Study of 52,000 men uncovers the genetics underlying male pattern baldness
Reading Time: 2 minutesA GENOMIC study of baldness identified more than 200 genetic regions involved in this common but potentially embarrassing condition. These genetic variants could be used to predict a man’s chance of severe hair loss. The study, led by Saskia Hagenaars and W. David Hill of The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, is published on February […]
Chatty viruses provide new insight for developing novel anti-viral drugs
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS from Israel have ‘accidentally’ made a remarkable discovery that viruses could talk to one another. Viruses generally hijack the “machinery” of bacterial cells and multiply themselves until the cells explode and die. In other instances, they simply inject their genetic material into the bacteria, stay dormant and multiply only when triggered by any environmental […]
When skin cells go rogue: The onset of melanoma
Reading Time: 3 minutesMELANOMA is a deadly type of skin cancer due to its aggressive and therapy-resistant nature. An initial melanoma tumour is well known to break away and invade other organs in the body, a process known as metastasis. The evolution of melanoma occurs in five stages based on the Clark model (see accompanying image). The first […]
Fighting dengue with the Wolbachia warriors
Reading Time: 3 minutesSINCE recently, several nations have been battling the dengue menace using the Wolbachia-infused mosquitoes with remarkable success. Malaysia has now joined this league of nations with a soon-to-be launched pilot project using these special mosquitoes to fight dengue. The notorious Aedes aegypti which spreads the dengue and other viruses is reported to have killed hundreds […]
How does wifi work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIF you have wireless Internet access at home, you probably have a little box called a router that plugs into your telephone socket. This kind of router is a bit like a sophisticated modem: it’s a standalone computer whose job is to relay connections to and from the Internet. At your office, you might use […]
Why do we have food cravings?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCAN’T stop thinking about that bag of potato chips all day? Chocolate bar? Doughnuts? So why do we crave for the food we crave? What is the science behind food cravings? More often than not, food cravings are associated with one’s desire and emotional needs. For instance, carb cravings arise when we are stressed or […]
How do microwave ovens work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMICROWAVE ovens cook and heat food incredibly fast, in minutes or less. But how does this great invention work? Microwave ovens operate in the electromagnetic spectrum at about the same frequency as a lot of telephones—2450 megahertz, but they have more power output as compared to cell phones. Microwaves do most of their work on […]
Who invented carbon dating?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBEFORE 1940s, scientists had no accurate way of determining the age of fossils or other ancient objects. They had to rely on relative dating techniques, which were far from accurate. In 1947, Willard Frank Libby first proposed his radiocarbon dating theories. Soon after, he presented evidence of its efficiency in various field experiments. Libby figured […]
What is the resolution of human eye?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA 576-megapixel resolution means that in order to create a screen with a picture so sharp and clear that you can’t distinguish the individual pixels, you would have to pack 576 million pixels into an area the size of your field of view. You only see high resolution in a very small area in the […]
Where is the world’s largest active volcano?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE ever famous tourist vacation spot, Hawaii, is home to the world’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa. To date, the lava produced by this enormous volcano piled up to a height of 13 680 ft above sea level. From its base (below sea level) to summit, Mauna Loa measures to about 56 000 ft (approximately 17 […]