A Rice University-led team of neuroengineers is embarking on an ambitious four-year project to develop headset technology that can directly link the human brain and machines without the need for surgery, a Rael-Science post says. As a proof of concept, the post adds that the team plans to transmit visual images perceived by one individual into the minds of blind patients. “In four years we hope to demonstrate direct, brain-to-brain communication at the speed of thought and without brain surgery”, said Rice’s Jacob Robinson, the lead investigator on the $18 million project, which has been announced as part of the…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that a devastating and preventable childbirth injury is still haunting women. In Tanzania, Keflene Yakobo tried to do everything right during her pregnancy. Though she was young – married at age 17 and pregnant at 19 – she was diligent about receiving regular check ups. “I started attending antenatal clinics as soon as I realised I was pregnant, and continued throughout my entire term’’, Yakobo recently told UNFPA. Despite her best efforts, the delivery went worse than she could have imagined. Yakobo ended up with an obstetric fistula – one of the most serious and…
The All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari’s party, has started another internal bleeding. The doctors handling the party’s ailment are yet to prescribe the appropriate injection that would guarantee her durable stability. While the health condition of the APC is of great concern to her impoverished followers, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State is busy exhibiting deficit of democracy with his Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) ambitious cargo airport in the Obudu area. He is out to build the airport on the blood of the protesting people of Ukambi, whose farmlands are being grabbed for the ego project. APC’s…
The most thorough state-of-the-planet study ever done recently warned that a million species are at risk of extinction due to human activity and called for urgent action to address the crisis. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is responding to the crisis through her BioTrade programme and recently partnered with the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) to get more companies to adopt practices that benefit the planet’s plants and animals as much as its people. The UN agency and a nonprofit association have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on May 7, at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “To curb…
Zaynab stands next to the remnants of her home she used to share with her six children before it was destroyed by early season rainstorms that brought strong winds and rain to the North-East Nigeria so much troubled by Boko Haram, a terrorist group. “I was in the market in the afternoon when the storm came but my six children were inside the house”, said Zaynab as she prepares a meal to break the Ramadan fast. “We lost everything except for a mattress we found across the camp and a few cooking pots.” As at May 24, 395 shelters in…
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has unleashed a damaging political missile on President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the failure of the president to address Nigerians at his Wednesday inauguration ceremony shows that Buhari and the APC are overburdened by the guilt of the allegedly rigged Presidential election. The PDP bomb blast came as former Nigerian Leaders: Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar were absent at the Buhari show. Buhari was however, sworn-in at the Eagle Square with former presidents Yakubu Gowon and Ernest Shonekan in attendance, in a ceremony termed…
Scientists, according to a Rael-Science post, have developed a new way of achieving artificial photosynthesis, producing high-energy hydrocarbons by leveraging electron-rich gold nanoparticles as a catalyst. In photosynthesis, plants convert energy from sunlight into glucose by rearranging molecules of water and carbon dioxide. The new process mimics this natural ability via chemical manipulations that create liquid fuel, without requiring chlorophyll. “The goal here is to produce complex, liquefiable hydrocarbons from excess CO2 and other sustainable resources such as sunlight,” says chemist Prashant Jain from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Liquid fuels are ideal because they are easier, safer, and more economical to transport…
In a latest report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) armed attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, shattered the lives of girls the most. Armed groups attacked hundreds of schools in the Kasai region of central Democratic Republic of Congo during the 2016-17 conflict. The coalition was however, formed in 2010 by organisations working in the fields of education in emergencies and conflict affected contexts, higher education, protection, and international human rights and humanitarian law that were concerned about ongoing attacks on educational institutions, their students, and staff in countries affected by conflict and insecurity. GCPEA is…
Plateau State, known in Nigeria as the “home of peace and tourism” is fast becoming the theatre of a bloodbath. Many were on Sunday feared killed and scores injured in a fresh violence in parts of Jos, the state capital. Jos, according to Wikipedia, has become an important national administrative, commercial, and tourist centre. Tin mining has led to the influx of migrants, mostly Igbos, Yorubas and Europeans, who constitute more than half of the population of Jos. This “melting pot” of race, ethnicity and religion makes Jos one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria. For this reason, Despite the fact that the state is…
Barely five months after a violent clash which terminated the lives of no fewer than 20 persons, the armed security forces attached to the Calabar-Itu bridge head along Cross River and Akwa Ibom States boundary have repelled suspected attackers from entering Ikot Offiong in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River for another bloodletting The people of Ikot Offiong, an Efik community, are locked in a seeming unending community dispute with the people of Oku Iboku in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom. At the bottom of the protracted crisis is the allegation that the people of Ikot Offiong…
A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) has noted that in 2017 natural disasters affected more than 95 million people, causing damage and losses worth over $337 billion. The report also adds that the 2014–2016 global commodity price realignments triggered an economic slowdown that affected the capacity of many governments to provide public services. The UNCTAD report came as experts at the 22nd session of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) last week said Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) can help stem losses when shocks strike. STI can also quicken…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated their Zamfara State Governor-elect, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, all federal and state legislators-elect, as well as people of Zamfara describing their victory as the triumph of the will of the people over manipulative forces. This came as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday declared Matawalle winner of Zamfara governorship election. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, announced this during a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. ‘’This victory is a clear pointer to the fact that no matter how long manipulations and anti-democratic tendencies appear to thrive, justice and the will of the people always prevail…
Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State were agog with jubilation on Friday as the apex court in Nigeria nullified the party’s participation in this year’s general elections, and declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party with the second highest votes as winner in the state. Already, the Zamfara wing of the Nigeria Bar Association has commended the Supreme Court over the judgment against the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari’s party in the state. A five-man Supreme Court panel sitting in Abuja, on May 24 nullified the APC last primaries and all the seats won in the…
For couples who have been finding it difficult to get babies, the days of such frustrations are coming to an end. In coming years, going by a Rael-Science post, scientists plan to grow human embryos in a lab using high-tech artificial wombs. Doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are said to be in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin testing artificial wombs on human embryos within the next two years, according to Metro. If they are successful, the research could radically change the way humans view pregnancy, childbirth, and perhaps even human evolution. If those clinical trials go…
A migration agency of the United Nations, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is currently mobilising a partnership with three organisations – St Mungo’s, The3million, and Here for Good – to support vulnerable European Union (EU) citizens resident in the United Kingdom as they seek access to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), which will allow them to remain after June 2021. IOM UK Chief of Mission, Dipti Pardeshi, has explained that vulnerable and at-risk migrants can be overlooked in traditional support structures, pointing out ‘’EU citizens residing in the UK have made significant contributions here, and we are committed to helping ensure…
The number of countries depending on commodities has reached its highest level in 20 years, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). UNCTAD defines a country as dependent on commodities when these account for more than 60 percent of its total merchandise exports in value terms. The State of Commodity Dependence Report 2019 published shows commodity-dependent countries increased from 92 between 1998 and 2002 to 102 between 2013 and 2017. More than half of the world’s countries (102 out of 189) and two thirds of developing countries are dependent on commodities, the report indicates.…
Tony Nnadi, a lawyer and Co-ordinator of Lower Niger Congress (LNC)- has been quite vociferous in his claim that Nigeria ceased to be a federation since 1966. For the pro-restructuring group, all governments since 1967 are ‘’criminal and treasonous usurpation of entrapped constituent regions by a suzerainty now erected under the rogue 1999 Constitution.’’ The argument of the LNC is that the late General Ironsi, a unitarist, was killed July 29, 1966 by people who allegedly pretended to be protesting Ironsi’s Decree No 34 of 1966 which was an Emergency Measure by Ironsi to restore order and restabilise the country from…
In today’s world, children, particularly those from the poor-households are paying the most in conflict zones. A troubling report says they are one of the most affected “parties” in the world today. Stop the War on Children (2019), a recently released report by the Save the Children, United Kingdom highlights many facts related to the children in conflict zones. Public-spirited persons say it is a commendable effort in defence of children. A Bangladeshi writer, Farooque Chowdhury, says the report presents many facts related to the problem – conflict. It’s an eye-opener for all – parents and guardians, teachers and activists,…
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria has started a seeming political alignment ahead of 2023, the expected next election cycle in Nigeria. The Islamist governor is suspected to be pursuing a 2023 presidential dream, and to make a significant inroad, he has started to use the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to build his political blocks. In a seeming dramatic twist, the Kaduna governor withdrew from the race for the Chairmanship of the powerful governors’ forum and nominated Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State in Western Nigeria, the political bloc of Bola Tinubu,…
Apparently encumbered by an unbearable allegation of bias, the President of Court Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has stepped aside as the Chairman of 2019 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal hearing the petition against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. The tribunal held that the petitioners have not placed enough materials of evidence before the court. Apparently jolted, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) submitted that the president of court of appeal will be biased in the matter. Bulkachuwa voluntarily withdrew from participating in the hearing of the case shortly after the unanimous decision of the panel dismissing the application filed by the…
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fired back at President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, after asking former President Olusegun Obasanjo to apologize over his comments on the troubling security challenges in Nigeria. In a seeming counter-offensive, the PDP has charged Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, to apologize to Nigerians for allegedly misleading the country and heating up the polity with unfounded security breach allegations against them and their Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Government on Tuesday asked former President Obasanjo to tender a public apology over his comments imputing ethno-religious motive to the blood-spilling Boko Haram…
Schlumberger and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TSG) have sealed a strategic deal for Ocean-Bottom Node projects in the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. TGS provides multi-client geoscience data to oil and gas Exploration and Production companies worldwide. In addition to extensive global geophysical and geological data libraries that include multi-client seismic data, magnetic and gravity data, digital well logs, production data and directional surveys, TGS also offers advanced processing and imaging services, interpretation products, and data integration solutions. For more information, visit www.tgs.com. Schlumberger on the other hand, is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterisation, drilling,…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo seems to have murdered sleep in Aso Rock, the seat of power in Nigeria, and the authorities in a seeming nervous reaction are fighting back. The Nigerian government wants the defiant former leader to tender a public apology over his comments imputing ethno-religious motive to the blood-spilling Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP). Government also wants Obasanjo to withdraw the statement it described as deeply offensive and patently divisive, claiming that such indiscreet comments are far below the status of an elder statesman. Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, in a Tuesday…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, appears to have succeeded in putting the Judicial arm of the Nigerian government in a big mess. The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, is currently battling to redeem his integrity. A businessman, Tochi Michael, has dragged him before a Federal Capital Territory High Court over an alleged age falsification. In an originating summon with Suit No. FCT/HC/BW/CV/79/2019, filed before the court in April, the petitioner is alleging that the CJN deliberately falsified his date of birth. Michael alleged that the CJN falsified his date of birth from December…
Speakers at a United Nations forum on science and technology for development have warned about the inherent harm of the proliferating new technologies. They pointed out in Geneva, Switzerland that while new technologies like artificial intelligence and genome editing can prevent domestic violence, cure diseases and feed the hungry, they could also cause lots of harm. “Every technology is a double-edged sword with the best and the worst in store for us”, France 24 presenter Julia Sieger said as she opened the two-day discussion during the twenty-second session of The Commission on Science and Technology for Development. Innovation happens at…
For Igbo people and their state governments, a new guide by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) might be all they need to make the menace of erosion history. There is hardly any community in Eastern Nigeria that is not being terrorised by erosion. Already, FAO Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo has said, ‘’agroforestry isn’t a ‘no man’s land’ between forestry and agriculture and should receive specific policy support.’’ According to her, ‘’agroforestry can help diversify and sustain (food) production and provide vital social, economic and environmental benefits for land users at all scales’’. She was…
Eighteen years after the Oputa Panel report, there does not seem to be an end to the harassment of Ogoni women and the repression of their communities by the armed security forces. Ogoni women on the platform of Ogoni Women of Praise, have called on Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to take urgent steps to end what they described as ‘’the constant harassment of peaceful Ogoni community dwellers’’ by the Nigerian Army. For the protesting Ogoni women shooting in Ogoni communities, ‘’is causing extreme fear and sending us and our children to early graves.’’ The Human Rights Violations Investigation…
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State appears to have thrown the cosmopolitan Northern state into a crisis all because of a seeming narrow political vendetta. The state high court had on Wednesday declared the appointment and the installation of four new emirs by the Ganduje administrationt as null and void. The four new emirs Governor Ganduje appointed in a seeming desperate bid to reduce the might of the royal father of the ancient emirate of the groundnut pyramid, were speedily given their staff of office following the recent controversial breakup of the Kano emirate. The Kano Emirate Council, according to Wikipedia,…
The largely derailed Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), an interventionist agency, is currently struggling to reinvent herself with a pro-people identity. The agency that has been a festering nest of some looting politicians since 2000, is battling under Professor Nelson Brambaifa, her new acting Managing Director, to change the development narrative of the largely ravaged commission with abandoned/uncompleted projects dotted all over the oil and gas region. Apart from the ‘’vulture’’ politicians who feasted on the resources of the commission, it seems there is no tangible impact of the NDDC yet on the lives of the people bearing the harsh…
A civic group, Minority Rights Group International with over 40 years experience of working with non-dominant ethnic, religious and linguistic communities by bringing a long-term view of these issues to bear in all the work they do has said that human lives and livelihoods are threatened daily in the Niger Delta area. The group singled out the Ogoni area of Rivers State for a detailed report. The group which is campaigning worldwide with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard says…
