MTDC: Use local technology, experts to springboard i4.0
Reading Time: 2 minutesKUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) has urged companies to utilise local technology and expertise in preparation for the challenges that come with the advent of Industry 4.0 (i4.0). Chief Executive Officer of MTDC, Dato’ Norhalim Yunus said that Malaysia has expertise in various fields, which are still untapped. He said that the […]
UCLA develops highly efficient solar cell
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMaterials scientists from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed a highly efficient thin-film solar cell that generates more energy from sunlight than typical solar panels, thanks to its double-layer design. The device is made by spraying a thin layer of perovskite — an inexpensive compound of lead and iodine that has been shown […]
Genetically engineered virus spins gold into beads
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE race is on to find manufacturing techniques capable of arranging molecular and nanoscale objects with precision. Engineers at the University of California, Riverside, have altered a virus to arrange gold atoms into spheroids measuring a few nanometers in diameter. The finding could make production of some electronic components cheaper, easier, and faster. “Nature has […]
NASA-funded rocket to view sun with X-ray vision
Reading Time: 3 minutesWithout special instrumentation, the Sun looks calm and inert. But beneath that placid façade are countless miniature explosions called nanoflares. These small but intense eruptions are born when magnetic field lines in the Sun’s atmosphere tangle up and stretch until they break like a rubber band. The energy they release accelerates particles to near lightspeed […]
Researchers 3D print prototype for ‘bionic eye’
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA team of researchers at the University of Minnesota have, for the first time, fully 3D printed an array of light receptors on a hemispherical surface. This discovery marks a significant step toward creating a “bionic eye” that could someday help blind people see or sighted people see better. The research is published recently in […]
UPM introduces the Lekir car for Student Formula Japan 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY IZUL ANNIQ SERDANG: The Putra Motorsport Team (PMT), Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is introducing a latest car model, Lekir, to participate in the competition of Student Formula Japan 2018 this September. The team leader, a student of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UPM, Ahmad Iffan Zailani, said that PMT […]
US Agriculture paves the ‘New Normal’ for global agribusiness
Reading Time: 7 minutesI had the opportunity to attend the 2018 Southeast Asia US Agricultural Cooperators Conference organised by US Grains Council, US Department of Agriculture, and US Soybean Export Council in Kota Kinabalu recently. Themed “The new normal for global agribusiness”, the conference, aimed at bringing together US agriculture leaders, farmers, USDA officials, subject matter experts and […]
Smartphone-powered ultrasound machine
Reading Time: < 1 minuteEngineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new ultrasound transducer, or probe, that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Their patent-pending innovation — no bigger than a Band-Aid, is portable, wearable and can be powered by a smartphone. Conventional ultrasound scanners use piezoelectric crystals to […]
Travelling to the sun: Why won’t Parker Solar Probe melt?
Reading Time: 6 minutesTHIS summer, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will launch to travel closer to the Sun, deeper into the solar atmosphere, than any mission before it. If Earth was at one end of a yard-stick and the Sun on the other, Parker Solar Probe will make it to within four inches of the solar surface. Inside that […]
10 ways CRISPR will revolutionise environmental science
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY JENNA GALLEGOS THE hot new gene editing technique CRISPR has been making headlines for its potential to treat or prevent diseases. But medicine isn’t the only science where CRISPR is opening doors. This powerful genetic engineering tool is already helping scientists develop technologies to protect or repair the environment from human harm. CRISPR: Not […]