Can technology-enabled urban farms be a winner for S’pore?
Reading Time: 4 minutesSINGAPORE needs to deepen its interests in food production, not just consumption, with strategic partners like Australia. One approach to this is redirecting some of its tech, digital strategies and sharing of IP to scaling up smart food zones based on technology-enabled farming (TEF). Agricultural technology – or agtech – has become a billion-dollar industry. […]
UPM launches ultra-compact electric vehicle
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY AZMAN ZAKARIA SERDANG: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) through its Faculty of Engineering has embarked on an innovative transportation system using electric vehicles, MyCOMS, the first of its kind in Malaysia, for use by staff and students in its ongoing efforts to promote green technology in its campus. The project was realised through the sponsorship […]
Research on jackfruit diseases gets underway
Reading Time: 2 minutesBy Dr Daljit Singh LANCHANG: The problem of browning of jackfruits or rust coloured specs or streaks appearing on the flesh of the fruits has inevitably caused a decline in jackfruit harvest yields in the country. This is because buyers refused to buy diseased fruits, causing the demand for jackfruits to be less favourable. The […]
How do photocopy machines work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE technology underpinning this ubiquitous piece of machinery came about 75 years ago, when inventor Chester Carlson used static electricity created with a handkerchief, light and dry powder to make the first copy on Oct 22, 1938. Today, most photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive […]
What is the technology behind freeze dried food
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMANY foods are freeze-dried today. The staple of astronauts, soldiers, and hikers, freeze dried foods are considered a good way of storing food (and some make great healthy snacks!). However, it might be surprising to note that the technique of freeze-drying is quite old. Freeze-drying is a three-step process that begins with freezing. Next the […]
Can plants hear themselves when being eaten?
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen poultry animals are being slaughtered for food, we assumed that they might cry out in pain. But have you ever wondered about plants, if they would understand the circumstances where they are about to be eaten? The answer from most people is that it is impossible for plants to do so, but research has […]
Paris Climate Change Pact
Reading Time: 4 minutesWorld science community reacts to US withdrawal from agreement BY RYAN BUSHEY President Trump recently declared he was unilaterally withdrawing the United States from the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement, defying the vast majority of the scientific and business community. The pledge— which includes 195 countries that have agreed to implement plans for reducing greenhouse […]
Genetically engineered crops: Fake news disappointments
Reading Time: 6 minutesFake news plaguing the progress of genetically engineered (GE) crops is nothing new since their first commercial cultivation 21 years ago. One of the most recent examples of fake news reports was churned out by economist, Jomo Kwame Sundaram and his co-author Tan Zhai Gen, http://ipsnews.net/2017/05/genetically-engineered-disappointments. The article lacks all the criteria of a valid, […]
Why are there different types of calendars?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY SCIENCE BRIDGE ACADEMY There are many different kind of calendars being actively used around the world and are basically of three types – solar, lunar and lunisolar/solilunar calendars. As the name suggests, a solar calendar is concerned with the Sun, or, more precisely, it is based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. Lunar […]
How does addiction work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe word “addiction” is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.” Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction understands why. Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing […]