Prof. Olubunmi Olapade-Olaopa, the Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, says the 71-year-old medical college has clinched the fourth position in Africa in the 2019 World University Ranking. Olapade-Olaopa, who disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan while speaking with newsmen at the end of the Innovative Research Fair of the college, said the institution is also the first in sub-Saharan Africa. The three-day fair had the tagline: “Innovation for Development.” According to the provost, the premier Nigerian college fell behind Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa as well as Cairo and Mansoura Universities in Egypt. Olapade-Olaopa…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
For the first time, a patient got treated for HIV and cancer at the same time, with an infusion of gene-edited stem cells. The results? Mixed. HIV cells HIV invades human immune cells using a protein known as CCR5, which acts like a door to let the virus in. Without it, the virus can’t spread and reproduce. Imagine you’re 27 years old and you start feeling ill. Ill enough that you go to the hospital, and after much poking and prodding and waiting for lab results you learn you’re HIV positive. Two weeks later you find out that’s not even…
By Ronnie Cummins The Climate Emergency is finally getting the attention of the media and the U.S. (and world) body politic, as well as a growing number of politicians, activists and even U.S. farmers. This great awakening has arrived just in time, given the record-breaking temperatures, violent weather, crop failures and massive waves of forced migration that are quickly becoming the norm. Global scientists have dropped their customary caution. They now warn us that we have to drastically reduce global emissions – by at least 45 percent – over the next decade. Otherwise, we’ll pass the point of no return – defined as…
Human genome editing has been raising controversy in the international medical space as there is no regulating body or laws to monitor what scientists do.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food are collaborating with industry to develop a natural, sustainable biocontrol which targets pests without harming honeybees and other beneficial pollinators By Sean Barton, University of Sheffield Estimated global crop loss to pests – including insects, plant viruses and fungi – is around $100 billion every year, equating to a 40 per cent loss in global agricultural productionNew pesticide alternative could help achieve food security whilst protecting vital pollinators A natural, sustainable alternative to pesticides that targets specific pests, without harming beneficial pollinators such as honeybees, is being developed with the…
A new report finds no evidence of a current danger from microplastics, but the WHO urges further research. By Ashley P. Taylor The minuscule bits of plastic invisibly bobbing around in drinking water do not pose a threat to human health, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment published August 21. Microplastics are those anywhere in size from 100 nanometers to 5 millimeters wide—though there’s no official definition. According to the WHO report, the plastic particles get into drinking water through run-off and wastewater effluent, and those found in bottled water may have something to do with the bottling…
Journalists, scientists and communications officer converged on Abuja, Nigeria to participate in a Science Café jointly organised by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), the Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa+ and the Nigerian chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB). The 2018 ISAAA report on Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops was also launched at the Science Café, which held at Corinthia Villa Hotel. In his remarks, the Acting Director of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof. Alex Akpa said the delay in deployment of the technology in Nigeria is as a result…
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) has released its 2018 Brief, with the news that Nigeria is the first country in the world to approve Bt cowpea. This was disclosed during Nigeria Science Café and the launch of the 2018 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in Abuja on Thursday. The Café was jointly organised by ISAAA, VIRCA Plus and Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB). The ISAAA AfriCenter Director, Dr Margaret Karembu, who presented the report, commended Nigeria’s progress in biotech crop development and adoption. She also noted that the country is a leader in agricultural technology approvals…
A Professor of Chemistry with the University of Ilorin, Mr Joshua Obaleye says his team hasld discovered anti-malaria, anti-cancer and anti-tuberculosis drugs that can be mass-produced to save lives. According to him, the team which he heads, had tested numerous world-class metal compounds from his laboratory for the treatment of various diseases. Obaleye said studies show that when a metal is attached with a pharmaceutical, it increases the efficacy of the drug. The don, who is also the President, America Chemical Society, Nigeria Chapter, and Chairman, Nigeria Chemical Society, Kwara State Chapter, said that he had no funding to commercialise…
The ‘Guidelines on the Nagoya Protocol for CGIAR Research Centers’ have been developed to help genebanks understand the legal requirements of moving plant genetic resources around the world. The movement of plant genetic resources between countries is governed by a veritable alphabet soup of treaties and agreements: ITPGRFA, CBD and SMTA for a start. But some agreements are such a mouthful that they’ve proved impossible to condense into acronyms. So, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is, simply, the CBD’s Nagoya Protocol. “Sometimes CGIAR…