Nerdy Science Blog

Getting Christmas presents for your scientist colleagues may be a hard decision-making process.  You are not only need to be creative, but also need to have intellectual humorous includes in your gifts.

GIANTmicrobes has just launched seven brand new microbes, which include brain cell, nerve cell, platelet, bird flu, swine flu, yogurt and three different coloured amoebas.  The microbes sold are plush dolls that are one million times of actual microbes size.  Image and information of the microbe will be given with the purchase, which will be a good science teaching tools for your kids too.

Palm oil is the world most consumed edible oil.  Palm oil is also used as important source of biofuel.

The Genome of oil palms, the plant that produces palm oil, had been sequenced by consortium led by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Orion Genomics and the Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre.  The sequence completion announced by Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid, director-general of MPOB, at that International Palm Oil Congress 2009.  The consortium sequenced three oil palm genomes from two palm species, which are Elaeis oleifera and Elaeis guineensis (namely pisifera and dura palm).  It is hoped that the completed sequences will help to understand and improve oil yields and resistance to diseases.

MPOB and Orion Genomics will also collaborate with Mogene LC to study epigenetics make-up, a study of mechanisms that turn on and off genes, of the palms to develop oil palms with higher and more rapid yields.

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Trichohyalin gene is known for hair production and development.  Scientists from Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia, analyzed collected data from 5000 twins and found the same gene is responsible for curly hair.  The scientists have not fully understand the effect of such gene on biochemical reactions difference between curly hair and straight hair, however scientists hope the understanding of the curly hair gene will bring new implications for cosmetics industry and act as a new forensic tool.

The study is published in November issue of American Journal of Human Genetics.

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A young researcher Dr Kevin Ng from Sabah, Malaysia has won the Japan International Award 2009 for Young Agricultural Researchers at University of Tokyo, Japan.  The award was presented by Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF).

Dr Kevin Ng joined Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) as a researcher in August 1999 after graduating from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).  He works at the FRIM Biotechnology Division Genetics Laboratory ever since and wins the award at age 34.  The award is accredited to those with outstanding contribution to technological development for improvement of food security and environment in developing countries.  Dr Ng’s outstanding performance and innovative research achievements in the field of spatial structure and impact of logging on selected tropical tree species’ genetic diversity wins him the award.

(news [profile])

According to Dr Colin Hendrie who wrote in the journal Medical Hypotheses, man passed a bug named Cytomegalovirus to woman through kissing to build up immunity against it. Cytomegalovirus can be found in saliva and it is harmless normally. However it can be dangerous in pregnancy by causing birth defects or killing unborn babies. Dr Colin Hendrie suggested the best way to build up immunity protection is kissing the same person for about six months.

So does that means after six months you either get pregnant or breakup?

(news [pic])