Peer Reviewed

A new idea about why the experimental antibody drug TGN1412 had devastating effects on humans that had not been seen in animal tests is put forward in an exclusive special news report by Nature this week.

eInfoC is a Web-based Information Centre that specialises in publishing, promoting, and marketing electronic contents. This Universiti Utara Malaysia initiative enables authors to receive payment through many different methods including SMS with an electronic receipt system.

The Grand Prix of the 34th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products was awarded by the International Jury to researchers from the Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology, for their manufacturing process for organic medical material which does not damage or discolour and produces no toxic gases during sterilisation

Summaries of newsworthy papers published online on 9 April 2006 by Nature and the Nature Research Journals

3 bird flu cases confirmed in Burkina Faso; Indonesia bird flu death confirmed; Cat bird flu risks 'overlooked'; Germany confirms bird flu in fowl; Bird Flu reaches UK; Egypt Says Third Person Dies of Bird Flu

The Four Faces of Woman Dance-Exhibit is a celebration of women’s achievements, strengths, and qualities in commemoration of International Women’s Month 2006, and also a significant way to usher in another milestone in the year following the centennial of the Philippine feminist movement. Pictures attached.

Summary of newsworthy papers from Nature vol.440, no.7085, 6 April 2006, includes Anthropology: Neolithic dental drill; Genetics: Genome of wastewater-treatment bacterium extracted from the sludge; Development: Motor protein drives asymmetry; Materials science: Liquid silicon for spray-on chips; Escapologist worms show how to burrow out of trouble

A remarkable new fossil published in Nature provides spectacular insight into a major evolutionary transition — when fish first transformed their fins into limbs, opening up the prospect of a migration on to land.

IPv6 over Fiber is a project to make use of the IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) technology for the benefit of Internet communities. IPv6 provides strength over IPv4 in terms of address space, option support and security

Interesting features of TiO2 coated bioplastic - Antimicrobial, Biodegradable, Decolorisation, Cost-effective, Eco and user friendly.

World GDP is estimated to increase by 3.2 per cent in 2005, down from 3.8 in 2004, the slowdown stemming from a deceleration in industrial production and global trade. The turnaround was widespread, reaching virtually every economic region......

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature Research Journals

The relative efficiency of Indian banks including private, foreign and public sector banks is analysed

Though cancer per se does not feature in the United Nations 'Millennium Development Goal' health agenda, WHO predicts that by the year 2020, almost 70% of the world's 20 million cancers patients will be in the developing nations.

A research group in Japan have identified the protein that controls silicon uptake in rice - the first such transporter to be found in higher plants

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature VoL.440 No.7084 Dated 30 March 2006 including Chemical physics:Crystallography without crystals; Physics: Ratcheting backwards; Evolution: Uprooting eukaryotic evolution and Let's not twist again

Filipinas is a series of thirty photographs of a select group of women representing the arts, education, civil society and politics.

In her recent research paper in the Journal of Research Practice, Toni Weller, a historian and information scientist, examines how history and science must recognize the fallibility of human knowledge, especially so as we enter the information age.

Malaysia will become the first country in the world to implement requirements, which will make herbal medicine product testing at par with any modern medicine marketed in the world today.

A lot of waste rubber is produced all over the world every year e.g. 10 million tyres are discarded every year. Meanwhile, adhesives are used in almost every industrial workplace with an industry value of 40 billion Euros. This invention turns rubber waste into multifunctional adhesive.

In a study published online this week by Nature, researchers report that they have isolated stem cells from the adult mouse testis that exhibit properties similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells.

Egypt reports 2nd human case; Blame Big Farms; Israel in mass cull; Uganda equipped with machine; Malaysia has 3rd state infected; Study finds two separate strains; Bird flu kills five in Azerbaijan; Big Threat To Biological Diversity - UN ...;China Turns Over Samples to WHO; African Conference Fails to Discuss Human Infection; Pakistan confirms..

The bird virus binds to cells in different regions of the human airway from those favoured by human influenza viruses; Japanese researchers have found evidence of methane-bearing fluid inclusions in about 3.5-billion-year-old hydrothermal precipitates; A set of molecular pedals that is powered by light and twists another molecule is reported

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature. Vol.440 No.7083 Dated 23 March 2006

Stretch marks are not only unsightly, but women with this disorder, appear to be at increased risk for pelvic prolapse, reports an online publication from The Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Researchers show how to make a good thing even better by modifying a popular system for protein labelling and modification to reduce the risk of unwanted cross-reactions; Stanford University scientists have modified a popular strategy for imaging studies in live animals, making possible a much broader range of biochemical visualization experiments

The reliance on computers across the sciences has moved through the gears in the last few years. In a Commentary in this week's Nature Stephen Muggleton describes how automated processes are being used to cope with higher and higher volumes of data and poses questions about human limitations in dealing with increasingly complex information.

The West is looking at India as a gold mine for clinical trials. Cloning and Stem cell research have hit the headlines with tremendous potential for therapeutic use. However there is a nagging fear that in the pursuit of research, ethical practices have not kept pace.

Sea cucumber, Stichopus chloronatus is effective for combating various types of ringworm infections. This novel extraction method produces powdered extract that can easily be used to formulate into cream, ointment, lotion or solution.

A polymer with an electronic performance equivalent to that of amorphous silicon has been developed; Mutations in a gene called filaggrin are associated with elevated risks of atopic disease - atopic dermatitis (eczema or inflamed, itchy skin), allergy, and asthma