Author: Wenfa Ng

Having done a masters research project in environmental microbiology, where I developed a medium for high cell concentration cultivation of Escherichia coli in shake flasks and methods for improving the measurement of bacteria surface charge through the proxy parameter, zeta potential, I am currently a citizen scientist interested in a broad range of science topics spanning materials science to biology and marcoscale phenomena where the above two impinge on society, for example, impact on climate change. Drawing on my education in chemical and environmental engineering as well as bioengineering, I would discuss scientific topics of current importance and significance, both basic science and practical applications, to a broad audience, hoping in the course of doing so, more people would be able to see the world through a scientific lens, which lends clarity to many facets of problem solving in our daily world meshed with multiple layers of information. To this end, posts on discussion of recent published journal papers would hopefully introduce readers to a new area of science, while also informing them of what is de rigueur in scientific research: there are always gaps in our understanding and one research opens up more questions than it answers. Other instances, references to news reports of exciting advances together with a short description of the underlying science would be communicated, using simple language, to blog readers. Occasionally, the educator bug in me would prompt me to discuss issues related to education, an area important to me as my goal in academia is to educate good people to benefit humanity. I hope you enjoy reading this blog and please do feel free to send me suggestions, comments or feedback on any parts of this blog as we all learn from each other in this interconnected and digitally small world.

Honours year education sharpens analytical thinking training and develops research capabilities

May 20, 2024

University education can be of three or four years. Usually, fourth year of university education is termed the honours year. So, what is the difference between a three-year and four-year university undergraduate programme? And, is there value in going for the final honours year? First, the final honours year education comprises a series of about … More Honours year education sharpens analytical thinking training and develops research capabilities

Graduate seminar serves as academic exchange and promotes collaborations between universities

May 18, 2024

In graduate research programmes around the world, graduate seminars are the norm, and there are different types of seminars available for students, post-docs, and professors. Generally, these seminars serve to provide academic exchanges for students in the same department by allowing them to present their research to their fellow course mates. In the case of … More Graduate seminar serves as academic exchange and promotes collaborations between universities

Animal studies may not be reflective of human physiology and results must be taken with caution

May 17, 2024

In the discipline of biomedical engineering and medical studies, there is a tendency to test the efficacy of medical devices or drugs with animals such as mouse, rabbits, and even pigs. This step of the research process is to gather data on the effectiveness of the drugs or medical device in delivering its function. Usually, … More Animal studies may not be reflective of human physiology and results must be taken with caution

High fidelity DNA synthesis and high fidelity DNA polymerase are the drivers of modern synthetic biology

May 17, 2024

DNA synthesis is at the heart of modern synthetic biology because it affords researchers the freedom to design their protein and implement it through specific gene sequence changes at the DNA level. To afford this level of fine control requires high fidelity DNA synthesis technologies and high fidelity DNA polymerase that enable long read high … More High fidelity DNA synthesis and high fidelity DNA polymerase are the drivers of modern synthetic biology

Funding model of university education

May 16, 2024

University education is expensive, and may be priced out of range for low-income and middle income students. Here comes the important concept of funding model for university education. Across the world, there are three main funding models for university education: (i) private (full fee) model, (ii) public model, and (iii) public (subsidized) model. In the … More Funding model of university education

University tutorials reinforce learning of concepts, and demonstrate the application of lecture material to problem-solving

May 15, 2024

University teaching is dominated by two main educational modes: lecture and tutorials. Lectures are delivered in big classrooms that seat hundreds of students, and is used primarily to deliver the main content of the course. Tutorials, on the other hand, serve to reinforce learning of concepts, and demonstrate the use of these concepts in problem-solving. … More University tutorials reinforce learning of concepts, and demonstrate the application of lecture material to problem-solving

Complex and varied environment in the modern world prompted the infusion of liberal arts education and lateral thinking in university courses

May 14, 2024

The past twenty years has witnessed rapid technological changes amidst a world that is increasingly complex and rapidly changing. This place new challenges in our educational system as we seek to prepare students to work productively in the new world as well as equipped with learning skills to continuously upgrade themselves through self-learning in their … More Complex and varied environment in the modern world prompted the infusion of liberal arts education and lateral thinking in university courses

Seminar style classes are the most difficult to learn and distill knowledge from

May 13, 2024

Reflecting on my undergraduate education, I think the seminar style classes in the arts and social sciences domain are the most difficult classes to learn and distill knowledge from. Specifically, my curriculum at the National University of Singapore about 20 years ago require about 3-4 arts and social sciences courses, which are taught using the … More Seminar style classes are the most difficult to learn and distill knowledge from

Liberal arts courses expand the students’ thinking capabilities and capacities beyond the confines of the specialist major curriculum

May 13, 2024

As mentioned in my previous blog post, liberal arts courses are slowly being featured in many engineering and natural sciences curriculum. But, what kind of benefits do these courses offer us? The key advantage here is that liberal arts courses are designed to expand the lateral thinking capabilities of the student. Specifically, students are taught … More Liberal arts courses expand the students’ thinking capabilities and capacities beyond the confines of the specialist major curriculum

Sample library preparation adds adaptor molecules to DNA fragments to make them compatible to the sequencing chemistry of the DNA sequencing instrument used

May 12, 2024

In modern DNA sequencing enabled by a variety of DNA sequencers using different sequencing chemistries, sample library preparation using a commercial kit compatible with the DNA sequencing instrument is a must. Why is this so? The key issue here is the need to modify the DNA fragments in your sample to enable them to ligate … More Sample library preparation adds adaptor molecules to DNA fragments to make them compatible to the sequencing chemistry of the DNA sequencing instrument used