Climate change – It’s now or never
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY JOSEPH MASILAMANY AS HUGE GLACIAL ice bodies melt, a harsh new climate report pointedly highlights that the impact of climate change is literally racing across to our doorsteps as sea levels are rising much faster than expected. The report by the United Nations-led Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), however, says: “It is still […]
HIGH VOLTAGE EEL
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThere are at least three species of electric eels (Electrophorus spp.), not just one as previously believed. Two new species have recently been described with São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP’s support by a group of researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society, among other institutions. One of the new species can […]
SOFT TACTILE LOGIC …
Reading Time: < 1 minuteInspired by octopuses, researchers have developed a structure that senses, computes and responds without any centralised processing – creating a device that is not quite a robot and not quite a computer, but has characteristics of both. The new technology holds promise for use in a variety of applications, from soft robotics to prosthetic devices. […]
Commonly used antibiotics may lead to heart problems
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS have shown for the first time a link between two types of heart problems and one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics. In a study published recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority’s […]
Hydrogel to repair heart damage
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS successfully conducted a first-in-human, FDA-approved Phase 1 clinical trial of an injectable hydrogel that aims to repair damage and restore cardiac function in “heart failure” patients who had previously suffered a heart attack. The trial is the first to test a hydrogel designed to repair cardiac tissue. It is also the first to test […]
Combination of wood fibers and spider silk could rival plastic
Reading Time: 2 minutesACHIEVING strength and extensibility at the same time has so far been a great challenge in material engineering: increasing strength has meant losing extensibility and vice versa. Now Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland researchers have succeeded in overcoming this challenge, inspired by nature. The researchers created a truly new biobased material […]
Macaques and malaria
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS in Malaysia, with assistance from colleagues in USA and Singapore, have discovered that long-tailed macaques from Malaysian Borneo harbour a new species of Plasmodium parasite, a group of approximately 250 species of blood parasites, some of which can cause malaria in humans. Plasmodium parasites are spread by vectors, such as Anopheles mosquitoes, and can […]
Disruptive technologies are changing Asian agriculture
Reading Time: 5 minutesAGRICULTURE has historically depended on disruptive discoveries and innovations to make big strides. With the re-discovery of Mendel’s laws, modern plant breeding started to produce new crop varieties with higher potential yield in the twentieth century and hybrid seed became the major driver of increases in maize yield in the USA. Indeed, maize yield increased […]
Jumping genes can speed-breed drought-resistant crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS from the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress triggers the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and colour in tomatoes. Their characterisation of Rider, published today in the journal PLOS Genetics, revealed that the […]
Drinking tea improves brain health
Reading Time: 2 minutesA RECENT STUDY led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that regular tea drinkers have better organised brain regions – and this is associated with healthy cognitive function – compared to non-tea drinkers. The research team made this discovery after examining neuroimaging data of 36 older adults. “Our results offer the […]