As the global halal market grows bigger, the supply chain also increases in its complexity. This is due to the participation of various stakeholders in halal logistics. The enormous size of the market causes various issues such as lack of transparency and traceability, data silos, inefficiency in documentation as well as difficulties from the difference in the school of thoughts (mazhab) and halal practices. Blockchain technology was proposed to solve these issues. This research intends to study the application of blockchain technology in halal logistics from an Islamic perspective. The researcher uses literature review method to search for relevant information which consists of secondary sources such as journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, articles from website and books. Blockchain can be defined as digitalized public ledger within a peer-to-peer network containing information of transactions made. The application of blockchain technology will benefit halal logistics in increasing transparency and traceability, faster and leaner as well as a secure and reliable system. Track and trace of information and certification of halal products can be made swiftly. Smart contracts within blockchain technology can further improve the speed of transactions with different halal requirements. Lastly, the blockchain is secure and reliable, which cannot be tampered and hacked. Islam sees technology and science as assets which Muslims should have. The blockchain technology can be used as long as it is free from any forbidden elements such as riba, gharar and maysir. The usage should also follow the Islamic ethics and principles. Islam also encourages Muslims to achieve excellence in their works by using any resources and methods available. The features the technology brings are also aligned with the objectives of shariah. In conclusion, blockchain technology can contribute to better halal logistics and bring us a step further to achieve a halal economy.
Microbes play a very important role in each individual. The microbial communities and its genetic blueprint greatly influence in many human diseases. Most of the microbe populations are grow in an individual’s gut. Therefore, metagenomics studies on gut microbes are essential to understand the microbial diversity in gut and the knowledge on microbial composition associates with terrestrial animals will be very important for further understand nutrition, diseases and physiological state. Besides, the availability of next generation sequencing technologies gives a better understanding on gut microbiotas communities compare to the first generation sequencing. This paper, we suggested snakes as a model to study microbial metagenomics due to its various compounds can help to cure various illnesses, even kill off unwanted germs from body. Therefore, this paper mainly review on snake gut microbes, secondary metabolites produce by microbes and the benefits of molecular technologies used in metagenomics which can be useful in medical industries and treatment of infectious diseases.