Artificial intelligence yields new antibiotic
Reading Time: 3 minutesUSING a machine-learning algorithm, MIT researchers have identified a powerful new antibiotic compound. In laboratory tests, the drug killed many of the world’s most problematic disease-causing bacteria, including some strains that are resistant to all known antibiotics. It also cleared infections in two different mouse models. The computer model, which can screen more than a […]
The strange orbits of ‘Tatooine’ planetary disks
Reading Time: 3 minutesASTRONOMERS using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars. While disks orbiting the most compact binary star systems share very nearly the same plane, disks encircling wide binaries have orbital planes that are severely tilted. These systems can teach us about planet formation in complex […]
Early earth was a water world
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE EARTH of 3.2 billion years ago was a “water world” of submerged continents, geologists say after analyzing oxygen isotope data from ancient ocean crust that’s now exposed on land in Australia. And that could have major implications on the origin of life. “An early Earth without emergent continents may have resembled a ‘water world,’ […]
Brewing a better espresso, with a shot of math
Reading Time: 3 minutesMATHEMATICIANS, physicists, and materials experts might not spring to mind as the first people to consult about whether you are brewing your coffee right. But a team of such researchers from around the globe — the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Switzerland — are challenging common espresso wisdom, finding that fewer coffee […]
Wooden pallets more eco-friendly than plastic ones
Reading Time: 2 minutesWEIGHING in on a debate that has raged for decades, Penn State researchers, after conducting a series of ultra-detailed comparisons, have declared that shipping pallets made of wood are slightly more environmentally-friendly and sustainable than those made of plastic. “Few people realise the significance of this issue -there are about 700 million pallets produced and […]
‘Eureka’ moment for scientists who saw beyond the oil
Reading Time: 6 minutesBY MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN SERENDIPITY in research is every scientist’s dream. For Dr Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi and her co-researchers, it is not just serendipitous research but spontaneous thinking and capturing what missed the attention of many. Ravigadevi and team at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board were the first scientists in the world to make a major discovery […]
Antibiotics discovered that kill bacteria in a new way
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA NEW GROUP of antibiotics with a unique approach to attacking bacteria has been discovered, making it a promising clinical candidate in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. The newly-found corbomycin and the lesser-known complestatin have a never-before-seen way to kill bacteria, which is achieved by blocking the function of the bacterial cell wall. The discovery […]
Newly-developed edible cotton seeds are packed with protein – not poison
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCOTTON is a widely-grown crop and its seeds are full of protein, so you might think they’d be a great source of food. Unfortunately, though, they’re toxic to humans. That said, such is not the case with a newly-developed variety of the plant. Ordinarily, cotton plants (including the seeds) contain a toxic organic compound known […]
Aqueous stream of palm oil processing yields hidden gem
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY JAYASYALINY JAYARAJ KUALA LUMPUR: What has traditionally been ignored in the palm oil milling stream, has turned out to become a blockbuster bioactive supplement – now rolling out from a manufacturing plant in Mexico. The supplement, Palm Fruit Bioactive Complex (PFBc) has now [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] “come to be” because Malaysian scientists […]
Parkinson’s disease may start before birth
Reading Time: 2 minutesPEOPLE who develop Parkinson’s disease before age 50 may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades, according to new Cedars-Sinai research. The research points to a drug that potentially might help correct these disease processes. Parkinson’s occurs when brain neurons that make dopamine, a substance that helps coordinate muscle movement, […]