Science & Tech

American and Chinese scientists have identified how a multi-functional enzyme works to fight diseases including HIV infection and autoimmune disorders. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has detailed how the enzyme called “SAMHD1” managed to inhibit proteins that stimulate the immune response in human and mouse cells. SAMHD1 is a cellular enzyme, responsible ...

Exhibitors at the just-concluded Science and Technology Expo in Abuja have called for more synergy among research institutions, agencies and innovators to develop the inventions exhibited at the expo. Some of the exhibitors, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) commended the efforts of the government in organising the expo, saying such synergy would ensure the development of ...

Weathering of huge amounts of tiny rocks could be a means to reduce the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While this is normally a slow natural process during which minerals chemically bind CO2, technological upscaling could make this relevant for so-called negative emissions to help limit climate risks. Yet, the CO2 reduction potential is limited and would require strong CO2 pricing to ...

Chinese researchers have developed a new pesticide with nano slow-releasing technology that can increase efficiency and decrease pollution in the soil. A team led by Wu Zhengyan of the Hefei Institute of Physical Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said this on Thursday, February 22, 2018. Zhengyan said soluble starch was used as a template and porous calcium carbonate ...

The in-country Subsea Tree Refurbishment feat by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), drew a deafening applause on the night of Monday, February 20, 2018 as it earned Shell Companies in Nigeria the Best Performing International Company in Technology and Innovation at the awards night of the maiden edition of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja. The state-organised ...

An environmentalist, Mr Uche Agbanusi, says the continuous depletion of the ozone layer by humans through unchecked destruction of natural resources is responsible for several environmental and health problems. Agbanusi, who is also a former National President, Nigerian Environmental Society, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, February 20, 2018. He said that ...

The sun might be unusually cool by 2050, according to a new study. Based on the cooling spiral of recent solar cycles, scientists from University of California, San Diego believe the next “grand-minimum” is just decades away, during which the sun will be seven per cent cooler. A grand-minimum, according to the study, is a period of very low solar ...

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has called on African countries to make science, technology and innovation (STI) policies inclusive and to place women and girls at the centre of STI programmes. Celebrated each year on February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science was adopted ...

DNA analysis suggests that the first modern Britons, who lived some 10,000 years ago, had “dark to black” skin and blue eyes, scientists said on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. The scientists from London’s Natural History Museum analysed DNA from an almost complete Homo sapiens skeleton, known as Cheddar Man after it was found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge in ...

Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Colorado have developed a superconducting switch that “learns” like its biological counterpart. The switch, called a synapse, could connect processors and store memories within future computers operating like the human brain. According to the study, the NIST switch supplies a missing piece for so-called neuromorphic computers. Envisioned as ...