SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION - The African Mirror

Jan

24

2021

South African scientists who discovered new COVID-19 variant share what they know

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

LATE last year the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) led by the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) identified a rapidly spreading new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new variant, called 501Y.V2, raises critical questions – including whether current vaccines and treatments will still be effective. With the support of the South African Medical Research Council and the Department of Science and Innovation, a group of leading South African virologists, immunologists, vaccinologists, infectious disease specialists and microbiologists has since formed a consortium to address specific scientific questions surrounding 501Y.V2. The knowledge they…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

WhatsApp has been mining your data all along

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

GLOBAL messaging application WhatsApp made headlines when it released a controversial privacy policy update that triggered an exodus of users to rival messaging platforms. The update to WhatsApp’s terms of service and privacy policyinformed users that they would have to agree to the new policy by 8 February 2021 to continue using the service. WhatsApp planned to share its users’ data with parent company Facebook, fuelling widespread outrage. While many users assumed this meant Facebook wanted access to their personal messages with friends, colleagues and family members, this is not the data Facebook is after. What it wants to share…

Jan

20

2021

By The African Mirror

With free buses and WhatsApp, southern Africa steps up storm preparedness

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

RAY MWAREYA and NYASHA BHOBO WHEN tropical storm Chalane threatened Zimbabwe and Mozambique late last year, government authorities and aid agencies sprang into action, having learned lessons from the destruction and loss of life caused by cyclones in 2019. That year, two consecutive cyclones - Idai in March and Kenneth in April – brought unusually heavy rains and high winds, causing more than 1,000 deaths across southern Africa and affecting nearly 4 million people. In late December 2020, ahead of Chalane's arrival in Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe, it was feared lives, property and infrastructure might be hit hard again. In…

Sep

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Your smartphone is not making you dumber — digital tech can enhance our cognitive abilities

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

DIGITAL technology is ubiquitous. We have been increasingly reliant on smartphones, tablets and computers over the past 20 years, and this trend has been accelerating due to the pandemic. Conventional wisdom tells us that over-reliance on technology may take away from our ability to remember, pay attention and exercise self-control. Indeed, these are important cognitive skills. However, fears that technology would supplant cognition may not be well founded. Technology alters society Socrates, considered by many to be the father of philosophy, was deeply worried about how the technology of writing would affect society. Since the oral tradition of delivering speeches…

Feb

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Higher quality seeds can help beat Africa’s ‘hunger pandemic’

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

VACCINATION efforts across the globe encourage hope of an imminent end to the COVID-19 health crisis. But the food security crisis that the pandemic has deepened cannot be alleviated quickly and will require lasting solutions. CHRIS O. OJIEWO, Theme Leader, Seed Systems, CGIAR System Organization Well-adapted and nutrient-dense crops like millet, sorghum, groundnut, chickpea, pigeonpea, cowpea and common bean, collectively called dryland cereals and legumes, are like a vaccine of sorts for hunger and under-nutrition. This is because, over time, improved varieties of crops will be able to render farming resilient to climate stresses, help improve nutritional outcomes and improve…

Sep

01

2021

By The African Mirror

A plant grown in Nigeria shows potential for epilepsy treatment

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

EPILEPSY is a brain disorder that arises from imbalances of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. This disorder manifests as recurring seizures, unconsciousness and momentary loss of memory. These events are frequent and unpredictable. This is because the brain cells called neurons either overwork or are unable to balance the release of two chemicals that are vital for normal brain function: gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate. MOSES B. EKONG, Senior Lecturer, The University of Uyo The burden of epilepsy in Nigeria is high, with estimated prevalence of eight per 1,000 people. Adults over 55 years of age have a higher risk factor of…

Feb

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Facebook to remove more false coronavirus claims from platform

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

FACEBOOK Inc said Monday it will help users find out where and when they can receive the coronavirus vaccine and will expand a list of false health claims it bans from the platform. The social media group said in a blog post that people can learn how to get vaccinated "in just a few taps" on the platform as more information about the vaccine rollout becomes available from public officials. Facebook will expand the list of false claims about the coronavirus and vaccine that it will remove from its site, including that COVID-19 is a man-made virus, and that vaccines…

Aug

07

2021

By The African Mirror

In a world first, South Africa grants patent to an artificial intelligence system

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

AT first glance, a recently granted South African patent relating to a “food container based on fractal geometry” seems fairly mundane. The innovation in question involves interlocking food containers that are easy for robots to grasp and stack. MESHANDREN NAIDOO, PhD Fellow and LexisNexis Legal Content Researcher and Editor, University of KwaZulu-Natal On closer inspection, the patent is anything but mundane. That’s because the inventor is not a human being – it is an artificial intelligence (AI) system called DABUS. DABUS (which stands for “device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience”) is an AI system created by Stephen Thaler,…

Feb

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Meet the 4 African women breaking the science glass ceiling

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

LESS than 30% of researchers worldwide are women and UNESCO data shows that only about 30% of all female students choose science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at a tertiary level. Four African women scientists share their experiences in forging STEM careers. NATASHA JOSEPH, Freelance Commissioning Editor, The Conversation OGECHI EKEANYANWU, Commissioning Editor: Nigeria, The Conversation WALE FATADE, Commissioning Editor: Nigeria, The Conversation Dr Dayo Akande, Nigeria I can’t forget my experience as a secondary school student: after qualifying for a science competition at state level in 1989, I was asked to stay back and let my male schoolmate…

Aug

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Research and development are key to resilient food systems in Africa

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

WHAT will it take to build sustainable, resilient food systems in African countries? This was among the questions considered at the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit in late July. The summit, the first of its kind in this century, aims to identify bold, innovative actions, with measurable outcomes. These actions are needed to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals in what the UN has dubbed the “Decade of Action”. LULAMA NDIBONGO TRAUB, Technical Chair, Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI), Stellenbosch University THOMAS JAYNE, MSU Foundation Professor, Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University WANDILE…