Plant tissue culture: FGV’s contribution to industry
FELDA Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGV)’s involvement in tissue culture began in 1980s and since 2010, the FGV Innovation Centre (FGVIC) has successfully produced 1.0 million tissue-cultured oil palm ramets annually. In addition to oil palm tissue culture planting materials, FGVIC has also actively produced banana ramets to accommodate the varied needs of customers. The […]
Can plants hear themselves when being eaten?
When 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
World 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
Fake 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?
BY 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?
The 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 […]
Non-browning apples set to hit the market
Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the company behind the non-browning Arctic Apple sets to commercial launch with US retailers this fall, following the completion of successful market testing. Arctic Golden apples, whose polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes have been silenced through genetic modification was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) […]
Philippines tops in Southeast Asia for GM corn production
Media practitioners, farmers, and government agency officers were briefed during a media conference on ISAAA’s latest report, Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/GM Crops: 2016 at the Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines on May 19. The 2016 report states that Philippine biotech corn adoption increased to 812,000 hectares in 2016, a remarkable 16% increase (110,000 […]
Why do elephants have big ears?
During a hot day, we tend to sweat. However, elephants are unable to do so. Ever wondered how do they regulate their body temperature? Elephants are massive animals and they produce a lot of body heat. As they inhabit very hot regions, it is pivotal to have an efficient method to eliminate excess body heat. […]
Who came up with the practice of vaccination?
An English doctor and ‘The father of immunology’, Edward Jenner presented the gift of vaccination to the world. In 1796, he performed his famous experiment on eight year old James Phipps. Jenner extracted pus from a cowpox postulate and inserted it into an incision on the boy’s arm. He was experimenting his theory, speculated from […]