South Africa – Page 5 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Mount Everest Made Easy

By Guest PostApril 6, 2011Technologybizspark, bizspark one startup, ceo, galapagos islands, geographic expeditions, global online travel ecosystem, Google, ipsos otx mediact, james oleonard, Kenya, Microsoft, microsoft dynamics crm, mount everest, opentravel alliance tour operator project team, peak 15 systems, software, South Africa, startups

*BizSpark One startup PEAK 15 Systems powers unique travel experiences.*

REDMOND, Wash. — PEAK 15 Systems, a BizSpark One startup, provides tour operators with the software they need to build you the trip of a lifetime.

Anyone can go online to quickly purchase airline tickets or find a cheap hotel room, but when it comes to planning a truly unique travel experience, most people need the help of a travel professional. That’s where specialty tour operators come into play: They design specific types of trips or specialize in certain destinations, from Napa Valley food and wine adventures to luxury biking trips across Europe. PEAK 15 Systems, which builds software for tour operators, is the computing brain that helps to pull all the details together. (more…)

First Harmful Algal Bloom Species Genome Sequenced

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2011Environmentaureococcus anophagefferens, blooms, brown tides, christopher gobbler, chronic, coastal ecosystems, don anderson, eastern united states, ecogenomic approach, economic losses, ecosystems, excess nutrients, fertilizer runoff, genome sequencing, habs, harmful algal bloom, long island, louie wurch, marine phytoplankton, microscopic phytoplankton, ny, organic matter, photosynthetic microalga, poison humans, pollutants, sea grass beds, shellfisheries, sonya dyhrman, South Africa, toxin

*Brown Tide Culprit Uniquely Suited to Thrive in Environmentally Impacted Estuaries*

The microscopic phytoplankton Aureococcus anophagefferens, which causes devastating brown tides, may be tiny but it’s a fierce competitor.

In the first genome sequencing of a harmful algal bloom species, researchers found that Aureococcus’ unique gene complement allows it to outcompete other marine phytoplankton and thrive in human-modified ecosystems, which could help explain the global increases in harmful algal blooms (HABs). (more…)

China Becomes World’s Largest Producer of Gold

By PravdaFebruary 9, 2011Economyartem cherniavsky, central bank of russia, China, china gold association, economic and financial security, eurozone, fujian, georgy luntovsky, gold, gold mining, gold reserves, goldenfront, henan, international monetary fund, Jiangsu, nonferrous metals, production volume, provinces, russia, shandong, South Africa, world, world leading economies, yunnan

In 2010, China mined the record amount of gold in the world. The production volume of nonferrous metals in China amounted to 340.88 tons, which is 8.57% higher than a year earlier, and continues to grow. In recent years, China has consistently increased the amount of its gold reserves. Nevertheless, experts believe that China has a long way to go to reach the level of the world leading economies.

According to the China Gold Association, in 2007 China ranked first in terms of gold mining. It outran South Africa and is holding this position to this day. Starting 2004, the volume of production of the precious metal in China has been steadily growing. In 2009 it amounted to 313.98 tons. The volume of the gold imported by China within ten months of 2010 amounted to 209.72 tons, which is six times more than the year before, Rosbalt reported. (more…)

Shark Attacks Increase Worldwide; Florida Continues Four-year Decline

By Guest PostFebruary 7, 2011Environment, Generalapex predators, australia, beach, economic downturn, egypt, fishing lines, florida, george burgess, hawaii, ichthyologist, native floridians, red sea, shark attacks, South Africa, tourists, united states, unusual shark incident, Vietnam, water temperatures, worldwide

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The number of reported shark attacks last year increased worldwide but declined in Florida, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File annual report released today.

Ichthyologist George Burgess, director of the file housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus, said Florida typically has the highest number of attacks worldwide, but 2010 marked the state’s fourth straight year of decline. Florida led the U.S. with 13 reported attacks, but the total was significantly lower than the yearly average of 23 over the past decade. (more…)

Turning the Tide on South Africa’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic

By Guest PostNovember 2, 20102 commentsCulture, Generalafrica, epidemic of aids, fitkin amphitheater, helen dodson, hiv, illnesses, jacob zuma, michael cappello, pepfar, positive, right to care, South Africa, south africans, sub-saharan, tb patients, thabo Mbeki, thembi xulu, yale school of medicine

Dr. Thembi Xulu. Image credit: Yale University

Thirty years after it was given a name, the epidemic of AIDS and its related illnesses continues to kill millions of people around the world. But nowhere are the numbers as high today as in sub-Saharan Africa, and in particular, the nation of South Africa.

Last week, a physician who has watched her country seesaw from denial to resolve delivered the seventh annual C. Davenport Cook Grand Rounds Lecture in International Child Health at Yale School of Medicine, speaking about how things are changing in South Africa and, perhaps, all of sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the changes she described are medical, others, attitudinal.

Dr. Thembi Xulu is medical director of Right to Care, a leading non-profit HIV/AIDS organization based in Johannesburg, as well as one of this year’s Yale World Fellows. Xulu has for many years been a persistent advocate for educating South Africans about the causes of AIDS and ways to prevent it, and for bringing affordable medication to those afflicted with it. She has grappled with governments in denial, unyielding cultural traditions, lack of funding and victims too ashamed to seek help. (more…)

Origin of Skillful Stone Tool Sharpening Method Pushed Back More Than 50,000 Years

By Guest PostOctober 30, 20101 commentScienceancient horses, blombos cave, france, hard stone hammer, mammoths, mastodons, middle stone age, paleoindian, paola villa, pinnacle point site, prehistoric people, pressure flaking, quartz grains cemented by silica, silcrete, South Africa, spain, spearheads, stone artifacts, stone knives, upper paleolithic solutrean culture

A highly skillful and delicate method of sharpening and retouching stone artifacts by prehistoric people appears to have been developed at least 75,000 years ago, more than 50,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The new findings show that the technique, known as pressure flaking, took place at Blombos Cave in South Africa during the Middle Stone Age by anatomically modern humans and involved the heating of silcrete — quartz grains cemented by silica — used to make tools. Pressure flaking takes place when implements previously shaped by hard stone hammer strikes followed by softer strikes with wood or bone hammers are carefully trimmed on the edges by directly pressing the point of a tool made of bone on the stone artifact. (more…)

Football Saves Spain’s Economy from Decline

By PravdaJuly 17, 20102 commentsEconomy, Sportsabn amro banks, bloomberg, China, dutch, economic downturn, Economy, gold medal, ing, madrid, miguel sebastian, national debt, South Africa, spain, spaniards, spanish national team, stock market, world cup

The victory of the Spaniards over the Dutch in the World Cup will help the economy, experts say.

The euphoria of the victory improves the mood of the population, and the population in a good mood begins to spend more money and shop more frequently.

(more…)

Goooal! World Cup of Tech Competitors Score in Warsaw

By Guest PostJuly 6, 20104 commentsTechnologybrazil, christian piechnick, daniella bal, dice, England, germany-argentina, Holland, ignatius lopez, imagine cup, it, jasper baljeu, Johannesburg, jon perera, kieron ekron, malissa, malta, olympics, poland, royal bafokeng stadium, simulacrum, South Africa, stefan lia, vuvuzela, warsaw, wearth, world cup, world cup of technology

*As their favorite soccer teams battle to win the World Cup in South Africa, students from across the globe are in Warsaw, Poland, to find out who will win the World Cup of technology.*

WARSAW, Poland – July 6, 2010 – Just weeks after catching a World Cup soccer game in their home country, two students from South Africa brought 40,000 football fans with them to Warsaw, Poland, for the “World Cup of technology.”

(more…)

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