Jibola Fowowe's blog

News reporting Robots

2014-07-09T14:05:00.001+01:00

So-called “robot reporting” is one of the latest journalistic processes emerging in a digital world where the commodity of news has never been more highly valued.

For the Los Angeles Times, “Quakebot” – the name given to the algorithm that automatically reports earthquakes – is one of several programs the newspaper uses to speed up news reporting. Overnight the system also sifts through electronic reports from the LA Coroner’s Office and the LAPD’s nightly Homicide Report, then auto-generates the bare bones of a news article online.

“They all provide a baseline starting point,” says Ben Welsh, database producer at the Los Angeles Times. “Editors and reporters can then go in and add context.”

“The way we use it, it’s supplemental. It saves people a lot of time, and for certain types of stories, it gets the information out there in usually about as good a way as anybody else would. The way I see it is it doesn’t eliminate anybody’s job as much as it makes everybody’s job more interesting.”

See detailed story here

New study discovers biological basis for magic mushroom 'mind expansion'

2014-07-09T08:17:00.003+01:00

New research shows that our brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip.
Psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms can profoundly alter the way we experience the world but little is known about what physically happens in the brain. New research, published in Human Brain Mapping, has examined the brain effects of the psychedelic chemical in magic mushrooms, called 'psilocybin,' using data from brain scans of volunteers who had been injected with the drug.

The study found that under psilocybin, activity in the more primitive brain network linked to emotional thinking became more pronounced, with several different areas in this network - such as the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex - active at the same time. This pattern of activity is similar to the pattern observed in people who are dreaming. Conversely, volunteers who had taken psilocybin had more disjointed and uncoordinated activity in the brain network that is linked to high-level thinking, including self-consciousness.

Psychedelic drugs are unique among other psychoactive chemicals in that users often describe 'expanded consciousness,' including enhanced associations, vivid imagination and dream-like states.
To explore the biological basis for this experience, researchers analysed brain imaging data from 15 volunteers who were given psilocybin intravenously while they lay in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Volunteers were scanned under the influence of psilocybin and when they had been injected with a placebo.

See detailed story here

Scotland is on the way for its second warmest year ever recorded, according to analysis by Friends of the Earth.

2014-07-09T08:07:00.002+01:00

Every month in 2014 has been warmer, and four were more than 1C warmer than the 1981-2010 average, the environmental group said.

Spring has been the warmest since records began, with a mean temperature of 7.69C.

June was joint fourth warmest ever, with a mean temperature of 12.9C.

The group's analysis of Met Office data also found that February was the fifth wettest ever recorded.

The warmest year in Scotland since records began was 2006, followed by 2003, 2007, 2004 and 2005.

Friends of the Earth Scotland said Scots should "heed the warnings the weather is giving us", and called for more action to tackle climate change.

Director Dr Richard Dixon said: "Scotland's weather is showing a very clear long-term trend of increasing temperatures, just as climate change scientists predict.

"Climate change brings not just increasing global temperatures but increasingly unpredictable weather.

Ancient arachnid 'walks again'

2014-07-09T08:02:00.000+01:00

The dead walk again: an arachnid that lived 410 million years ago has crawled back into the virtual world.

The creature's remains were so well preserved in fossil form that scientists could see all its leg joints, allowing them to recreate its likely gait using computer graphics.

Known as a trigonotarbid, the animal was one of the first predators on land.

Its prey were probably early flightless insects and other invertebrates, which it would run down and jump on.

"We know quite a bit about how it lived," said Russell Garwood, a palaeontologist with the University of Manchester, UK.

"We can see from its mouth parts that it pre-orally digested its prey - something that most arachnids do - because it has a special filtering plate in its mouth. So, that makes us fairly sure it vomited digestive enzymes on to its prey and then sucked up liquid food," he told BBC News.

The trigonotarbid specimens studied by Dr Garwood and colleagues are just a few millimetres in length.

They were unearthed in Scotland, near the Aberdeenshire town of Rhynie. Its translucent Early Devonian chert sediments are renowned for their exquisite fossils.

Modern computing provides powerful tool to study the past

Sony hints at new phone with front flash for better selfies

2014-07-08T17:22:00.001+01:00

Twitter/screenshot

Sony could be preparing to launch a new selfie-friendly smartphone as soon as tomorrow, according to promotional materials and an image leak. An unnamed smartphone has surfaced in photographs, with the device apparently including a front-facing flash for better self portraits, while Sony's Xperia Twitter account is promoting a launch for tomorrow with a suspiciously-dark selfie post.
Read more: here

Oxford Street worst in the world for diesel pollution

2014-07-07T23:17:00.001+01:00

OXFORD STREET, UK has the world’s highest concentration of a toxic pollutant that can trigger asthma and heart attacks, scientists have found.

A monitoring station installed in London’s famous shopping street found high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), an invisible gas produced by diesel engines.

The station has recorded average NO₂ levels of 135 micrograms per cubic metre of air (mcg/m³) in the year to date — more than three times the European Union’s limit of 40mcg.

This figure is an average which includes night times when traffic is lower, meaning that the pollution experienced by shoppers and workers during the day is much higher than 135mcg. In March it reached a peak of 463 mcg.

The average levels of NO₂ are higher than those recorded in Chinese and Indian cities.

Artificial intelligence: Flying robots that can think for themselves, work together and venture into hostile environments are being developed by engineers at Sheffield University, UK

2014-07-07T22:16:00.001+01:00

The research paves the way for robots to work intelligently alongside humans in ways that are currently familiar only through science fiction films.

The robots could play important roles in crisis situations such as search and rescue missions, or operate in environments where it would be dangerous for humans to work.

Using simple flying robots called Quadcopters, the Sheffield team has created software that enables the robot to learn about its surroundings using a forward facing camera mounted at the front.

“We are used to science fiction robots being able to act independently, recognise objects and individuals and make decisions,” said Professor Sandor Veres.

“In the real world although robots can be extremely intelligent individually, their ability to co-operate and interact with each other and with humans is still very limited.

“As we develop robots for use in space or to send into nuclear environments – places where humans cannot easily go – the goal will be for them to understand their surroundings and make decisions based on that.”

Fingers crossed, we're waiting...

Scientists express horror over the creation of a virus that could render the human immune system defenceless

2014-07-06T22:29:00.001+01:00

A controversial scientist who carried out provocative research on making influenza viruses more infectious has completed his most dangerous experiment to date by deliberately creating a pandemic strain of flu that can evade the human immune system.

Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has genetically manipulated the 2009 strain of pandemic flu in order for it to “escape” the control of the immune system’s neutralising antibodies, effectively making the human population defenceless against its reemergence.

Chai!!! That's the latest version, but take it easy pals, it's not going to be released anyway...

The experiment was designed to monitor the changes to the 2009 H1N1 strain of virus that would enable it to escape immune protection in order to improve the design of vaccines, Kawaoka said.

But this is a real deadly experiment as other fellow scientists are afraid of an accidental or deliberate escape of the virus. what do you think, should this kind of experiments be encouraged or not?

For detailed story, redirect here

Stargazers to get best view of Jupiter in years as largest planet in solar system moves into prime position

2014-02-22T21:40:00.003+00:00

Gas giant, jupiter the largest planet in the solar system will be at its highest point in the sky for years to come from the start of next month

Jupiter the largest planet in the solar system will be some 435 million miles from Earth during the first week of March but should be clearly visible with the naked eye.

Planet should be easily visible in the night sky from March 1
It should be possible to view its four major moons using just binoculars
It will be 435 million miles away and at highest point for years to come

Early evening is best time to view before it sets in the west around 3.30am

British stargazers will be treated to their best view of Jupiter for many years to come next month as the largest planet in the solar system sweeps into prime position in the night sky.
From March 1, Jupiter and its four major moons should be clearly visible from anywhere in Britain high in the south as soon as it gets dark using just a pair of binoculars.
The planet, which is over 1100 times the size of Earth, will be some 435 million miles from Earth and won't be at such a high point in the sky again until 2026.
Jupiter will be best placed during the evening so it won’t be necessary to stay out until the small hours unless you want to.
'We expect to see the best photos ever of Jupiter taken from the UK,' says NAW Chairman, Dr Robert Massey, “and it will be a great opportunity for everyone to get a splendid view of the giant planet.'
In just over a week, Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, will be at its highest point in the sky for many years to come.
'Near their closest to Earth, Jupiter and its moons will appear obvious in the sky offering fantastic opportunities to view the giant planet through a telescope.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2565418/Stargazers-best-view-Jupiter-years-largest-planet-solar-moves-prime-position.html#ixzz2u5aidV8U
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Google shows off 3D-mapping phone

2014-02-22T16:50:00.002+00:00

Google is building a smartphone capable of 3D-mapping a user's surroundings.
The smartphone forms part of Project Tango, which aims to give mobile devices a "a human-scale understanding of space and motion".

The web giant has been working with universities, research labs and manufacturing partners in nine countries to produce a prototype.
The current prototype features a 5-inch touchscreen and an array of sensors.
"These sensors allow the phone to make over a quarter million 3D measurements every second, updating its position and orientation in real-time, combining that data into a single 3D model of the space around you," Google said in a blog entry.
So just what could you do with the technology then? Google raises a few scenarios.
"What if you could capture the dimensions of your home simply by walking around with your phone before you went furniture shopping? What if directions to a new location didn't stop at the street address? What if you never again found yourself lost in a new building? What if the visually-impaired could navigate unassisted in unfamiliar indoor places? What if you could search for a product and see where the exact shelf is located in a super-store?"
Google also mooted a few less serious scenarios, such as hide-and-seek games indoors or treasure hunts.
The company plans to give away 200 prototypes to qualifying developers, with the units set to be shipped by 14th March, 2014.

Source: http://www.iafrica.com

Lemurs could be extinct 'very soon' experts warn

2014-02-21T20:29:00.001+00:00

Lemurs could “very soon” be extinct, some of the world’s leading experts on the primates warned as they unveiled a three-year plan to save them, on Thursday, 20th of February, 2014.
A combination of the destruction of their habitat and bush meat hunting by impoverished local people, means that Lemurs are now the world’s most threatened mammal group.
A five-year political crisis in the Indian Ocean island Madagascar, the only place where lemurs live, and a subsequent breakdown of environmental law enforcement have worsened the situation for
the roughly 100 species of lemurs, experts said.
“Extinctions could begin very soon if nothing is done,” said Christoph Schwitzer, head of research at the Bristol Zoological Society in Britain who led a team of 19 scientists that drafted the emergency lemur preservation plan published in the journal ‘Science’.
Only fifty of the rarest northern sportive lemurs remain, he added.
“One cyclone or other natural event could wipe out the entire population. In fact, anybody who decides
to go out lemur hunting could tip the species over the edge,” Schwitzer stressed.
To stop lemur extinction, the team has identified 30 priority sites for lemur conservation, which will
be managed at a local level.
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs native to the rainforests of Madagascar sit on a branch in their
enclosure at the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde zoo in Berlin.
A long-term research presence will also be put in place in key areas, while an expansion of ecotourism will help fund the projects, experts
hope.
The scientists plan to tell world leaders that for the relatively small sum of $7.6 million in international
aid, a significant portion of the lemurs’ habitat could be preserved.
Lemurs are one of the most primitive types of primate, less advanced than monkeys, apes and
humans. Arboreal creatures, they eat leaves, fruits and insects. They appeared early in primate evolution, about 62 million years ago, not long after the dinosaurs went extinct. More advanced primates never made it to
Madagascar, allowing lemurs to thrive and evolve into many different species.
But most of Madagascar's forest land has been eliminated and 94 percent of lemur species are now considered vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
“I would certainly not want to tell my children in 10 or 20 years time, when they are old enough to travel to Madagascar, 'Look, this island was once inhabited by creatures called lemurs, but they have gone extinct because your dad, along with many
others, was unable to avert their extinction at the time,” Schwitzer said.
So pals kindly do away with lemurs in dishes until it's fully and confidently preserved.
Adapted from The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/lemurs-could-be-extinct-very-soon-experts-warn-9142615.html

Investors warn M&S boss: This is last-chance saloon

2013-07-07T21:59:00.000+01:00

Major institutional shareholders in the struggling high-street giant Marks & Spencer have warned that the chief executive, Marc Bolland, is "in the line of fire" ahead of this week's annual meeting.

Investors told The Independent on Sunday that Mr Bolland, who succeeded Sir Stuart Rose three years ago, faces a pivotal few months as he battles to restore the group's fortunes. Much will depend on how well its autumn-winter collection fares.
On Tuesday, Mr Bolland and the chairman, Robert Swannell, will try to placate shareholders following a particularly difficult few months. Pre-tax profit for the year to March tumbled 14 per cent to £564.3m, an eight-year low that was the result of poor clothing sales, and Mr Bolland has presided over seven consecutive quarters of falling clothing and homeware sales.
"Bolland has been under real pressure since the annual results and people are now searching for evidence for why he should keep his job," said one major investor. "He is drinking in the last chance saloon and the final few months of this year will be key."
A second investor argued: "The progress that has been made turning around the group has been slower than we would have hoped. The chief executive is in the line of fire – some people reckon he has another year. We disagree: the autumn-winter collection is key, otherwise the pressure will be too much."
Although Mr Bolland's overall pay fell by a third last year he is likely to face a storm at the meeting in Wembley stadium over a bonus of £829,000 that was two and a half times greater than last year. He must convince them that spending £2.3bn on store refurbishments, logistics and IT systems as part of a three-year restructuring plan will revive M&S's fortunes.
However, this is an increasingly difficult sell, made worse by analysts forecasting that the company will miss end-of-year sales targets set by Mr Bolland shortly after he arrived. These had already been revised downwards last year.
Last week, David Cummings, head of equities at Standard Life – a top 10 shareholder in M&S – broke ranks to say that Mr Bolland would be "under pressure" if the group's general merchandise sales did not improve.
M&S's autumn collection hits the stores this month. Initial reaction from the fashion world has been positive, although investors and analysts will judge its success in terms of sales, with a trading update scheduled in November

More info here

Broadband speeds at mercy of postcode lottery

2013-07-07T21:17:00.001+01:00

Britain's broadband users are still suffering from a postcode lottery that sees some households paying twice as much for a slower service than others living less than 100 yards away.
According to a study of more than 1.7m UK postcodes by Broadbandchoices.co.uk , millions of homeowners could be paying as much as £60-£70 more a year for their service than their near neighbours.
The comparison website found that in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, users are paying £5-plus a month more than their neighbours who are just 65 yards away – and they can only download from the internet at a third of the speed.
It says the postcode lottery means 13% of internet users are being penalised as they don't have the choice of cheaper deals simply due to their address. They are also suffering from limited broadband speeds and download limits.
Geographical location plays a big part in the number of suppliers on offer. In some areas customers can choose from around 10 providers; others have just five options. It means that while some are paying as little as £2 a month for their broadband (on top of landline fees), others are being forced to spend £8 or more.
The service and price available is largely dependent on whether the local telephone exchange has been – to use the jargon – "unbundled".
The big broadband suppliers, such as Sky or TalkTalk, have, in recent years, been busy unbundling, putting their own equipment into local telephone exchanges that used to be the sole preserve of BT. Users linked to unbundled exchanges get cheaper deals and faster download speeds, and fewer caps on data usage.
As the big suppliers target the most affluent and residential areas, where they think they will get the most customers, a two-tier broadband service has developed with those whose exchanges have not been touched.
Those living in Scarrow Hill near Brampton, Cumbria, for example, find themselves forced to pay an extra £5 a month as well as receiving inferior download speeds and having too fewer providers to choose from when compared to people who live just down the road.
Herefordshire was revealed as the county with the worst overall service, where users have the narrowest choice of providers – an average of eight – and the slowest download speeds – just 12.3Mbps.
Users in the county also pay the second highest minimum costs in the country of £5.47 a month, second only to Rutland whose residents have to pay on average a minimum of £5.99.
Greater Manchester topped the study as having the best results in those categories: the lowest broadband costs were just £2.99, average download speeds were 28Mbps, and there is typically a choice of 12 providers.
The survey also revealed a north-south divide in the number of available providers.
Those in the south have an average of 10 to choose from, while those in the north have a pool of 11. Southern residents can take some solace in the fact they just nudge the north when it comes to average download speeds: 22Mbps compared to 21Mbps.
Dominic Baliszewski, a telecoms expert at Broadbandchoices, says: "It is amazing just how much the nation's broadband services vary from county to county, and especially street to street.
"Broadband has become a utility in the UK, not a luxury, and it is unacceptable that people are being penalised simply due to where they live."
He adds: "Providers must improve their coverage, and it will be interesting to see what measures are taken in the coming months."
To get a further idea of the price differences Guardian Money did its own quick comparison. We looked at Great Chishill, a village in south Cambridgeshire, and at the city of Cambridge itself.
The current cheapest broadband in Great Chishill is Plusnet's half-price deal at £6.49 for 12 months. This has a 10GB monthly download cap.
In central Cambridge, meanwhile, Tesco is currently offering an uncapped service for just £2 a month.

UK expands search for extraterrestrial intelligence

2013-07-07T20:55:00.001+01:00

Astronomers from 11 different institutions in the UK have joined forces to hunt for alien life, setting up a network to coordinate their activity.
The UK SETI Research Network will fund research that considers new ways to find extraterrestrial intelligence. The group will also buy listening time on radio telescopes.
At present, most SETI work is performed in the United States and funded by private donors. One of the coordinators of the UK's new network, Alan Penny, told the BBC that he thought there was important expertise in Britain too. "If we had one part in 200—half a percent of the money that goes into astronomy at the moment—we could make an amazing difference," he said.
The network will use Britain's eMerlin telescope array as well as the European Low Frequency Array. It's thought that data analysis techniques mean SETI work could be done without disturbing the mainstream science being performed on the telescopes.
Jodrell Bank's Tim O'Brien said: "There are billions of planets out there. It would be remiss of us not to at least have half an ear open to any signals that might be being sent to us."See original story from www.wired.co.uk

The UAE has been ranked as the Arab world’s most innovative country

2013-07-04T22:46:00.000+01:00

The UAE has been ranked as the Arab world’s most innovative country, according to an influential new report, based on its high-quality of infrastructure, strong government support and development of economic free zones.The 2013 Global Innovation Index, produced by Cornell University, Insead and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), ranked the Gulf state as the 38th most innovative economy on the planet.Criteria of the study, which rated 142 countries, were based on factors including quality of universities, availability of microfinance and venture capital, as well as spending on research and development.The UAE scored highly in areas including ease of paying taxes, online government services, general infrastructure, creative output and competitiveness. The country was rated seventh best in the world for cluster development, with the UAE known for its efforts in designating knowledge-based free zones, such as Dubai Media City and Two Four 54.However, the state was down one place compared to the 2012 index. One area in which the UAE has lagged behind many of its peers, like other Arab countries, is in the output criteria, were it ranked 123rd in the world for export of creative goods.Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia was ranked 42nd in the world, one place ahead of Qatar, while Kuwait was ranked 50th and Bahrain 67th. Impoverished Yemen and war-torn Syria favoured less well in the rankings, coming 142nd and 134th, respectively.On a global basis, the rankings were topped by Switzerland, followed by Sweden and the UK. Singapore was one of the highest rated countries to suffer in this year’s index, with it toppling out of the top three to eighth place.The study encouraged national governments to develop hubs of innovation activity based on their own strengths, rather than try to replicate the successes of renowned clusters such as Silicon Valley.“For national-level policy makers seeking to support innovation, realising the full potential of innovation in their own backyards is often a more promising approach than trying to emulate successful innovation models elsewhere,” said Francis Gurry director general of WIPO. “These hubs leverage local advantages with a global outlook on markets and talent.”The index highlighted Dubai’s Internet City, the largest ICT cluster in the Middle East, and Singapore’s ‘Knowledge Hub’ as successful examples of executing this strategy.“What happens at the sub-national level typically in clusters or among regions or in the city are at least as important as the countrywide type of data,” added Bruno Lanvin, executive director, INSEAD European Competitiveness Initiative and co-author, Global Innovation Index Report. “We see the emergence of these multifaceted, multitalented, multilayered type of clusters as an ingredient for success.”

HEALTH TIPS: CAUSES, EFFECTS & TREATMENT OF OBESITY

2012-06-16T09:36:00.001+01:00

FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

2012-01-08T10:14:00.000+00:00

The sudden removal of fuel subsidy in the nation has greatly thrilled the citizens of the country. This has led to several crises and protests in the country. The price of Premium Motor Spirit commonly known as petrol has risen erratically from the regular N65 price to a whopping N141 benchmark price. Many filling stations across the nation sell a litre of petrol at N150, contradicting the standard rate set by the PPPRA.
Amidst the increase, an additional transportation charge of N5.80 was added by the PPPRA(Petroleum Products Pricing Regulation Agency). According to the PPPRA, this fee is for transporting petroleum products from the Coastal areas to the hinterland. It is also said to cover the cost of delays of petroleum products, if delayed or not.
In a nutshell, citizens have been compelled to bear the brunt which has rapidly raised the cost of living in the society. This move did not tale into consideration the survival of the common man. The move to Nigerians, is rather an erroneous and self-centred one.
This will most definitely in no time, invoke the striking actions of governmental bodies such as the NLC, TUC, and many others.
Nigerians speak: for how Long will this last?