Hidden treasures in the waste
One crop greener; the whole planet cleaner
Growing edible plants in vertically stacked layers without soil can revolutionise food supply, two entrepreneurs decided. If they were to repeat their journey today, they wouldn’t insist on all-local supplies and would have piloted and tested more. But the system is almost ready, Alex Johnson and Jake Spiteri of Smart Agrifarm tell Daiva Repeckaite.
Continue readingScience alone cannot save your fertility
Fertility is decreasing worldwide as people have children later in life. Prof. Jean Calleja Agius wants to engage youths to understand reproductive physiology, fertility care, and its preservation.
Continue readingGhost in the shell
In 1947, excavation works exposed a new type of pottery in a burial site outside Żebbuġ, Malta. Like many other antique pots, the find contains foraminifers – single-celled organisms living in shells. Dr Ing. John Charles Betts and Dr Catriona Brogan write about how these creatures can unlock the secrets of the Neolithic era.
Continue readingTen years of jellyfish spotting
The unpalatable reputation of jellyfish as nasty stingers (although few are) can impact tourism. Prof. Alan Deidun writes about how jellyfish capture the collective imagination: their grace and beauty, their power station-stopping capabilities, and how scientists can learn from children.
Continue readingConservationists’ hide-and-seek with seabirds
The Maltese Archipelago hosts nocturnal open seafaring pelagic birds. They have perfected their hiding methods on the rocks, which is great for their survival, but a challenge for researchers. Dilek Sahin writes.
Continue readingPandemic breather
Barely two weeks of the coronavirus lockdown measures had passed before people started posting images of cleaner waters and purified air over industrial zones; nature was healing in our absence. Some of them proved to be hoaxes, but others helped us imagine a better world. Martina Borg spoke to some of Malta’s leading researchers and environmentalists to make sense of the feel-good news.
Continue readingStepping up in strange times
Author: Edward De Gabriele
During my final year of studies, I was meant to focus on exams and clinical placements. COVID-19 has upended everything. I felt that volunteering will be my way to keep busy and continue contributing to the general public.
Continue readingProbiotics to the rescue
Author: Daiva Repeckaite
It started with a high school project. ‘Every year, the school needed students to [adopt] a beehive. Eventually I fell in love with bees – like everyone does,’ Dr Daniele Alberoni (University of Bologna) remembers the beginnings of a journey that later became his research, his business, and his lifestyle. He shared these thoughts with THINK when he visited the University of Malta in December 2019. Having become a beekeeper at the age of 16, the Italian scientist is working to develop new remedies against common bee illnesses.
Continue readingA precious living library
Author: Dr Ruben J. Cauchi
Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have helped scientists discover innumerable secrets about humanity. Over 1,000 types of these flies are living at the University of Malta’s (UM) Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Laboratory. Each type or ‘stock’ is unique, and UM researchers have generated the majority of stocks through genetic engineering over the last 11 years. Flies need constant care, fly food needs to be freshly prepared, and stocks must be monitored to avoid overpopulation and sudden death. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities worldwide to close campuses, leaving researchers to work and teach from home. But research activities, especially the care of living organisms, have to continue even in the face of a shutdown.
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