Science and Technology

Saturday, 24 September 2022 06:47

Against all evolutionary odds, humans are getting older and older. But why?

Why do we get old? This question has been troubling humans for thousands of years. Sadly, there is no definite answer yet — but here's what we know so far. System breakdown As we age, many of the systems in our bodies begin to deteriorate: Our vision gets worse, our joints weaker and our skin thinner. The older we get, the more likely we are to become ill, break bones and — eventually — die. Our reproductive success, which describes an individual's production of offspring per lifetime, also declines as we age, Thomas Flatt, a professor of evolutionary biology at…

Sunday, 18 September 2022 06:38

How the iPhone 14 could upend the high-end camera market

Apple’s design may have stalled, but the latest iPhone still has the potential to disrupt through major photo and video upgrades (while the new Apple Watch could capitalize on gaps in the lucrative health care market). But are customers ready to drop upwards of $1,500 for the Pro upgrade? Remember 2008? George W. Bush was finishing up his last year in office, Beyoncé and Jay-Z got married, Britney Spears made her big comeback after a tumultuous public breakdown, and the companies that made point-and-shoot cameras had a banner year in sales, hawking more than 110 million consumer cameras that year.…

Friday, 16 September 2022 06:52

Scientists just issued a shockingly bleak ‘warning to humanity’

Scientists say that Earth’s trees are facing an unprecedented level of extinction and humanity should be worried. The state of our world’s trees has been an ongoing issue for decades now. But, that issue seems to be getting worse, and now we’re facing a massive extinction level issue that could threaten entire ecosystems. At least one-third of Earth’s trees are facing extinction Trees play an important role in the various ecosystems that cover our planet. Last year, a team of researchers released a paper titled State of the World’s Trees, which looked at how the loss of some tree species…

Thursday, 15 September 2022 06:43

FG approves proposal to produce vaccines locally with India collaboration

Nigeria will partner with Serum Institute of India to start local manufacturing of vaccines used in the country's immunisation programmes, health minister Osagie Ehanire said on Wednesday. Africa's most populous country imports all of its vaccines, including those used to prevent polio, measles and tuberculosis, but has been seeking foreign partners to produce them at home. "We hope to start manufacturing some of the vaccines (that) Serum Institute India manufactures and transfer the technology and skills to our people," Ehanire said after Federal Executive Council approved the deal with Serum Institute, the world's largest producer of vaccines. "We are talking…

Sunday, 11 September 2022 06:51

Nigeria to improve wheat production with locally modified seeds

Nigeria, Africa’s largest buyer of wheat, is partnering with food company Olam International Ltd. to develop seed varieties of the grain that are suitable for its climate, which will boost local output and cut dependence on imports. Olam unit Crown Flour Mill Ltd., has produced so-called nucleus seeds suitable for the West African nation’s topography and climate, Ashish Pande, the country head for Olam Agri Nigeria, said at a virtual media briefing on Friday. Bloomberg

Thursday, 08 September 2022 06:47

Apple’s iPhone 14 offers camera upgrades, satellite feature

Apple Inc. unveiled a new lineup of devices Wednesday with few surprises beyond one major one: It didn’t raise its US prices during one of the worst years for inflation in decades. At its biggest product-launch event of the year, dubbed Far Out, the company introduced the iPhone 14, fresh AirPods Pro earbuds and an Apple Watch upgrade that included a first-ever Ultra model. The iPhone retains the general look of the older version while getting camera enhancements, a long-anticipated satellite-messaging feature and -- on the higher-end models -- a new interface called the Dynamic Island. Apple is betting the…

Monday, 05 September 2022 06:36

FG, Binance in talks for Digital City to develop blockchain

Nigerian authorities and cryptocurrencies platform Binance Holdings Ltd. are in talks to establish a digital economic zone that will help entrepreneurs fast track blockchain technology in the West African nation. The partnership aims to build a digital hub, “similar to the Dubai virtual free zone,” according to statement by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is targeting digital technology as a means to help diversify the economy away from crude oil, taking advantage of an increasingly connected and youthful population. Fintech startups such as Interswitch Ltd. and Flutterwave Inc. has emerged in the space and…

Friday, 02 September 2022 06:55

Jumia adopts drone delivery, pick-up for hard-to-reach areas

Africa-focused e-commerce firm Jumia Technologies has partnered with drone-delivery startup Zipline to deliver household items to remote areas of Ghana, the companies said on Thursday. The venture will combine San Francisco-based Zipline's automated, on-demand delivery system with Jumia's distribution network to enable customers from remote and rural areas to order and receive electronics, cosmetics, fashion and other products. Jumia, an online marketplace for vendors and food sellers, with associated services including logistics and payments, was the first Africa-focused tech start-up to list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. It has a current market capitalisation of $741 million, according…

Monday, 29 August 2022 06:45

NAFDAC: Nigeria now has capacity to produce Covid-19 vaccine

Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says Nigeria now has the capacity to produce Covid-19 vaccines of international standard. Adeyeye spoke on Saturday during the oversight visit of the House of Representatives committee on Covid-19 to the NAFDAC facilities and Covid-19 laboratory projects in Lagos. Sayo Akintola, NAFDAC media consultant, in a statement on Sunday, quoted Adeyeye as saying: “To ensure that the health sector is strengthened, NAFDAC must be strengthened, if the regulatory agency is not strengthened, the industry will not be strengthened. “We have the African Free trade Agreement…

Thursday, 25 August 2022 06:41

MTN has announced its 5G rollout plan in 7 locations across Nigeria. These are the cities to first enjoy the high speed internet tech

MTN initiated a trial of its 5G technology in the country on Wednesday with seven Nigerian cities targeted for a start when the services launch proper, the wireless operator said in a statement to the Nigerian Exchange. The pioneering feat comes more than eight months after the telecom firm and Mafab Communications Limited won a bidding for the two slots available for the start of the spectrum services in the country. Both firms had received permits to operate 5G services in the first week of May. Broadband penetration in Africa’s most populous country of over 200 million people has only…

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Friday, 19 August 2022 07:32

China's new sky train levitates on a magnetic track 33 feet in the air

China is well known for its futuristic maglev trains, which use electromagnets to propel the vehicles over tracks at high speeds. Now the country has unveiled its first suspended maglev line built with permanent magnets, which engineers claim can keep a 'sky train' afloat even without a power supply. The 2,600ft experimental track, known as the Red Rail, is located in Xingguo county, Jiangxi province, in southern China. It uses powerful magnets to produce a constantly repelling force strong enough to lift a train with 88 passengers into the air, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.…

Sunday, 14 August 2022 06:45

Thinking of living up to 200 years? Scientists are working on a drug to help you achieve that longevity

Adding another 100 years to your lifespan might be the stuff of science fiction but scientists are working on a miracle drug that would make it a reality. The drug, taken in pill form, works by eliminating cells that contribute to the ageing process in the human body, thus potentially doubling our lifespan. Human ageing is hurried along by cells called ‘zombie cells’, scientifically known as senescent cells. These cells stop dividing over our lifespan, accumulate inside our bodies, and eventually release compounds that speed up ageing. The drug has been tested on mice in a 2020 trial and the…

Thursday, 11 August 2022 06:51

The big myth about charging tech you should stop believing

The average consumer will replace a smartphone 2.6 years after buying it (via Statista). If you have a laptop, you can expect it to last at least 4 to 7 years before you need an upgrade, according to Tech Guided. However, the lifespan of your smartphone, laptop, and even your electric vehicle depends on the battery's health. In fact, fewer people tend to upgrade their smartphones if they have an option to replace the battery -- Apple found this out after a loss in its revenue. Of course, batteries are not meant to last forever but you can make them…

Wednesday, 10 August 2022 06:40

WhatsApp extends time limit to delete a message, boosts privacy features

WhatsApp now allows you to delete a message for up to two days and 12 hours (60 hours in total), so you can remove an accidentally sent chat even after hours. Previously, this limit was 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds — yep, there were seconds involved. The company’s tweet about this feature just mentioned “little over two days” but didn’t specify the 12-hour part. WhatsApp first introduced the unsend feature back in 2017 with a time limit of just seven minutes but later increased it to one hour and eight minutes. Last year, WABetaInfo noted that the company…

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