Stories from Quick Reads and Science
Erdoğan's priorities turn to space as earthly problems mount in Turkey
As part of its national space program, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled plans to have its citizens serve aboard the International Space Station.
In Turkey, health workers mark Doctor's Day by going on strike
To mark the holiday, health workers across the country said they would be on a two-day strike starting March 14 despite earlier warnings from the Ministry of Health against the protests.
Malawian Film Helps Farmers Cope With Climate Change
“Mbeu Yosintha” was made to help farmers and rural communities cope with the effects of climate change, in particular the ever changing rain patterns in South East Africa. The film is a drama using local actors and was devised with Malawian writer Jonathan Mbuna following extensive research with various agricultural...
Astrophysicist Shares the History of the Rosetta-Philae Mission
The comet Churymov-Gerasimenko was discovered on 1969, the same year a mission landed on the Moon. Back then, no one would have imagined that 45 years later a small spacecraft called Rosetta transporting a landing module and the hopes of thousands would touch down on surface of a comet known as...
Reasearch, Implementation and Impact, Is What Universities Investigate Useful?
A comment about whether the population values the researches carried out from the universities, triggers member of academic community César Viloria to shed a light about this on his blog. About research, we have to know it's divided in two branches: basic research and applied research. The former increases or...
Many Hospitals in Guinea Closing Because of Ebola Virus
Due to detection of new cases of Ebola, entire departments of national hospitals of Conakry have now been closed .
New Spider Species in Borneo Named After Missing Activist
A new spider species in Borneo discovered by Swiss scientists was named after Bruno Manser, an environmentalist who went missing in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia in 2000. Bruno Manser has been campaigning for the protection of the nomadic Penan people and against the destruction of Sarawak rainforest when...
Locusts Invade Madagascar's Capital City
#valala pic.twitter.com/YHzOx5Q8QU — Vaintche Rahouli (@vincraholi) August 28, 2014 Twitter and Facebook users from Madagascar's capital city, Antananarivo, have posted several photos of locusts invading the city. Locust invasions are not unusual in Madagascar, especially after tropical storms, but they are very uncommon in larger cities. Locusts can have a...
An Entrepreneur Rewarded for his Innovative Healthcare Work in Cameroon
The prize of Man of the Decade was awarded to Dr. Clément PETSOKO, for his capacity to overcome the numerous difficulties he has faced in recent years.
The Heroic Everyday Work of Lab Scientists in the Fight Against Ebola in Liberia
During the current crisis of the Ebola virus disease (EVD), many reports showcased stories about patients, medical staff, vaccines and the consequences of the disease on the affected countries. But rare are the reports about the daily work of laboratory technicians and of those who care for their daily needs. In...
Distribution of SMS Printers in Cameroon to Reduce Delays in HIV Testing for Newborns
Afrique IT news reports that [fr] a new type of device (SMS printer) is being installed in several HIV testing facilities in Cameroon thanks to the Clinton Foundation and the telecommunication company MTN : La Fondation Clinton et l’opérateur de télécommunication MTN ont établi un partenariat pour lutter contre le diagnostic tardif de l’infection...
Biofortified Bananas for Beta Carotene Deficiency
Félix Moronta Barrios is a Venezuelan biologist who spreads scientific culture among Spanih speaking community. He recently explained the researches and biotechnologic findongs about transgenic bananas in Uganda and the United States. The banane cultivated in Uganda has no A vitamin. That's why its modification is necessary. Moronta Barrios warns...
Cameroonian Inventor Introduces First Locally-Made Tablet to Monitor Heart Diseases
Arthur Zang is a Cameroonian inventor specialized in IT and healthcare. His team created Cardiopad, a device that contains an electrocardiograph, a radioscope and a digital monitor. This tablet is connected through a regular mobile phone SIM card that is able to transmit an electrocardiogram from any point of the country...
Mapping the 567 Ebola Cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
On June 16, 49 new Ebola cases, 12 of them deadly, were reported by the WHO. Bart Janssens, director of operations of The international NGO Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF)) released a statement saying that: The epidemic is out of control, with the appearance of new sites in...
Meet Valentin Agon, Pioneer of Local Cures Against Infectious Diseases in Benin
Valentin Agon is the creator of the Api-Palu pill, a locally produced remedy based on endemic plants. He was just awarded [fr] the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Award for his new product against malaria. Pascal Hounkpatin reports for La Presse du Jour: De la cueillette des feuilles au produit fini (gélules...
Kazakhstan Has an Antelope That Can Predict the World Cup Winner (or Does It?)
Kazakhstan's most mischievous satirical blog, Kazaxia, is up to its old tricks again, reporting on the saiga antelope that has potentially ruined bookmakers worldwide by predicting the winner of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with its timeless steppe wisdom. As Kazaxia writes: A shaman contacted kazaxia about the psychic saiga – it...
Jamaica: Girls In Science
Cucumber Juice explains why it's important for her to raise money to upgrade her old high school's science lab – because it's the place where she learned to be confident, because real learning is interconnected, and because “girls need to know that we can be scientists too.”
Legislating on Open Access in Mexico
Saul Equihua writes [es] on Infotecarios about open access in México: On Tuesday, May 20, 2014, Mexico moved ahead by adding and reforming the Legislation of Science and Technology, the General Legislation of Education and the Organic Law of National Council of Science and Technology, to promote open access. After...
Reference Services in Library and the Web
Samuel Castro Ponce writes [es] on Infotecarios about reference services [es] or librarian consultaton, history, features and evolution: Evidently, synchronized referece services are evolving. Now there is a trend of using 2.0 websites for taking advantages of social networks that make possible sending and receiving information instantly. The same goes...
A Low-cost Solution to Heal Cataract in Sub Saharan Countries
One of the main causes of blindness in sub saharan countries are cataracts. A group of french physicians has developed a surgical kit called “Phacokit” to treat at low-cost individuals suffering from cataract and help them recover their eyesight [fr]: Pour vaincre la cataracte, principale cause de cécité, notamment dans les pays pauvres,...
Grenada: Kick'em Jenny Study May Save Lives
Repeating Islands republishes a report about a scientific study of Kick'em Jenny, an active underwater volcano located just off the coast of Grenada.