Science and Technology

Thursday, 06 January 2022 06:25

Do you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19? Experts explain how to tell the difference

Do you have a sore throat, a runny nose and muscle aches? It could be a common cold, a case of the flu — or Covid-19. The illnesses all share similar symptoms, sometimes making it hard to distinguish which is putting you under the weather. Case rates of Covid-19 have been on the rise as the Omicron variant has spread, but hospitalization numbers appear to be staying relatively low. For vaccinated people, evidence suggests that infection with this variant seems less likely to be severe, epidemiologist and former Detroit Health Department executive director, Abdul El-Sayed said. "The important thing to…

Wednesday, 05 January 2022 06:04

Artificial Intelligence can now craft original jokes - and that’s no laughing matter

Don’t you hate it,” says Jon the Robot, gesturing with tiny articulated arms at an expectant crowd, “when you’re trying to solve inverse kinematics equations to pick up a cup and then you get ‘Error 453, no solution found’?” The crowd laughs. “Don’t you hate that?” An experiment billed as a comedy act, Jon is the brainchild of Naomi Fitter, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. The tiny android performs when a handler (who must also hold the mic) presses a button, then tells the same jokes in the same…

Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:12

Obituary in advance: Blackberry will die on January 4th

Dear friends, we’re gathered here today to mourn the death of that once-beloved monarch of the mobile world: BlackBerry. And, yes, I realize that this is not the first time we’ve announced the death of the company or its devices (and, for reasons I’ll explain below, it likely won’t be the last) but this is a very definite ending for legacy BlackBerry hardware. As of January 4th, any phones or tablets running BlackBerry’s own software — that’s BlackBerry 7.1 or earlier, BlackBerry 10, or its tablet operating system BlackBerry PlayBook — will “no longer reliably function,” says the company. Whether…

Monday, 27 December 2021 05:50

What is Web3? And is it the next phase of the internet?

In theory, Web3 will allow you to go online without the need for search engines such as Google or social media like Facebook. But some say Web3 is under the control of the venture capital industry. Web3 has become the latest buzzword to get tech and cryptocurrency enthusiasts talking. While some are excited at what is being dubbed as the next phase of the Internet, others, including Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, have voiced their concerns over it. But what is Web3 and can this decentralised vision of the Internet work? What is Web3? Put simply, Web3 is an umbrella…

Thursday, 23 December 2021 06:13

FG introduces digital tokens to secure NIN, personal info

Federal Government has introduced a suite of digital Tokens to replace the aging NIN slip and polycarbonate card. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami said this at stakeholders workshop on the National Identification Number (NIN) Tokenization Solution organised by National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Abuja. He said government adopted the solution to ensure privacy of personal identifiable information of individuals during verification transactions and to reduce incidences of illegal retrieval, usage, transfer, and storage of NIN. The Minister, represented by Director-General of NIMC, Aliyu Abubakar said the full implementation begins on Jan. 1. He said the tokenisation…

Thursday, 23 December 2021 06:01

UK company develops solar power unit for use in Africa

A company has developed an affordable solar storage device to bring power to those in energy poverty. It was designed by AceOn Group, based in Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom, for use in sub-Saharan Africa, where only half the population has access to electricity. The project also received funding after being developed to use a more eco-friendly form of battery. Experts said investing in the region will be a "win-win". Only 60% of Nigeria's population has access to electricity and often have to use noisy, polluting petrol generators during power cuts. Mark Thompson, managing director for AceOn Group, said the unit…

Tuesday, 21 December 2021 05:50

20+ smartphone apps you should delete before 2022

Ho-ho-holy cow, we made it through another crazy year! It was a time of insurrections, the continuation of the pandemic, and the introduction of an entirely new Covid-19 variant as a parting gift. And the bad news? Another new year is right around the corner. While we can’t predict what 2022 will have in store, you can get your year off to a slightly better start by performing a digital detox on your smartphone by deleting apps that are no longer working for you. Everybody’s wants and needs are different, so it’s possible that you’ll decide to keep some of…

Friday, 17 December 2021 06:12

Omicron symptoms could seem like a cold - but don't underestimate this variant, experts warn

Symptoms associated with the omicron Covid variant could be similar to those that normally accompany a cold. Experts are warning that the variant could be easily mistaken for a mild, everyday illness. The ZOE Covid Study analyses thousands of Covid symptoms uploaded to an app by the British public. Health officials are warning people to not underestimate the omicron variant. Symptoms associated with the omicron Covid-19 variant could be similar to those that normally accompany a cold, but experts are warning people that they should not underestimate the risks posed by the more transmissible variant. One British study has now…

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 05:31

Omicron can hit fully vaccinated, Oxford study says

Two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are substantially less effective at warding off omicron compared to previous variants of the coronavirus, scientists have found. However, the researchers were optimistic that a booster shot would improve immunity against the new, highly transmissible variant. In a new study announced on Monday, researchers from the University of Oxford tested blood samples of people 28 days after their second dose of either vaccine. When omicron was introduced to those samples, scientists reported "a substantial fall" in the neutralizing antibodies that fight off Covid compared to the immune responses seen against earlier…

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 05:30

Smartwatches and fitness trackers could detect Covid-19 before you even feel ill

Scientists have created an algorithm for smartwatches that can detect 80% of confirmed Covid-19 cases before or when patients are symptomatic. However, the algorithm can't differentiate between someone who's consumed alcohol, someone who is stressed or someone with a virus. It is hoped that this can eventually be used to determine whether someone needs to self-isolate or not, following clinical trials and the incorporation of additional data. Researchers created an algorithm to notify smartwatch wearers of stress, capturing events such as air travel, extended exercise, and illness. The new algorithm reads heart rate as a proxy for physiological or mental…

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Saturday, 11 December 2021 04:51

Coronavirus infects fat, may explain obesity link to severe Covid-19

The coronavirus can directly infect fat cells, a recent study awaiting peer review found. The finding may help explain why obese or overweight people are more vulnerable to severe Covid-19. Scientists need more data to determine if extra body fat independently raises a person's risk. More than two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, putting them at elevated risk of severe Covid-19 illness and death. Obesity in particular may triple the risk of hospitalization from the disease. But for most of the pandemic, scientists haven't understood why. While obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease can independently raise…

Saturday, 11 December 2021 04:49

Dangerous Android scam drains your bank account with just one phone call

Android device owners now have another scam to watch out for as a dangerous malware campaign spreads to new regions. Cybersecurity experts from Cleafy say that they have seen a spike in Android remote access trojan (RAT) infections over the past year. According to Cleafy, BRATA – a malware first discovered in Brazil – has made its way to Italy. Hackers are using the trojan to steal banking details from Android users and then drain their bank accounts. New Android scam steals banking information As the cybersecurity experts explain, this new version of the BRATA malware is difficult to detect.…

Thursday, 09 December 2021 05:47

Pfizer says its booster shot neutralizes Omicron

BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their Covid-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test, an early signal that booster shots could be key to protection against infection from the newly identified variant. The German and U.S. companies said two doses of their vaccine resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but could still be protective against severe disease. "The first line of defence, with two doses of vaccination, might be compromised and three doses of vaccination are required to restore protection," BioNTech Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tuereci said at a…

Wednesday, 08 December 2021 05:56

Major outage hits Amazon Web Services; many sites affected

Amazon’s cloud-service network suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, disrupting access to many popular sites. The service provides remote computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press. Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues with Amazon Web Services, the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had “mitigated” the underlying problem responsible for the outage. Shortly thereafter, it reported that “many services have already recovered” but noted that others were still working toward full recovery. The issue primarily affected Amazon web services in the…

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