an innovative Structural Vibration Absorber Device which absorbs vibration caused by an earthquake and thus, prevents damage to buildings and reduces risk of death. The device is applicable to various types of buildings, including conventional buildings, […]
Rethinking Malaysia’s energy vision
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY DR MOHD SYUKRI YAHYA NUCLEAR POWER was Malaysia’s last energy option during Tun Dr Mahathir’s first tenure as prime minister. The policy was rescinded by his two successors, who studied nuclear as a possible part of our energy mix in the peninsula. However, now that Dr Mahathir is back at the helm, nuclear power […]
USM collaborates with authorities to establish UNESCO heritage site at Sungai Batu
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY MAZLAN HANAFI BASHARUDIN Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will continue to collaborate with the authorities towards making the Sungai Batu archaeological site in Sungai Petani, Kedah a UNESCO World Heritage site. The collaboration between USM and the Department of National Heritage (JWN) which started in 2007, has uncovered the Sungai Batu early civilisation site, with […]
US Agriculture paves the ‘New Normal’ for global agribusiness
Reading Time: 7 minutesI had the opportunity to attend the 2018 Southeast Asia US Agricultural Cooperators Conference organised by US Grains Council, US Department of Agriculture, and US Soybean Export Council in Kota Kinabalu recently. Themed “The new normal for global agribusiness”, the conference, aimed at bringing together US agriculture leaders, farmers, USDA officials, subject matter experts and […]
The environmental cost of contact lenses
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMANY people rely on contact lenses to improve their vision. But these sight-correcting devices don’t last forever — some are intended for a single day’s use — and they are eventually disposed of in various ways. Now, scientists are reporting that throwing these lenses down the drain at the end of their use could be […]
Southeast Asian forest loss greater than expected, with negative climate implications
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS using satellite imaging have found much greater than expected deforestation since 2000 in the highlands of Southeast Asia, a critically important world ecosystem. The findings are important because they raise questions about key assumptions made in projections of global climate change as well as concerns about environmental conditions in Southeast Asia in the future. […]
Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy
Reading Time: 2 minutesUNIVERSITY of British Columbia (UBC) researchers have found a cheap, sustainable way to build a solar cell using bacteria that convert light to energy. Their cell generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light. This innovation could be a step […]