Tag Archives: africa

Microsoft unveils game-changer for South Africa’s small businesses

By Guest PostNovember 5, 2013Technologyafrica, bcg, biz4afrika hub, boston consulting group, business leader, chief operating officer, crime line, kevin turner, Microsoft, mteto nyati, small business, sme, South Africa, Technology

Boston Consulting Group research highlights potential for technology to help drive significant revenue and job growth by SMEs.

JOHANNESBURG — Nov. 5, 2013 — Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner on Tuesday unveiled an online hub that will give South African small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) access to a range of free products and services from Microsoft and other partners.

The hub, at https://southafrica.biz4afrika.com, is specifically designed to aggregate all the best resources — both IT and non-IT — available to local SMEs. The baseline services offered are free and highly relevant for South African SMEs looking to bring their business online and improve their general competitiveness. The launch offer will provide SMEs with the opportunity to get their businesses online for free for the first year. This includes a free .co.za domain, a free website, as well as free email and collaboration tools.* (more…)

Despite growth reports, Africa mired in poverty

By Guest PostOctober 8, 2013Economyafrica, african citizens, afrobarometer, carolyn logan, democratic development, east africa, economic growth, economic management, ghana, growth reports, Johannesburg, michael bratton, michigan state university, political science, poverty, the hopeful continent, west africa

Despite continued reports of economic growth in Africa, much of the continent remains wracked by poverty, with roughly one in five citizens saying they frequently lack food, clean water and medical care, according to the largest survey of African citizens.

This suggests the growth is not trickling down to the poorest citizens or that actual growth rates are inflated, said Carolyn Logan, assistant professor of political science at Michigan State University and deputy director of the survey, called the Afrobarometer. (more…)

Maths predicts rise and fall of empires

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2013General, Scienceafrica, americas, ancient empires, asia, cavalry, chariots, computer model, empires, Europe, evolution, evolutionary driver, fall, grid cell, human history, math, mathematical model, mathematical simulation, military innovation, old world, predict, predict the future, quantitative accuracy, rise, sergey gavrilets, simulate warfare, socio cultural evolution, tom currie, university of connecticut, university of exeter

Researchers have developed a new mathematical model that accurately describes the evolution of ancient empires.

The computer model can predict with 65% accuracy where and when the largest complex societies arose in human history.

The research, which suggests that intense warfare is the evolutionary driver of large complex societies, is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was carried out by researchers from the University of Exeter in collaboration with University of Connecticut and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) in the US. (more…)

Protecting 17 Percent of Earth’s Land May Preserve 67 Percent of Its Plant Species

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2013Natureafrica, asia, biological diversity, central america, computer algorithms, duke university, earth, ecuador, England, kew, lucas n joppa, Madagascar, microsoft research, new guinea, north Carolina, northern andes, piero visconti, plant species, protecting key regions, royal botanic gardens, spatial database, state university, stuart l pimm, the caribbean

Protecting key regions that comprise just 17 percent of Earth’s land may help preserve more than two-thirds of its plant species, according to a new study by an international team of scientists, including a biologist from North Carolina State University.

The researchers from Duke University, NC State and Microsoft Research used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species. They published their findings in the journal Science. (more…)

Microsoft introduces the 4Afrika Scholarship program

By Guest PostAugust 12, 2013Education, Technology4afrika scholarship program, africa, african students, botswana, clinton global initiative, english, international youth day, Microsoft, microsoft 4afrika, microsoft innovation centers, new york university, patrick onwumere, people, Tanzania, tunisia, uganda, united nations, university, young african minds

Part of the 4Afrika Initiative, the program will offer mentorship, training, university-level education and employment opportunities to aspiring African youth.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Aug. 12, 2013 — In recognition of International Youth Day, Microsoft Corp. Monday introduced the 4Afrika Scholarship program, as part of its 4Afrika Initiative, through which it will provide mentorship, leadership and technical training, certification, university-level education, and employment opportunities for promising African students. Mentorship will be provided by Microsoft employees from around the world, and employment opportunities will include internships and both part-time and full-time jobs within Microsoft, as well as with the company’s more than 10,000 partners across Africa.

Through the company’s 4Afrika Initiative and YouthSpark program, Microsoft has committed to helping millions of Africans get critical skills for entrepreneurship and employability. The 4Afrika Scholarship program is one way the company intends to meet that goal, by helping ensure that promising youth have access to the education, resources and skills they need to succeed, regardless of their financial situations. To help redress gender disparity in higher education in Africa, the company is actively encouraging young women to apply. (more…)

Great ape genetic diversity catalog frames primate evolution and future conservation

By Guest PostJuly 5, 2013Natureafrica, aids, ashmael, barcelona, behavioral disorders, belinga, bornean orangutan, chimpanzees, cognitive, dna segment, eastern gorilla, evan eichler, future conservation, genetic code, genetic diversity catalog, genetic variation, genome sciences, geographic isolation, gorillas, great ape, great ape species, humans, indonesia, javier prado martinez, map, migration, model, orangutans, origin of hiv, peter sudmant, primate evolution, seattle, simian immunodeficiency virus, siv, spain, suzie a, tomas marques bonet, universitat pompeu fabra, university of washington, virus, western lowland gorilla

A model of great ape history during the past 15 million years has been fashioned through the study of genetic variation in a large panel of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The catalog of great ape genetic diversity, the most comprehensive ever, elucidates the evolution and population histories of great apes from Africa and Indonesia. The resource will likely also aid in current and future conservation efforts which strive to preserve natural genetic diversity in populations.

More than 75 scientists and wildlife conservationists from around the world assisted the genetic analysis of 79 wild and captive-born great apes. They represent all six great ape species: chimpanzee, bonobo, Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, eastern gorilla, and western lowland gorilla, and seven subspecies. Nine human genomes were included in the sampling. (more…)

What Happened to Dinosaurs’ Predecessors After Earth’s Largest Extinction 252 Million Years Ago?

By Guest PostMay 4, 2013Scienceadam huttenlocker, africa, after the extinction, Antarctica, asilisaurus, australia, biogeographic patterns, brandon peecook, christian sidor, daril vilhena, dinosaurs in tanzania, dinosaurs predecessors, earliest dinosaur, earth, expeditions to antarctica, fossil hunting expeditions, fossil record, four legged animals, h richard lane, India, karoo, ken angielczyk, largest extinction, linda tsuji, mass extinction, museum fossils, national science foundation, nyasasaurus parringtoni, paleontologist, pig sized dicynodon, predecessors to dinosaurs, roger smith, sebastien steyer, snapshots, South Africa, south america, southern pangea, southwest russia, species distributions, sterling nesbitt, university of washington, unorthodox places, zambia, zambian basins

Fossil-hunting expeditions to Tanzania, Zambia and Antarctica provide new insights

Predecessors to dinosaurs missed the race to fill habitats emptied when nine out of 10 species disappeared during Earth’s largest mass extinction 252 million years ago.

Or did they?

That thinking was based on fossil records from sites in South Africa and southwest Russia.

It turns out, however, that scientists may have been looking in the wrong places. (more…)

Multi-Toxin Biotech Crops Not Silver Bullets, UA Scientists Warn

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2013Environment, Natureafrica, bacillus thuringiensis, bacterium, biotech crops, bruce tabashnik, bt, bt cotton, bt toxin, caterpillars, cirad, corn earworm, cotton bollworm, cry1, cry1ac, cry2 toxins, cry2ab, entomologists, Environment, epa, genetically engineered crops, helicoverpa zea, insecticide sprays, multi toxin, one toxin, pest control, pest killing proteins, pyramid strategy, silver bullets, simulation models, two toxin, university of arizona, US, yves carriere

The popular new strategy of planting genetically engineered crops that make two or more toxins to fend off insect pests rests on assumptions that don’t always apply, UA researchers have discovered. Their study helps explain why one major pest is evolving resistance much faster than predicted and offers ideas for more sustainable pest control.

A strategy widely used to prevent pests from quickly adapting to crop-protecting toxins may fail in some cases unless better preventive actions are taken, suggests new research by University of Arizona entomologists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Corn and cotton have been genetically modified to produce pest-killing proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short. Compared with typical insecticide sprays, the Bt toxins produced by genetically engineered crops are much safer for people and the environment, explained Yves Carrière, a professor of entomology in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who led the study. (more…)