More cassava in less time
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY MARIA ELIZA VILLARINO CASSAVA has a relatively long growth cycle compared to other important crops. It takes an average of 10-12 months — sometimes up to 24 months! — for farmers to harvest the roots; maize, rice, and potato’s growth cycles span less than a third of that. In other words, farmers can grow […]
Focus on brain-eating amoeba
Reading Time: 2 minutesSUNWAY University Master in Science in Life Sciences student Shobana Gabriel Jabanathan (pix) is determined to raise awareness on the prevalence of brain-eating amoebae in Malaysian water sources. “My research aims to develop molecular methods for rapid detection and to determine the occurrence of brain-eating amoebae (Acanthamoeba spp., Balamuthia mandrillaris and Naegleria fowleri) in public […]
New hope for treating diabetic wounds
Reading Time: < 1 minuteONE of the most frustrating and debilitating complications of diabetes is the development of wounds on the foot or lower leg. Once they form, they can persist for months, leading to painful and dangerous infections. New research uncovers the role of a particular protein in maintaining these wounds and suggests that reversing its effects could […]
Spider silk key to new bone-fixing composite
Reading Time: 2 minutesUNIVERSITY of Connecticut researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials. Repairing major load-bearing bones such as those in the leg can be a long and uncomfortable process. To facilitate repair, doctors may install a metal […]
Neutrons help in the fight against antibiotic resistance
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE discovery of penicillin almost 90 years ago ushered in the age of modern antibiotics, but the growth of antibiotic resistance means bacterial infections like pneumonia and tuberculosis are becoming more difficult to treat. Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists’ enzyme research may lead to drugs that will combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. ORNL has found that antibiotics […]
Imagination vs innovation vs patents
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY JAGANNATHAN ARUMUGAM WHAT? A card for paying money?” This is how people might have reacted when they were first introduced to the concept of debit card in the utopian science fiction novel “Looking Backward From 2000 to 1887” by Edward Bellamy (Though it was called as a credit card in the novel). One may […]
‘Molecular scissors’ could be key to cutting off diseases
Reading Time: 2 minutes ONE WAY to fight diseases including HIV infection and autoimmune disorders could involve changing how a naturally occurring enzyme called SAMHD1 works to influence the immune system, new research suggests. The study, led by researchers from The Ohio State University, details how the enzyme influences proteins that stimulate the immune response. SAMHD1 isn’t […]
A new plant protection method on the horizon
Reading Time: 2 minutesNOVEL technologies are being sought to replace the traditional pesticides used to protect plants, particularly edible plants such as cereals. A new collaborative project between the University of Helsinki and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is shedding light on the efficacy of environmentally friendly RNA-based vaccines that protect plants from diseases and […]
Blue whale genome reveals the animals’ extraordinary evolutionary history
Reading Time: 2 minutesFOR the first time, scientists of the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, Goethe University and the University of Lund in Sweden have deciphered the complete genome of the blue whale and three other rorquals. These insights now allow tracking the evolutionary history of the worlds’ largest animal and its relatives in unprecedented detail. […]
Workshop on taxonomy
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY DR ANNETTE JAYA RAM TELUK BAHANG: A joint international workshop was recently conducted by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS) in collaboration with the National Museum of Nature and Science (NMNS), Japan and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This 2-day workshop entitled “Collection Building and Management […]