/library/oar/handle/123456789/66926 2025-12-27T00:20:27Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/66925 Title: THINK : Issue 32 : June 2020 Editors: Duca, Edward; Repeckaite, Daiva Abstract: THINK is a quarterly research magazine published by the Marketing, Communications & Alumni Office at the University of Malta. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/66924 Title: Breaking comfort zones Abstract: We made plans for spring and summer. Conferences, events, meetings, and holidays. Visits to family and friends. And then, a viral pandemic happened. At THINK, we rushed to invite our authors to make sense of the new situation. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/66922 Title: A precious living library Abstract: Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have helped scientists discover innumerable secrets about humanity. Over 1,000 types of these flies are living at the University of Malta’s (UM) Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Laboratory. Each type or ‘stock’ is unique, and UM researchers have generated the majority of stocks through genetic engineering over the last 11 years. Flies need constant care, fly food needs to be freshly prepared, and stocks must be monitored to avoid overpopulation and sudden death. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities worldwide to close campuses, leaving researchers to work and teach from home. But research activities, especially the care of living organisms, have to continue even in the face of a shutdown. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/66921 Title: Probiotics to the rescue Abstract: It started with a high school project. ‘Every year, the school needed students to [adopt] a beehive. Eventually I fell in love with bees – like everyone does,’ Dr Daniele Alberoni (University of Bologna) remembers the beginnings of a journey that later became his research, his business, and his lifestyle. He shared these thoughts with THINK when he visited the University of Malta in December 2019. Having become a beekeeper at the age of 16, the Italian scientist is working to develop new remedies against common bee illnesses. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z