Moving but nowhere to go
Reading Time: 3 minutesMANY INSECTS moving north in response to climate change find they have nowhere to go in Britain’s intensively managed landscapes, according to new research. Since the 1970s, insects in the warmer half of Britain have been flying, hopping and crawling northwards at an average rate of around five metres per day. Landscapes that were once […]
Science diplomacy to address the haze issue
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY TAN SRI OMAR ABDUL RAHMAN, Senior Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Chair, Dialog Rakyat Organising Committee THE HAZE conundrum has now joined national unity and social harmony on the list of current issues causing major concern to Malaysians. The former however is demanding more urgent attention than the latter because of itshigh visibility (or […]
Changes in weather intensity of weather events can be catastrophic
Reading Time: 2 minutesHURRICANE DORIAN is the latest example of a frightening trend. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, more severe and more widespread as a consequence of climate change. New research from Washington University in St Louis provides important new insights into how different species may fare under this new normal. Faced with unprecedented change, animals […]
Limestone forest conservation campaign
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY SITI SURIAWATI ISA FACULTY OF FORESTRY, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia conducted a campaign on the awareness and conservation of limestone forests for the third year in Langkawi from September 26 to October 1. The campaign was extended to include Kuala Nerang and Pendang, Kedah from October 1 […]
Conference highlights issues linked to plastic usage and mismanagement
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY JAYASYALINY JAYARAJ SHAH ALAM : The third edition of the biennial youth conference entitled “Building Bridges for Sustainable Consumption and Production (BB4SCP)” was recently held in Shah Alam – echoing WWF-Malaysia’s theme “What’s with Plastics?” The four-day interactive and informative session aimed to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The conference also served […]
Engineering enzymes to turn plant waste into sustainable products
Reading Time: 3 minutesA NEW family of enzymes has been engineered to perform one of the most important steps in the conversion of plant waste into sustainable and high-value products such as nylon, plastics and chemicals. The discovery was led by members of the same UK-US enzyme engineering team that, last year, engineered and improved a plastic-digesting enzyme, […]
Sunway University researchers find microplastics in sea salt
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE increase in news reports of marine wildlife washing up dead on shores due to complications from ingesting plastic, brings to light the severity of plastic consumption, disposal of plastic and garbage, and pollution of our waterways and oceans. The Great Pacific garbage patch so far is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the […]
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 […]
Turning fish waste into bioplastics
Reading Time: 2 minutesWHILE most of us know that fish contains a high protein content, it is however difficult to imagine that protein in fish waste could be a “starter fodder” to produce bioplastics. The idea of deriving plastics from fish protein first begins with unravelling the protein’s structure. Dr Ku Marsilla Ku Ishak, a lecturer from Polymer […]
Clean and effective electronic waste recycling
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAS the number of electronics devices increases around the world, finding effective methods of recycling electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing concern. About 50 million tons of e-waste is generated each year and only 20% of that is recycled. Most of the remaining 80% ends up in a landfill where it can become an environmental […]