Latest news with #KhonKaenUniversity
Bangkok Post
22-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Khon Kaen university lecturer arrested on drug charges
KHON KAEN - A 39-year-old university lecturer and an accomplice have been arrested on drug charges after a police suspect alleged he bought methamphetamine from them via the Line messaging app. The two suspects were taken into custody from a dormitory in tambon Mai Muang in Muang district of this northeastern province on Monday evening, Pol Col Yossawat Kaewsuebthanyanit, chief of Muang Khon Kaen police, said on Tuesday. One was a maths lecturer in the faculty of science at Khon Kaen University. He was identified by police as Asst Prof Dr Nakkakit. The other suspect was identified as Mr Ratchsak. Their family names were withheld by police. The arrests were made after another suspect police named as Mr Prathanporn said he had bought methamphetamine from Line user '8858 ณ ค 4 รัส'. They also learned there was a motorcyclist who often left the dormitory to make deliveries. Police arranged for Mr Prathanporn to make another purchase of meth and began watching the dorm for the motorcyclist to depart with a delivery. Police later searched a room at the dorm and found 34.6 grammes of methamphetamine in 21 packets of perfume and wet tissue paper. The two suspects were arrested. Mr Ratchsak allegedly admitted some of the drugs belonged to him and said the rest belonged to the lecturer, who initially denied it. (continues below) Police also searched Asst Prof Nakkakit's house in tambon Sila, where they found other 1.1g of meth. Only Mr Ratchsak tested positive for drug use, police said. Two phones the suspects allegedly used to contact customers via Line and X were also seized. Police said the suspects ordered the meth from a man in Bangkok whose name was not known. Their most recent alleged purchase was 20g for 10,000 baht. They allegedly both finally admitted to the charges and were taken to Muang Khon Kaen police station for legal processing.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Shining' creature with ‘flat' back found at hotel in Laos. It's a new species
As a rainstorm passed over a hotel in a small town of Laos, a 'shining' creature with a 'flat' back emerged from its hiding place and crawled up a tree trunk. Something about it caught the attention of returning scientists — and for good reason. It turned out to be a new species. A team of researchers spent four years traveling the Southeast Asian country of Laos and surveying millipedes, according to a study published May 16 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. During a field trip in 2017, researchers returned to 'Phu Thevada Hotel in the evening following a rainfall, after a full day of collecting' specimens, the study said. To their surprise, 'the rainfall prompted millipedes and land snails to emerge.' Researchers collected dozens of millipedes from the ground and trees around the hotel. They took a closer look at the animals and realized they'd discovered a new species: Touranella srisonchaii, or Srisonchai's flat-back millipede. Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes can reach out about an inch in length, the study said. Their 'smooth and shining' bodies have 20 segments and 'moderately long' antennae. Photos show the black millipede and its 'pale yellowish' legs. Researchers said they named the new species after Ruttapon Srisonchai, a millipede researcher at Khon Kaen University, 'who has not only contributed to the study of millipede taxonomy in Thailand, but also collected the type series of this new species.' So far, Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes have only been found around Phu Thevada Hotel in Paksong, a city in southern Laos, a landlocked country bordering Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Phu Thevada Hotel shared a photo of the hotel building in a 2010 Facebook post. Much about the lifestyle and behavior of Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes remains unknown. The new species was identified by its genitalia and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not include a DNA analysis of the new species. The research team included Natdanai Likhitrakarn, Sergei Golovatch, Khamla Inkhavilay, Somsak Panha and Chirasak Sutcharit. The team also discovered two more new species of flat-back millipede, including one at an ancient Hindu temple.
