On 12 December 2019 during our regular Research Chat, our colleague Anil shared interesting history and facts about computers. While improvement and innovation can greatly improve the standard of living for humanity, the future generation of computers, quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also pose a threat to our security. Existing security threats such as 'Keyloggers' and 'SIM Swapping' are already putting the authority on their toes. Enabling two-factor authentication is one of the recommended precautions to act as an extra layer of security that can help prevent hackers from easily gaining access to our personal account. While the digital age comes with tremendous opportunities along with its peril, it is with our best hope that future technology can be used to further elevate progress and development in transforming the future.
During our last session of Research Chat on 19 December 2019, our colleague Hani has shared a few books that contain a compilation of information and exciting discovery of fruits and vegetables, including the rare and underutilised, which might be beneficial to be added to the reading list. Most of the books are written by Rukayah Aman, a MARDI research officer who specialised in underutilised species in Malaysia and was the one who created the term "nadir" (underutilised). Interestingly, the term "nadir" is actually used specifically for fruits while the term "sayuran tradisional" is for vegetables. Among the books shown are "Buah-buahan Malaysia", a limited edition book that displays a compilation of rare fruits, "Indigenous Fruits of Brunei Darussalam", a result from Rukayah's collaborative work with CABI in Brunei and "Ulam dan Sayuran Tempatan Semenanjung Malaysia", a book that represents many interesting vegetable species that can be found in our surrounding areas e.g. Petai Belalang.
Hani and her team are hoping that a Knowledge Hub (a mini book library project), proposed by Knowledge System Theme, can be established to store and index the books in order for create easier accessibility of these books to others.