Innovation Africa

The spiraling use of corn for food and fuel is creating heightened concerns about contamination of this staple crop with deadly aflatoxin. Produced by certain fungi that grow on corn, this contaminant is a known human carcinogen that especially threatens food safety in the developing world and can potentially cause the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States each year.

Continue reading Fungus fight: Researchers battle against dangerous corn toxin

A group of scientific academies in Africa encourages the G8+5 countries to help Africa stem the scientific brain drain.

“One-third of all African scientists live and work in developed countries. This outflow represents a significant loss of economic potential for the continent, especially in today’s global society where scientific and technological knowledge drive development.”

The critical issue of brain drain – the loss of Africa’s scientific workers to richer countries, largely in the developed world – is the focal point of concern in a statement issued by the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), a group of 13 merit-based science academies in Africa. The statement will be formally presented to the heads of states attending the G8+5 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, in July.

While the statement acknowledges that responsibility for addressing Africa’s brain drain rests primarily with the governments of Africa, it also asserts that external help is critical for the vast majority of African countries that do not have sufficient resources to invest in institutions of higher education and research.

Consequently, NASAC urges the G8+5 countries to invest in the rebuilding of universities and research centers in Africa and to support young African scientists seeking postgraduate and postdoctoral training. It also calls on G8+5 countries to fund the building of regional and international centers of excellence in Africa, especially in areas of study of critical importance to Africa’s development, and to encourage Africa’s Diaspora – African-born scientists living abroad – to participate in joint projects with scientists in Africa. And it reminds G8+5 countries that they have yet to honor the pledge they made at the G8+5 Summit in 2005 to provide US$5 billion to help rebuild universities and US$3 billion to help establish centers of scientific excellence in Africa.

The statement concludes by urging “the G8+5 countries to embrace science and technology as a collaborative enterprise where national borders count but nevertheless remain open, and where science and technology ultimately serve as bridges, not barriers, to social and economic progress.”

BOULDER, Colo.-Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for efficiently suppressing errors in quantum computers. The advance could eventually make it much easier to build useful versions of these potentially powerful but highly fragile machines, which theoretically could solve important problems that are intractable using today’s computers.

The new error-suppression method, described in the April 23 issue of Nature,* was demonstrated using an array of about 1,000 ultracold beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms) trapped by electric and magnetic fields. Each ion can act as a quantum bit (qubit) for storing information in a quantum computer. These ions form neatly ordered crystals, similar to arrays of qubits being fabricated by other researchers using semiconducting and superconducting circuitry. Arrays like this potentially could be used as multi-bit quantum memories.

The new NIST technique counteracts a major threat to the reliability of quantum memories: the potential for small disturbances, such as stray electric or magnetic fields, to create random errors in the qubits. The NIST team applied customized sequences of microwave pulses to reverse the accumulation of such random errors in all qubits simultaneously.

“Simulations show that under appropriate conditions this method can reduce the error rate in quantum computing systems up to a hundred times more than comparable techniques. Our measurement results validate these predictions,” says Hermann Uys, a NIST guest researcher who is a lead author of the paper. Uys is visiting from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa.

Co-lead author Michael J. Biercuk, a NIST post-doc, notes that correcting qubit errors after they occur will require extraordinary resources, whereas early suppression of errors is far more efficient, and improves the performance of subsequent error correction. The new NIST error-suppression method could enable quantum computers of various designs to achieve error rates far below the so-called fault-tolerance threshold of about 1 error in 10,000 computational operations (0.01 percent), Biercuk says. If error rates can be reduced below this level, building a useful quantum computer becomes considerably more realistic.

Quantum computers, by relying on the unusual properties of the atomic-scale world to store and process data, could someday break commonly used encryption codes, perform faster searches of enormous databases, and determine the most efficient schedules for everything from airlines to traveling salespeople. They could also simulate complex quantum systems that are too difficult to study using today’s computers or through direct experiments. But first, practical quantum computers need to be built, and their components need to be reliable.

Unlike today’s computers, which use transistors that are switched on or off to represent bit values of 1 or 0, quantum computers would manipulate the properties of qubits to represent 1 or 0 or-thanks to the peculiarities of the quantum world-both at the same time. But these “quantum states” are so delicate that qubit values would be highly susceptible to errors caused by the slightest electronic noise.

Under ideal conditions, and in the absence of deliberate manipulations, ion qubit states evolve in a predictable way, similar to a spinning top tipped from its vertical axis. Environmental interference can lead to a buildup of error, but the new NIST pulse method can reverse this accumulation, thus preserving the original state.

The NIST method is an adaptation of “spin echo” techniques used for decades to suppress errors in nuclear magnetic resonance (the basis of magnetic resonance imaging). In spin echo, evenly spaced control pulses will nearly reverse the buildup of error, as long as fluctuations are slow relative to the time between pulses.

Recently, scientists at another institution published a theory of how to modify pulse timing in order to improve noise suppression. The NIST team conducted the first experimental demonstration of this theory, and then extended these ideas by generating novel pulse sequences tailored to the ambient noise environment. These novel sequences can be found quickly through an experimental feedback technique, and were shown to significantly outperform other sequences without the need for any knowledge of the noise characteristics. The researchers tested these pulse sequences under realistic noise conditions simulating those appropriate for different qubit technologies, making their results broadly applicable.

New biotechnologies that allow scientists to quickly and accurately distinguish species based on a simple DNA analysis are being creatively deployed for the first time in the war against a major global disease.

The University of Ghana, supported by the Philadelphia-based JRS Biodiversity Foundation, is pioneering the use of DNA “barcodes” to map menacing mosquito species in West Africa that spread lymphatic filariasis (LF), commonly known as elephantiasis. Using a short DNA sequence from a particular genome region, scientists can obtain a species’ ‘barcode’ identity. Barcodes are needed because closely-related species, with different capabilities to transmit LF, are otherwise hard to distinguish.

Continue reading DNA barcoding of mosquito species deployed in bid to end elephantiasis

The Global Crop Diversity Trust announced today numerous new grant awards to support scientists to explore the millions of seed samples maintained in 1,500 crop genebanks around the world. They will search for biodiversity critically needed to protect food production from the ravages of climate change.

Continue reading Hunt for ‘climate-ready’ crops accelerates as organizations search seed collections worldwide

Soil moisture is essential for seeds to germinate and for crops to grow. But record droughts and scorching temperatures in certain parts of the globe in recent years have caused soil to dry up, crippling crop production. The falling food supply in some regions has forced prices upward, pushing staple foods out of reach for millions of poor people.

NASA researchers are using satellite data to deliver a kind of space-based humanitarian assistance. They are cultivating the most accurate estimates of soil moisture – the main determinant of crop yield changes – and improving global forecasts of how well food will grow at a time when the world is confronting shortages.

Agulhas Leakage Influence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last 345 kyr” presented data on a major ocean current in the southern hemisphere, the Agulhas Current, which transports warm waters from the tropical Indian Ocean to the southern tip of Africa. These new data profiles are not yet fully exploited and need to be implemented in global ocean models. But they do provide for the first time robust evidence in support of the hypothesis that the Agulhas water “leakage” into the Atlantic contributes to the strength of the Atlantic Ocean circulation at large, and the Gulf Stream in particular and therefore can stabilise or destabilise climate in Europe. This knowledge will improve predictive capabilities which aim to project future climate developments in the North Atlantic region under global climate warming scenarios, such as those employed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Retaining a network of wildlife conservation areas is vital in helping to save up to 90 per cent of bird species in Africa affected by climate change, according to scientists.

The research team – led by Durham University – including BirdLife International and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) looked at the effects of climate change on 815 bird species of conservation concern in sub-Saharan Africa and on the network of sites designated for them (termed Important Bird Areas).

illage communities in Western Kenya alongside ones in Niger, Nigeria and China could become the key to unlocking the multi-billion dollar carbon markets for millions of farmers, foresters and conservationists across the developing world.

Catchments in and around Lake Victoria have been chosen as a test-bed for calculating how much carbon can be stored in trees and soils when the land is managed in a sustainable, climate-friendly ways.

A NOTTINGHAM student has designed a way of using bananas to produce cooking fuel. Joel Chaney was alarmed at how the large part of the fruit, which is grown in Africa, is allowed to rot.

So he has now developed a method of turning what is left of bananas – the skin, leaves and stems – into briquettes for cooking. He believes his discovery could be an answer to the.

As part of his studies, and under the guidance of supervisor Dr Mike Clifford, Joel came up with the briquettes scheme. He firstly mashes the banana skins and leaves into a pulp using a hand-operated meat mincer.

He then uses sawdust to create a mouldable material, though in African countries like Rwanda this would be exchanged for sun-dried banana stems.

The pulp is then compressed into briquette shapes before being baked in an oven at 105C. In Africa, the oven part could be changed for just leaving the briquettes to dry in the sun.

Joel says that after being dried, the briquettes form an ideal fuel for cooking. He has tested this himself, cooking banana fritters.

Joel said using this method would provide a big boost to people in the Third World – women can spend four or five hours a day just collecting firewood, he said.

“They could spend this time doing other things, even generating an income. Using waste to create fuel is key to sustainable development.”

Dr Clifford, associate professor at the Faculty of Engineering, said the bananas experiment was one of a number of studies being done into the creation of fuel.

The countries of Central Africa have joined forces to enable the region to build research capacity and conduct clinical trials under best practices. CANTAM (Central Africa Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria for the conduct of clinical trials) is the first EDCTP-funded regional Network of Excellence to prepare the region to conduct high-quality clinical trials. It will be supported by a EUR 3 million grant for the duration of three years. The network includes research institutions and political partners from Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Tanzania and Germany. It is envisaged that the networks for Eastern, Western and Southern Africa will start their activities later this year.

The number of clinical trials on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria conducted in Africa is increasing sharply and is expected to further increase in the coming years. The question is whether the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have sufficient clinical trials centres that are well equipped and staffed to ensure that these trials are conducted according to internationally acceptable standards.

EDCTP therefore set up a grant programme to fund regional Networks of Excellence, in which clinical trial centres from various African countries in Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa are interlinked at regional level, so that they can complement each other in building capacity to design and conduct large multi-centre clinical trials on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and other related diseases. Ultimately, the four networks will also work in collaboration and complement each other.

About CANTAM

The Central Africa Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria for the Conduct of Clinical Trials (CANTAM) is the first network that will start on a regional level to develop capacities in the areas of good clinical and laboratory practice (GCP and GLP), data management, quality control, and ethics among others. As project coordinator, the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Secretariat Coordinator will be working hand in hand with participating research institutions in Central Africa, with guidance and political goodwill from the OCEAC. The network includes the following partner institutions:

Cameroon – University of Buea, University of Yaoundé, Centre International de Référence Chantal Biya, and the Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte Contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC)
Congo – University Marie Ngouabi and Centre d’Etudes des Ressources Végétales
Gabon – The Medical Research Unit of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital
Tanzania – Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
Germany – The University of Tübingen.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is an educational centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The goals of AIMS are:

The Institute is focussed around a nine-month, postgraduate course covering many of the most exciting areas of modern science, taught by outstanding African and international lecturers. The course develops strong mathematical and computing problem-solving skills and leads to a postgraduate diploma in the Mathematical Sciences, formally accredited by the three partner South African Universities and taught in association with the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, the Division of Physical Sciences at the University of Oxford, and the University of Paris-Sud 11. Students with good mathematics, science or engineering degrees are invited to apply and will be supported on bursaries where needed.

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Access to mobiles phones has transformed the lives of rural women farmers boosting income and expanding knowledge, a pilot study in Lesotho has found.

Three years ago, Evodia Matobo, then 62, a small-scale poultry farmer in Lesotho’s rural lowlands, was stacking plastic containers to feed her chickens. Now she talks about “feeders, agricultural shows, workshops, experts.”

The moment that set her on the road to change for the better was when she clasped a mobile phone for the very first time, and “felt like a teenager; going back to life”.

The phone was one of 10 distributed to three cooperative women’s farming groups in different agro-ecological zones in Maseru district, western Lesotho, by the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP), which builds evidence to help policy-makers working on food security and social protection.

Progress in the world’s poorest region
Edward Miguel

Things were certainly looking up when I last visited Busia, a small city in Kenya, in mid-2007. Busia, home to about 60,000 residents, spans Kenya’s western border with Uganda: half the town sits on the Kenyan side and half in Uganda. As befits a border town, Busia is well endowed with gas stations, seedy bars, and hotels catering to the truckers who spend the night on the way from Nairobi to Uganda.


When I visited last June, the city was experiencing an economic renaissance. Busia’s first supermarkets, ATMs, Internet cafés, and car rental businesses were all open, and residential suburbs had formed on the edge of town. The small dukas—shops selling home food supplies and airtime for now-omnipresent cell phones—were freshly painted with advertisements for local dairy products. And most importantly, the road from Kisumu, the economic hub of the region and Kenya’s third largest city, to Busia had become a paved, two-lane highway all the way to the border, expediting trade with Uganda’s productive factories and farmers.
Yet, barely a decade ago, poverty and desperation were pervasive there, as in all of western Kenya.

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