‘Food Evolution’ provokes pro-GMO debate
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY ARUNA GANESAN BANDAR SUNWAY: A recent forum held in conjunction with the documentary Food Evolution directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy pushed the global pro-GMO agenda a notch higher. Panellists from various countries including Malaysia, Belgium, Philippines, India, and Kenya [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] who watched the movie at Monash University Malaysia here – lent […]
Borneo frog species leap in numbers…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn the past 20 years, new species of frogs have been identified in Borneo island. In the first field guide of Frogs of Borneo (1997) only 90 species were listed. However, the list has now doubled to 180 species. Naturalist Datuk Seri Teo Chee Kang who heads the Kota Kinabalu-based Natural History Publications which published […]
Power up energy efficiency in crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY SHAWN KENG IN a resource-demanding world, humans have developed green technologies which are energy efficient and minimal in carbon footprint. Now, imagine the engineering of energy efficiency is applied in crops. Scientists are programming rice to produce more yield during photosynthesis, by interchanging genetic code found in maize. Based on University of Oxford press […]
Taste, not appearance, drives corals to eat plastics
Reading Time: 3 minutesSCIENTISTS have long known that marine animals mistakenly eat plastic debris because the tiny bits of floating plastic might look like prey. But a new Duke University study of plastic ingestion by corals suggests there may be an additional reason for the potentially harmful behaviour. Visual cues, such as a resemblance to prey, don’t factor […]
What causes a meteor shower?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMETEOR showers occur when the earth in its orbit around the Sun passes through debris left over from the destruction of comets. Although the earth’s orbit around the Sun is almost circular, most comets travel in orbits that are highly elongated ellipses. As a result, some comets have orbits that intersect or partially overlap the […]
Why owls can’t see in daylight?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteFIRST and foremost – an owl can actually see in daylight. There is a common misconception that owls are blind during the day. Owls have a sharp vision during both day and night time. But the vision is extremely efficient during the night, spotting their prey even in the pitch of darkness. Owls have large […]
Research shows Fraser’s Hill still pristine
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY ASMAHANIM AMIR BANGI: Fraser’s Hill in Pahang is still intact and its surrounding forests are pristine with rich biological diversity because the development of the area was well-planned. A lecturer from the School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Prof Dr Sahibin Abd Rahim said […]
What happens when you stare at the solar eclipse?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHERE are no pain receptors to inform your brain that the retinas are being fried. It is more likely to that many of us are overreacting to standard aches and pains after watching the eclipse despite the warnings. The real sign of retinal damage shows up around 12 hours later, where you woke up with […]
Africa’s most notorious insects – the bugs that hit agriculture the hardest
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY ESTHER NDUMI NGUMBI, Research Fellow, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University THE dreaded crop-eating fall armyworm continues to spread across Africa like wildfire. This invasive insect pest, first reported in Africa in early 2016, is in more than 20 African countries including South Sudan and South Africa. It has destroyed many staple crops […]
Researchers find world’s first warm-blooded fish
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRESEARCHERS have discovered a first fully warm-blooded fish that circulates heated blood throughout its body much like mammals and birds. The silvery fish, roughly the size of a large automobile tire, is known from oceans around the world and dwells hundreds of feet beneath the surface in chilly, dimly lit waters. The warm-blooded opah or […]