Labworx

The oil and gas industry has taken something of a pummelling over recent months. With lockdown measures in place across much of the globe to limit the spread of coronavirus, demand for energy fell sharply, as industries and businesses all but shut down and far fewer passenger vehicles took to the streets.

Now, with the world beginning to emerge from the height of the coronavirus crisis and t...

A team of divers are helping to stimulate life in the depths of the water surrounding the Emirati coast. Led by the Fujairah Adventure Centre, the project involves removing coral from a living reef, cutting it into pieces and then “planting” it once more to create an artificial reef in areas that have seen their biodiversity suffer in recent years.

Coral reefs are a vital habitat for thousan...

The outbreak of coronavirus has disrupted working practices and ways of life for people all over the globe – and the scientific community is no different. Since the discovery of the first case in Wuhan City on 31st December 2019, the disease has spread all across the planet, forcing researchers to mothball their ongoing studies.

While some have used the enforced downtime to write up their fi...

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – or ADNOC for short – has announced a landmark $20.7 billion deal with six international companies for a minority stake in its domestic pipeline infrastructure. The deal was made with a consortium of the world’s foremost sovereign wealth funds and infrastructure specialists and is expected to yield attractive advantages for all involved parties.

On the one...

A new programme developed by healthcare professionals and university professors has the ability to not only track transmission of coronavirus, but also predict hotspots before outbreaks occur. It’s expected that the modelling technology will form a key cornerstone of the UAE’s government’s policies on imposing travel restrictions, allocating resources and issuing public health guidelines.

De...

With almost year-round sun and summer temperatures in excess of 50°C, the UAE is not known for its arable land nor its climate conducive to crop cultivation. It’s for that reason that the country imports more than 90% of its food needs, something which the government has been trying to address in the last few years.

In recent months, the logistical challenges imposed by coronavirus preventio...

The Arab peninsula is not known for its reliance on renewable energy. Indeed, much of the region’s wealth and infrastructure has been built on the extensive oil reserves found beneath its soil. Even today, over a quarter of Middle Eastern power is derived from oil. For comparison, just 3% of that power comes from renewable sources.

Fortunately, the tide appears to be turning. Several Arab na...

An Emirati robotics company has designed and launched a fleet of new automatons to help in the fight against COVID-19. Reliable Robotics, which is based in Dubai, has developed four robots with distinct capabilities, each of which can minimise human contact, aid social distancing and limit the spread of coronavirus.

The innovative technology could become a blueprint for how robots can help i...

The UAE Minister for Energy and Industry has indicated that the country will undertake even more oil production cuts this month. In an official announcement, Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris al Mazrouei said that Emirati output will drop by a further 100,000 barrels per day, on top of the previously agreed OPEC+ cuts.

The decision follows in the footsteps of fellow OPEC members Saudi Arabia a...

With coronavirus having disrupted lives across the UAE and beyond for over two months now, many of us have spent an unprecedented amount of time indoors. One of the consequences of the imposed quarantine situation is that many people are no longer being exposed to direct sunlight for any prolonged period of time, leading to insufficient levels of Vitamin D in the body.

Vitamin D deficiency i...