Articles
Understanding plant thermoregulation in the face of climate change
Plants possess the fascinating ability to control their body temperature. This physiological process is fundamental for the growth, reproduction, and survival of numerous species of plants. In the face of climate change, as temperatures increase and rainfall patterns become more variable, understanding the capability of plants to adapt to changing conditions is becoming critical. Prof Peter Kevan and colleagues at […]
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Fractured Knowledge: “Fake News”
Prof Jagdish Hattiangadi, York University, Canada explores how a common or shared knowledge base, including specialised secular science, helped bring peace to warring religious factions in modern liberal democracies. This interreligious peace is threatened by a philosophical backlash, with claims and counter claims of fake news, thus fracturing the common knowledge base needed for dispute resolution. Populist political movements have relied […]
More and better crops: Beyond the science and access to technology
With hunger still a global problem, solutions to achieve food security are more important than ever. Plant breeding for crop improvement remains one of the answers, but the sector faces many issues that don’t involve scientific innovations within breeding itself. Processes and mindsets need to be changed in order to maximise efficiency within the sector, and some organisations are doing […]
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A biochemical device to demystify a century-old thermodynamics puzzle from theoretical physics
Maxwell’s demon and Szilard’s engine – thought experiments from the 19th and early 20th centuries – have long captured the imagination of theoretical physicists. Many still disagree about the interpretation of these ideas, the implications for the second law of thermodynamics and the consequences for thermodynamics of computation. Along with collaborators, Dr Thomas Ouldridge at Imperial College London has designed […]
Teaching words and how words work
Language is such a fundamental part of our being that vocabulary acquisition can be taken for granted. But vocabulary learning is a mammoth task, not least as it’s estimated that English-speaking students will encounter around 150,000 different words during their school career. American educator and researcher Elfrieda H. Hiebert has used digital technology to analyse thousands of texts to discover more about […]
Disturbance calls for disaster: Why forest fires increase landslides and rockfall hazards
The last thing you want after a forest fire is the imminent threat of natural hazards such as rockfall or landslide. Unfortunately, however, this is quite likely. Fire-injured trees may die, their roots may fail to bolster soil strength, and the ground can easily give way. Built-up areas below forested slopes are especially susceptible, and lives could be in danger. […]
Harnessing usability to choose appropriate incontinence care products
Urinary incontinence is costly to society and healthcare services, both financially and in terms of physical and mental health. Taking a person-centred approach, global health and hygiene company Essity AB and RISE Research institutes of Sweden have developed a scientifically-based procedure that measures the performance of absorbent incontinence products in terms of carer usability. Their findings show that belted briefs […]
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Air pollution monitoring and its role in public health
Air pollution monitoring is an important factor in air quality management. Both established long-term monitoring stations and short-term seasonal atmospheric field measurements are required to understand how atmospheric chemistry changes in response to air pollution regulation. Professor Schwab and his team from the University at Albany maintain long-term rural monitoring stations as well as highly specific mobile air pollution measurements […]
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Z-DNA the new biology: The third dimension of cancer therapeutics
DNA comes in many different shapes and sizes. Z-DNA, also known as left-handed DNA, is different from the more familiar right-handed B-DNA. Until recently, the role of Z-DNA in humans was a mystery. In a scientific breakthrough, Dr Alan Herbert of InsideOutBio Inc., Charlestown, Massachusetts, has identified the purpose of unusual DNA sequences called “flipons”. Flipons get their name from […]
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Riceberry rice: Thailand’s antioxidant-packed nutraceutical and super food!
It first entered the Thai market over ten years ago, and today Riceberry rice is known amongst consumers for its distinctive appearance, nutritional value and numerous health benefits. Developed at Kasetsart University’s Rice Science Centre in Thailand with the help of Apichart Vanavichit’s research team, consumption of the whole grain promises a sustainable solution to several non-communicable diseases, namely food […]
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