How important are coral reefs?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCoral reefs, also known as “the rainforests of the sea”, are well known for their beauty and vibrant colours, but apart from that, they are extremely important, both ecologically and economically. Unlike other marine ecosystems, coral reefs support more species per unit area, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals, and hundreds […]
Aquaculture: The Good, The Bad and the Restorative
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY DR ANNETTE JAYA RAM, DR ABE WOO SAU PINN, DR AILEEN TAN SHAU-HWAI CENTRE for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS) at Universiti Sains Malaysia is deep in research on cultivating bivalves and seaweeds as natural bio-remediators, to reverse the adverse effects of unchecked aquaculture farming. Penang’s aquaculture sector, though a thriving global export industry […]
Turtle watch for conservation
Reading Time: 5 minutesBY KOMALAH SELVA BRICKS and Mortar is what I am trained for, but the sea is where I feel I can reenergize. When I came across Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU UMT) through a resort’s website, it was a dream come true for me as it was not only a meaningful cause […]
Sea turtles have a deadly attraction to stinky plastic
Reading Time: 2 minutesSEA TURTLES around the world are threatened by marine plastic debris, mostly through ingestion and entanglement. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on March 9 have new evidence to explain why all that plastic is so dangerous for the turtles: they mistake the scent of stinky plastic for food. “We found that loggerhead […]
Animals could help humans monitor oceans
Reading Time: 1 minute“WE want to highlight the massive potential of animal-borne sensors to teach us about the oceans,” said lead author Dr David March, of Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall. “This is already happening on a limited scale, but there’s scope for much more. “We looked at 183 species – including […]
Lights on fishing nets save turtles and dolphins
Reading Time: < 1 minutePLACING LIGHTS on fishing nets reduces the chances of sea turtles and dolphins being caught by accident, new research shows. LED lights along the top of floating gillnets cut accidental “bycatch” of sea turtles by more than 70 per cent, and that of small cetaceans (including dolphins and porpoises) by more than 66 per cent. […]
Study: Asian rivers transport more plastic than Europe’s waterways
Reading Time: 2 minutesIN the first study of its kind, researchers from the Netherlands examined the amounts of floating plastic debris at 24 locations on rivers in seven European and Asian countries. Lead author Caroline van Calcar, from Delft University of Technology, said: “Land-based plastics, washed into the ocean by rivers, are believed to be the main source […]
Wound healing innovation from bitter gourd and rotten starfruit
Reading Time: 2 minutesSERDANG: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) researchers succeeded in producing ‘Medicated Wound Dressing’, a wound healing product from bitter gourd and rotten starfruit, a more effective and appropriate wound healing method especially for diabetic patients. It has both antimicrobial and healing abilities, and can be used on chronic and traumatic wounds with reduced microbial infection. Lead […]
Tiny fishes fuel coral reefs
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTIST have long sought to understand how coral reefs support such an abundance of fish life despite their location in nutrient poor waters. According to a new study published May 23 in the journal Science, an unlikely group fuels these communities: tiny, mostly bottom-dwelling creatures called “cryptobenthic” reef fishes. The study shows that these fishes […]
Deadly box jellyfish antidote discovered using CRISPR
Reading Time: 3 minutesRESEARCHERS at the University of Sydney have discovered an antidote to the deadly sting delivered by the most venomous creature on earth — the Australian box jellyfish. The Australian box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) has about 60 tentacles that can grow up to three metres long. Each tentacle has millions of microscopic hooks filled with venom. […]