SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION - The African Mirror

Apr

12

2024

Eclipses aren’t just visual spectacles, they are at the heart of scientific efforts to understand distant planets

THE total solar eclipse across North America on April 8 2024 is a stunning and memorable event for everyone in its path. However, eclipses are not just valued for their visual impact, they are at the heart of cutting-edge science. Eclipses can tell us a vast amount about distant planets beyond our Solar System – or exoplanets. Since the first exoplanet was detected in 1992, astronomers have discovered more than 5,600 worlds orbiting stars other than the Sun. They have used a variety of powerful telescopes to observe them. However, as with the total solar eclipse, there is still a…

Apr

06

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Botswana’s 90 million-year-old ancient beetle discovery explains earth’s evolution

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

A team of scientists from GENUS, a department of paleosciences at the University of Witwatersrand has discovered an ancient beetle species at the site that not only reaffirms Africa’s rich biodiversity but also contributes to understanding the mysteries of prehistoric life on Earth. The latest discovery is in part thanks to the 1980 discovery of fossil material at the Orapa Diamond Mine in the Central District of Botswana, which sparked years-long research interest among scientists. This site is now emerging as a hotbed for groundbreaking research uncovering unique details about early life on Earth. “This beetle is a clue into…

Mar

23

2024

By NICHOLAS R. LONGRICH

Duckbill dinosaur discovery in Morocco – expert unpacks the mystery of how they got there

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

WHY are fossils of duckbill dinosaurs, a North American family, found in North Africa? Dinosaurs couldn’t just walk there. Sixty-six million years ago, when duckbills suddenly appear in Africa’s fossil record, the world’s land masses formed a series of islands. A seaway divided eastern and western North America; Europe was an archipelago. South America, India, Australia and Madagascar were all island continents, surrounded by ocean. Africa was an island too – it was impossible to walk there from North America. And yet, somehow, we’ve now found fossils of duckbill dinosaurs in Morocco. The world at the end of the Cretaceous,…

Mar

12

2024

By BOLAJI OWOSENI

Nigeria’s ancient Ilorin city – archaeologist uncovers over 1,000 years of history

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

ILORIN, the capital of Kwara State, is a Nigerian city with a long and rich history. However, much of its distant past is not well known. Archaeology is now uncovering more of this history and the relationships of Ilorin to other ancient parts of the Yoruba world. BOLAJI OWOSENI, Research Fellow in Black Heritage, University of Cambridge Situated in north-central Nigeria and predominantly Yoruba-speaking, Ilorin gained prominence in the late 1700s. It was a significant northern province of the Oyo empire, which was active between the 1500s and early 1800s. Thanks to its strategic location between savannah and forest regions…

Mar

06

2024

By The African Mirror

Archaeologists in Egypt unearth section of large Ramses II statue

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

A joint Egyptian-U.S. archaeological mission has uncovered the upper part of a huge statue of King Ramses II during excavations south of the Egyptian city of Minya, Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry said. The limestone block is about 3.8 metres (12.5 feet) high and depicts a seated Ramses wearing a double crown and a headdress topped with a royal cobra, Bassem Jihad, head of the mission's Egyptian team, said in a statement. The upper part of the statue's back column shows hieroglyphic writings that glorify the king, one of ancient Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, he said. Also known as Ramses…

Mar

02

2024

By TAMIKA WORRELL

Generative AI in the classroom risks further threatening Indigenous inclusion in schools

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

IT is well documented that Australian teachers face challenges incorporating Indigenous perspectives and content in their classrooms. The approach can sometimes be somewhat tokenistic as if the teacher is “ticking a box”. We need a more culturally responsive teaching workforce. Generative AI is advancing at a fast pace and quickly finding a place within education. Tools such as ChatGPT (or Chatty G as the kids say) continue to dominate conversations in education as these technologies are explored and developed. TAMIKA WORRELL, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Critical Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, Macquarie University There are many concerns around academic…

Feb

28

2024

By RINA CHANDRAN

Are social media platforms ready for record elections in 2024?

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

FROM deepfake videos of Indonesia's presidential contenders to online hate speech directed at India's Muslims, social media misinformation has been rising ahead of a bumper election year, and experts say tech platforms are not ready for the challenge. Voters in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and India go to the polls this year as more than 50 nations hold elections, including the United States where former president Donald Trump is looking to make a comeback. Despite the high stakes and evidence from previous polls of how fake online content can influence voters, digital rights experts say social media platforms are ill-prepared for the inevitable rise…

Feb

27

2024

By LAYCKAN VAN GENSEN

Deepfakes in South Africa: protecting your image online is the key to fighting them

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

LEANNE Manas is a familiar face on South African television. Towards the end of 2023, the morning news presenter’s face showed up somewhere else: in bogus news stories and fake advertisements in which “she” appeared to promote various products or get-rich-quick schemes. It quickly emerged that Manas had fallen victim to “deepfaking”. Deepfakes involve the use of artificial intelligence tools to manipulate images, video and audio. And it doesn’t require cutting-edge technical know-how. Software like FaceSwap and ZaoApp, which can be downloaded for free, mean that anybody can create deepfakes. LAYCKAN VAN GENSEN, Junior Lecturer in Mercantile Law, Stellenbosch University…

Feb

13

2024

By The African Mirror

Morocco dinosaur discovery gives clues on why they went extinct

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

66 million years ago, the last dinosaurs vanished from Earth. We’re still trying to understand why. New fossils of abelisaurs – distant relatives of the tyrannosaurs – from North Africa suggest that African dinosaurs remained diverse up to the very end. And that suggests their demise came suddenly, with the impact of a giant asteroid. NICHOLAS R. LONGRICH, Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences at the University of Bath, University of Bath The causes of the mass extinction have been debated for two centuries. Georges Cuvier, the father of palaeontology, thought extinction was driven by catastrophes. Charles…

Feb

06

2024

By BYRON LAMONT, LYNNE MILNE, RICHARD COWLING and TIANHUA HE

Banksias are iconic Australian plants, but their ancestors actually came from North Africa

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

FEW plants conjure up the Australian bush better than banksias, whose beautiful flowers are irresistible to honeyeater birds, small marsupials and nature lovers. But our research, published in Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, shows that the ancestors of banksias actually migrated here from North Africa. From early fossil pollen studies, we already knew that the protea family (Proteaceae), which includes banksias, grevilleas, waratahs and macadamias in Australia, originated in northwest Africa 130 million years ago. Our task was to track their migration to Australia, where they became the unique symbols of the Australian bush that we admire today.…