‘Strange metals’ just got stranger
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY KRISTEN COYNE TALLAHASSEE, Fla: Scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (National MagLab) have discovered a behavior in materials called cuprates that suggests they carry current in a way entirely different from conventional metals such as copper. The research, published in the prestigious journal Science, adds new meaning to their moniker, “strange metals.” […]
Dengue fever outbreak halted by release of wolbachia mosquitoes
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCH led by the World Mosquito Programme’s Director, Professor Scott O’Neill, for the first time an entire city has been protected from viral disease dengue. The research has shown that the WMP’s Wolbachia method can be deployed cost effectively at citywide scale, preventing local dengue transmission. The paper reviews data from the first citywide deployment […]
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 […]
Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy
Reading Time: 2 minutesUNIVERSITY of British Columbia (UBC) researchers have found a cheap, sustainable way to build a solar cell using bacteria that convert light to energy. Their cell generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light. This innovation could be a step […]
Golden Rice meets food safety standard
Reading Time: 2 minutesLOS BANOS, PHILIPPINES: GR2E Golden Rice, a provitamin A biofortified rice variety, completed its third positive food safety evaluation, this time from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). In an official response received by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on May 24, the US FDA concurred with IRRI’s assessment regarding the […]
3 Kuala Besut students win IAEA Nuclear Energy competition
Reading Time: 2 minutesGYEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA: With a computer game application to promote nuclear science, a secondary school team from Malaysia won the international student competition, whose winners were announced at the IAEA’s Third International Conference on Human Resource Development for Nuclear Power Programmes in Gyeongju, South Korea, today. The team from SMK Kuala Besut secondary school named […]
10 Times More Power
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRussian researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials (TISNCM), and the National University of Science and Technology MISIS have optimised the design of a nuclear battery generating power from the beta decay of nickel-63, a radioactive isotope. Their new battery prototype packs about 3,300 milliwatt-hours […]
Tentra helps groom businesses to face new revolution
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSERDANG: The first anniversary celebration of the MTDC Technopreneur Training Centre (TENTRA) was officiated recently by its chief executive officer Datuk Norhalim Yunus. In an interview with The Petri Dish, Norhalim said the academy will continue grooming novice technopreneurs through its signature programme called “Symbiosis” where face-to-face training, mentoring and advisory services are provided The […]
Robobug takes centre stage
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY ELENA MAZLAN & SHUKRI ZAKWAN MONT KIARA: The National Science Centre (PSN) has launched the most numbered of mini robobug in an event in conjunction with the National Science Week which from 1-7th April 2018. The event has been recorded in the Malaysian Book of Records in the Science & Technology category with the […]
Researchers develop first gene drive targeting worldwide crop pest
Reading Time: 2 minutesBIOLOGISTS at the University of California San Diego have developed a method of manipulating the genes of an agricultural pest that has invaded much of the United States and caused millions of dollars in damage to high-value berry and other fruit crops. Research led by Anna Buchman in the lab of Omar Akbari, a new […]