Truth is stranger than fiction. Researchers at the University of Malta are building technologies that will help robots speak and understand Maltese, others are finding out if there is life in outer space, or using fruit flies to understand human disease, while some are discovering what makes local honey Maltese.

These are all topics that are included in the latest issue of Think magazine, which is available online for free. This issue focuses strongly on Maltese honey, which comes in three flavours. Since Malta is an island, the combination of flowers that grow are unique; this makes three different honey types with unique tastes and powerful health properties.

Insects feature twice in this edition. Fruit flies have been genetically engineered to help scientists learn more about the most common genetic killer of human infants, a neuromuscular degenerative disease known as spinal muscular atrophy.

Alessio Magro is studying something even more unusual. He developed computer algorithms to hunt for life in outer space, and his feature delves into the question of whether life exists out of our solar system.

One of the biggest research projects at University is being developed by engineers trying to make our skies cleaner and safer. A different team of computer scientists and linguists are also building tools to make tomorrow’s robot communicate in Maltese.

Ethnomusicologists ask if our culture gets the rhythm: can music bridge the divide between Libya and Malta, while other researchers are seeing how society deals with personal and cultural memory loss.

Students also get their say in this edition. John Gabarretta writes about the vital need of communicating research to the public, an endeavour that will help improve everyone’s knowledge about science and the country.

Maria Camilleri tells us about her visit to Facebook offices in Dublin and how that inspired her to realise the need for more innovation in Malta. A recent EU report studying innovation places Malta towards the very low end. Researchers in Malta are hungry for more investment, with all the research mentioned here stemming from the University of Malta.

Think is available for free at newsagents and at Agenda bookstores. It can also be viewed online at http://bit.ly/ISSUUThink08 or downloaded from www.um.edu.mt/think08.

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