Chocolates are more than just a snack treat
Reading Time: 2 minutesA balanced diet is chocolate in both hands – a phrase commonly used to justify ones chocolate snacking behaviour. A phrase now shown to actually harbour some truth, as the cocoa bean is a rich source of flavanols: a class of natural compounds that has neuroprotective effects. In their recent review published in Frontiers in Nutrition, […]
Accessing DNA in the cell’s powerhouse to treat disease
Reading Time: 2 minutesFOR the first time, a synthetic compound has been made that can bind to DNA in the cells’ energy powerhouses, suppressing a gene associated with nerve and muscle disease. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides (PIPs) are compounds that can read specific DNA sequences inside living cells and silence dis-ease-causing genes. They prevent proteins, called transcription factors, from binding […]
What is the risk of flying?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY SCIENCE BRIDGE ACADEMY During holidays, many of us will take the opportunity to travel somewhere, perhaps overseas. With low cost air-lines abundant, many of us can afford to fly instead of having to drive or take the train. But would it in fact, be safer to do the latter? Since the occurrences of various […]
Nobel Prize in Physics Honours Breakthrough Showing Quantum Physics in Action — On a Chip
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis (From L to R) for their pioneering experiments that revealed quantum mechanical effects in a device large enough to be held in the hand — a leap that brings the strange world of quantum physics into […]
Authorise and support GMOs, science and innovation, says advocacy group
Reading Time: 2 minutesBRUSSELS: It is time for the EU to authorise GMOs as well as support science & innovation, says the Brussels-based advocacy group, Europabio. The group is urging European decision-makers to play by the rules and endorse the evidence. This is in view of the expected vote on March 27, by EU member states on whether […]
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 […]
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 […]