Novel Way to detect microbial contamination in cell cultures

Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS from the Critical Analytics For Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, have developed a new method of detecting adventitious microbial contamination in mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) cultures, ensuring the rapid and accurate testing of cell therapy products (CTP) intended for use in patients. Utilizing machine […]

Look good, feel great

Reading Time: 3 minutesBY JOYCE WONG JIN YI MAINTAINING your weight is more than how you look or the number you see on the scale. How you feel, and your overall health is so much more important. Excess body fat is associated with an increased risk of most major chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, […]

Why Methane Matters?

Reading Time: 2 minutesTWO new signs of large natural methane gas leakages, which scientists on the spot are ascribing to warming conditions, underline the urgency of ensuring that human activity does not further increase the problem by pushing average global temperatures even higher. Researchers from Stockholm University on the icebreaker Oden in the Arctic Ocean reported from the site that “vast […]

Methane and Global Warming

Reading Time: 2 minutesBY DR ZELINA ZAITON IBRAHIM ON November 2, 2021, the United States, the European Union, and partners, formally launched the Global Methane Pledge during the twenty-sixth Conference of Parties meeting (COP26). Malaysia has joined the Pledge. More than 100 countries have committed to reducing global anthropogenic methane emissions across all sectors, by at least 30 percent […]

Is sustainable development achievable?

Reading Time: 2 minutesBY DR CHEE SU YIN  TO SOME FOLKS, the words sustainable and development can never exist side by side. Their essence is on opposite sides of the spectrum. A juxtaposition. The term “sustainable” seeks to exhort nature while “development” is usually associated with destroying it. You cannot develop and conserve at the same time. Surely when […]

How much does a cloud weigh?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteResearchers have calculated that an average cumulus cloud is about 500,000 kg. As we know, clouds are made up of water particles and air which both have mass. To determine the weight of a cumulus cloud, researchers need to determine the size and density of the cloud. They have found that the water density of […]

What is Triple Point?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is when the three phases known as solid, liquid, and gas co-exist in equilibrium at a certain point of temperature and pressure. The term “triple point” was given by James Thomson in 1873. There are many substances that have these conditions such as water, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, […]

How important are coral reefs?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteCoral reefs, also known as “the rainforests of the sea”, are well known for their beauty and vibrant colours, but apart from that, they are extremely important, both ecologically and economically. Unlike other marine ecosystems, coral reefs support more species per unit area, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals, and hundreds […]

What are Supergiant Stars?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIf our Sun is an average-sized star, there are some true monsters out there. They are supergiant stars, and they come in two colours: red and blue. Supergiant stars are among the most massive and luminous stars in the universe. Supergiant stars are formed out of massive main-sequence stars that have run out of hydrogen in their […]

How do ‘brainless’ starfish decide what to eat?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteFood is essential for any living organism to continue to survive. But for land dwellers, food is easily accessible in most parts of the world. Every day we can choose what we want to eat and to choose, we use our brain to decide our meals for the day. But how about starfish? Without having […]