Think research magazine

The fourth edition of the magazine Think, which is available for free from all newsagents and Agenda bookstores, features news on the latest research conducted at the University on a wide range of subjects.

The cover story is about a €4.4 million EU-funded project coordinated by Saviour Formosa to produce a 3D map of Malta that will be freely available in June. The project could help develop better disaster relief plans to save lives in Malta.

Another story explains how economics researchers are seeing how to help make people fitter and happier. Turning peoples’ assump­tions on their head, a new field in economics is attempting to understand how people make choices.

By using this information to rebuild consumer trust, citizens would be able to spend money more responsibly, which could help dampen future financial crises and might solve the obesity epidemic.

An article talks about research regarding bilingualism to understand people’s fears that speaking Maltese and English could lead to children speaking neither language properly. The overwhelming evidence shows that bilingualism could give children a lifelong advantage.

The magazine also looks at local research into insects – some that are loved while others, like the Asian Tiger mosquito, that are feared. It says there could be over 6,000 insect species in Malta.

Other stories are about students researching earthquake monitoring in Xemxija; how diamonds might be used in computers; why university graduates are excelling in Bahrain; and how a 100-word idea might change Malta.

Meanwhile, University academics talk about challenges in IVF, while others discuss new services women need to compete fairly in academia.

Think is edited by Edward Duca . It may be also be viewed at http://issuu.com/thinkuni/docs/think_issue04 , followed on Twitter @ThinkUoM or liked on Facebook.