In order to thermoplasticize sago residue and decrease the amount of energy necessary for the reaction, lauroylation of sago residue was attempted at room temperature. Plastic sheets prepared from lauroylated sago residue were examined and characterized. Sago residue could be prepared at room temperature and the ester content of the lauroylated sago residue was sufficient for thermoplasticization. Plastic sheets could easily be prepared from lauroylated sago residue and were found to be soluble for several solvents. The weight of the plastic sheets was decreased immediately after placed or buried on and in soil when tested for the initial 20 days. A biodegradation test using Tyromyces palustris and Trametes versicolor showed that the plastic sheet obtained in this experiment was biodegradable. The degradability of the plastic sheets for some enzymes was evaluated by chemical oxygen demand (COD). It was suggested that enzymes may be responsible for and the hydrolysis of ester bond and the main chain of starch and cellulose in lauroylated sago residue.

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 Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was carried out to estimate the relationship between the geographical distribution and genetic distance of sago palms growing in the Malay Archipelago. The plant materials contained 38 sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) populations, which included 16 spineless and 22 spiny populations. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using nine 10-mer primers. A total of 77 PCR products were scored from all the primers. Out of 77 products, five were shared by all the populations and 72 were polymorphic. A cluster analysis using the UPGMA method was conducted. From the dendrogram based on RAPD data, two groups were found. The cluster of group B consisted of the populations collected in the eastern area of the Malay Archipelago. Group A included a sub-group consisted of the populations collected on Sulawesi and Mindanao and the other sub-group mainly consisted of the populations collected in the western area of the Malay Archipelago. The genetic distance of sago palm populations grown in the Malay Archipelago was considered to be related to geographical distribution. Moreover, the presence or absence of spines on the petiole and rachis did not correspond with genetic distance.

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 Abraham Steck's dissertation entitled De Sagu was completed at the Faculty of Medicine in Bern, Switzerland in 1757. Not only is this the first known scientific book on the subject of sago, but apparently also the first scholarly book ever published on any aspect of the Palm family. Written in Latin, this 44-page dissertation is a rare book found in only a very few libraries in Europe and the United States. Steck presents a discussion of palm systematics in relation to the genus Sagus (= Metroxylon), as the palm was then known. De Sagu also provides interesting historical information about sago starch as a product in Europe in the early 18^th Century. This article provides a free translation of the main points of De Sagu, with emphasis on starch extraction and utilization.

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