Researchers use crab shells and silver to halt malaria
Reading Time: 2 minutesA four-nation team of scientists from India, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Italy has recently discovered the promising potential of eradicating malaria using silver and crab shells from Taiwan’s northeast coast. The study, published in the journal Hydrobiologia on May 11, described the usage of fine-sized silver mixed with crab shell powder rich in chitosan to […]
Cancer-killing power of plants
Reading Time: 2 minutesFour species of Phyllanthus, herbs commonly found throughout the tropics and subtropics, pose great potential as nontoxic breast cancer treatments. While their therapeutic properties have been reported, a team from the University of Malaya recently investigated specifically how the plants’ extracts combat breast cancer. Phyllanthus is a large family of flowering plants with hundreds of […]
Making biological drug with spider silk protein
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTISTS at Karolinska Insti-tutet in Sweden have managed to produce synthetic lung surfactant using DNA sequence derived from spider silk proteins. Surfactant is a drug used to strengthen the lungs of premature babies by reducing the surface tension in their pulmo-nary alveoli (the structures in the lung that allow for respiration) and allowing them to […]
Impact of global warming on mosquito-borne diseases
Reading Time: 2 minutesAS TEMPERATURES rise with climate change, mosquito season extends past the summer months in many parts of the world. The question has been how this lengthened season influences the risk of being infected with mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Now, in a paper published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Stanford researchers modelled […]
Textile Town set to become herbal hub in North Johor
Reading Time: 2 minutesTANGKAK — well known as the Textile Town of Malaysia – owing to the scores of textile merchants and retailers selling fabrics and other cloth products will soon another moniker, perhaps as the country’s Kacip Fatimah Hub. Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila), a herb said to be the ideal tonic for women’s health and wellness is […]
New research shows Zika can damage the eyes
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA novel finding from research conducted by Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology at the Kresge Eye Institute has shown that Zika Virus (ZIKV) caused impaired vision or even blindness. This happens when the virus replicates itself in the retinal cells of the eyes – layer of cells at the back of […]
‘Womb-like’ device could revolutionise care for premature Infants
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY LAUREN SCRUDATO An innovative “bio-bag” system developed by a team of doctors from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) mimics the environment of a mother’s womb and could provide the physiologic support premature babies need to properly develop. One in ten babies born in the US are considered premature (younger than 37 weeks gestational […]
Watsons, Bayer jointly promote healthy living in conjunction with World Allergy Week
Reading Time: 3 minutesPETALING JAYA: Watsons Malaysia and Bayer Co. (Malaysia) collaborated for a health public forum held in conjunction with World Allergy Week 2017. World Allergy Week is an annual initiative of the World Allergy Organisation to raise awareness of allergic disease and related disorders. Themed “Healthy Living”, the forum organised by Watsons Malaysia and Bayer Co. […]
US-based Malaysian scientist scores a first
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe prestigious UK-based Journal of Medical Microbiology has a new face in its editorial bench. For the first time in the journal’s history, the senior position of Co-Editor-in-Chief has been bestowed to a scientist outside of the UK – and quite fittingly to a formidable Malaysian researcher, Prof Kalai Mathee who hails from Ipoh. The […]
Polar region expedition yields novel bacteria
Reading Time: 2 minutesBacteria found by Malaysian expedition team has cancer fighting potential BY DR CHEAH YOKE KQUEEN SERDANG: A new microbe discovered during an expedition to the polar region of Antarctica in November 2007 by a Malaysian research team can produce a compound that is active against pathogens and cancer cells, in particular colorectal and breast cancer […]