GMO not the reason
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMonarch butterflies and their principal host plant, the milkweed, have been declining in abundance even before GM crops were planted. This was the result of an extensive study conducted by Jack Boyle, a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow of Environmental Science and Policy at College of William & Mary. Boyle and team’s study is published in the Proceedings of […]
UMS calls for new research models
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCH carried out by local universities must have meaningful impact on communities and industries. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said this, calling for the intensification of translational and transdisciplinary researches so that that local communities and industries will benefit from such researches. Its Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof Dr Shahril Yusof (pix) recently said research […]
Communicating scientific issues responsibly
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA MEDIA workshop on Food Safety: Importance of Science Communication took place in Hanoi in November 2018 to foster an open discussion between media reporters and scientists, through the presentations of experts from Vietnam, the United States, and Europe on the importance of applying scientific principles in the food safety assessment process. The goal of the workshop was to merge the gap between scientific topics and mass […]
How plants cope with iron deficiency
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRESEARCHERS at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of Münster (WWU) have discovered a new switch that plants use to control their responses to iron deficiency. The findings from their research on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is published in the journal Developmental Cell. Iron enters the human food chain through plants, either directly or indirectly. Although there are large quantities of iron […]
Engineered DNA vaccine against Mayaro virus
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA NOVEL synthetic DNA vaccine developed at The Wistar Institute induces protective immunity against Mayaro virus (MAYV), a mosquito-borne infection endemic to South America, that has the potential to become a global emerging viral threat. Study results were published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Since its discovery in 1954, MAYV infections have been confined to the heavily forested areas of Trinidad and Tobago and the neighboring regions of […]
Searca-BIC: Cost of regulatory delays for GM crops increasing
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE first in a series of policy briefs released by the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC) is based on a study co-authored by Dr. Jose Benjamin Falck Zepeda, a Research Fellow at the International Food Policyvand Research Institute (IFPRI) and Policy Team Leader at the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS). The study sought to analyse the economic impact of regulatory delays for GM […]
Biofortified cassava to improve nutrition in West Africa
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE “hidden hunger” caused by micronutrient deficiency is a global threat to human health, with particularly severe impacts in Africa. In Nigeria, 75 per cent of preschool children and 67 per cent of pregnant women are anemic, and 20 percent of children below five years suffer from zinc deficiency. Iron deficiency anemia affects the immune system, stunts growth and impairs cognitive development in children, while deficiency in zinc […]
Golden rice to be available in Bangladesh soon
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY SHAMIRA SHAMSUDDIN THE long wait for the realease of Golden rice in Bangladesh is almost over. The new variety of rice enriched with Vitamin A will be available in Bangladesh soon, said Bangladesh Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak. According to Dailystar.net, [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] Dhaka-based news portal,Abdur Razzak was talking to reporters after a meeting with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at the secretariat recently. […]
Why is Eiffel Tower taller during summer?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteEIFFEL tower is well known as the most emblematic monument of the city of Paris.It was built in 1889. Intriguingly, the average height of Eiffel Tower is 324 meters depending on the season. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] The structure material of this magnificent structure is made out of puddled iron. During summer, the Eiffel Tower gets taller by 17 centimetres. But during winter […]
UKM gets new vice chancellor
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY INAARA AZNAN BANGI : Prof Ir Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor (pix) officially commenced as the new Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on Jan 1. He, is the 11th Vice Chancellor of UKM, and takes over from the former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali, whose tenure ended on Dec 31. In the recently held Vice Chancellor’s Duty […]