Nanoparticles in a pill
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRESEARCHERS at University of Utah Health developed a proof-of-concept technology using nanoparticles that could offer a new approach for oral medications. The results will be published online in the August 8 issue of the journal ACS Nano. “In the pharmaceutical world, this has been regarded as the holy grail,” said You Han Bae, Ph.D., professor […]
Matchmaking for sweet potato?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSOME relationships can be complicated. Take the one between sweet potato crops and soil nitrogen, for example. Too little nitrogen and sweet potato plants don’t grow well and have low yields. Too much nitrogen, however, boosts the growth of leaves and branches at the expense of storage roots. That also leads to low yields. “Carefully […]
Corn variety gets nutrients from bacteria, potentially reducing need for fertiliser
Reading Time: 2 minutesIN a new study publishing August 7 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers describe a newly identified corn variety which acquires nitrogen — an essential nutrient for plants — by feeding its sugars to beneficial bacteria, which can in turn take up nitrogen from the air and pass it back to the plant in […]
GM rice that can neutralise HIV
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAN INTERNATIONAL team of researchers from Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom has successfully created a strain of genetically modified (GM) rice that will produce HIV-neutralising proteins. Scientists have been developing possible treatments for people infected with HIV. Their efforts to produce a vaccine against the virus have been unsuccessful, but oral medications […]
Barleys brewing secrets
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUNIVERSITY of Adelaide researchers have uncovered the mechanism of barley’s malting characteristics. They discovered a new link between one of the key enzymes in malt production for brewing and a specific tissue layer within the barley grain. The most important malting enzymes come from a layer of tissue in the barley grain called the aleurone, […]
Is a common antimicrobial harmful to gut health?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS have discovered that triclosan, an antimicrobial additive found in thousands of consumer products, causes colon inflammation and exacerbates colon cancer in mice. Their sobering results suggest that health authorities may want to investigate if they should reassess regulatory policies regarding the usage of this common ingredient. Triclosan is found in more than 2,000 consumer […]
Perish not publish? New study quantifies the lack of female authors in scientific journals
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY IONE FINE & ALICIA SHEN PUBLISH or perish” is tattooed on the mind of every academic. Like it or loathe it, publishing in high-profile journals is the fast track to positions in prestigious universities with illustrious colleagues and lavish resources, celebrated awards and plentiful grant funding. Yet somehow, in the search to understand why […]
Scientists use ‘gene knock’ to fight disease resistance in food crops
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA NEW gene editing technique has the potential to confer broad spectrum disease resistance to specific staple crops without affecting other physical traits, according to a scientist from Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Dr Junqi Song, a plant pathologist in AgriLife together with his team of researchers, explores how a “knock-in” gene editing approach might achieve […]
Robotic cockroach explores underwater
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN nature, cockroaches can survive underwater for up to 30 minutes. Now, a robotic cockroach can do even better. Harvard’s Ambulator Microrobot, known as HAMR, can walk on land, swim on the surface of water, and walk underwater for as long as necessary, opening up new environments for this little bot to explore. This next […]
Dr Kye says it all for TB research and science communication
Reading Time: 6 minutesGuest writer with The Petri Dish (PD), Shawn Keng, interviewed Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Dr Khayriyyah Hanafiah or more popularly known as Dr Kye recently. Kye had impressed an international audience by contesting against participants from 27 countries and emerged the FameLab International 3-minute science talk World Champion. Kye shares her thoughts on her participation in […]