By Xing Ning Tan At first glance, elephant trunks, octopus tentacles or even human tongues don’t seem to have much in common. Look closer and you’ll find that they are all boneless biological muscles that rely on internal pressure to change their shape. These belong to a class known as muscular hydrostats. Unlike the arm, where your biceps and triceps are attached to a bone, muscular hydrostats consist of their own support system - individual muscles (known as fascicles) th

By Parthasarathe Jayashanker Edited by Koh Hai Yi What if one of medicine’s longest battles could be challenged with just two injections a year? After more four decades, HIV has been among the most challenging issues for global public health care providers. Modern antiretroviral drugs have turned the diagnosis of HIV into a chronic condition, but preventive measures cannot be underestimated. A breakthrough in science occurred in 2025 when Yeztugo (lenacapavir) was approved by

Written by Parthasarathe Jayashanker Edited by Ashley Ong Throughout our daily lives, most of us take control of our bodies for granted—until we lose it. Imagine noticing a twitch in your hand, then struggling to walk, and finally finding it extremely tough to breathe. Welcome to the world of ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It’s a progressive disease where motor neurons, the cells that help your brain talk to your muscles, start dying off. Once those neurons fade, musc

Written by Ashley Ong Edited by Parthasarathe Jayashanker Most people see viruses as our enemies. From the influenza virus causing the flu, to the varicella-zoster virus giving us chicken-pox, to Covid-19 which caused a global lockdown, it seems like they do nothing but cause trouble. But what if getting infected by a virus could actually save your life? Cancer incidence is rising globally. Granted, as treatment for other diseases improves, and people live longer lives, it i