Scientist: It will be a while before engineers identify source of noise in owl aviation
Forget about the superstition about bad omens associated owls. Science is gradually changing the perception and now beyond the ugly looks of owls, the birds are attracting the interest of researchers keen on identifying the most important source of noise in owl aviation. Research suggests that owl wings have three...
How stealthy owls inspired the design of silent flights
Every owl fancier has a story of the first time they heard an owl – or, rather, did not hear one. It is unforgettable to see an enormous bird, whose wingspan can reach more than six feet, slipping through the air without even a whisper. Justin Jaworski’s first close encounter...
Au revoir Nzayadio, the Cavacha artist who breathed life into sedate rhumba
When he arrived at Orchestra Lipua Lipua, the band was in a flux – nay, anarchy – with musicians leaving and others joining the band. However, Paul Nzaya Nzayadio who had just returned to Kinshasa from a trip to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he had accompanied Madilu System, did not...
Curtains come down on the life of Charley Pride, country music’s first Black superstar
Charley Pride, a son of sharecroppers who rose to become country music’s first Black superstar on the strength of hits including “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” and “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” died on Saturday in hospice care in Dallas. He was 86. Jeremy Westby, a publicist for Mr...
Australia terminates coronavirus vaccine trails after ‘false positives’
A billion-dollar deal for the Morrison government to buy more than 50 million doses of the University of Queensland’s potential coronavirus vaccine has been abruptly terminated after several trial participants returned false positive HIV test results. UQ, working in partnership with Australian global biotech company CSL will abandon its current...
12 multilateral lenders team up with IMF to finance Africa’s SDGs
Twelve multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have teamed up to pool resources to finance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. Africa’s leading financier, the African Development Bank, announced in Ivory Coast capital, Abidjan, on Thursday this week that it had joined hands...
Children’s immune systems can repulse coronavirus
Young children account for only a small percentage of Covid-19 infections – a trend that has puzzled scientists. Now, a growing body of evidence suggests why – kids’ immune systems seem better equipped to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 than are adults’. “Children are very much adapted to respond – and very well...
Dark side of Big Tech’s funding for Artificial Intelligence research
Last week, prominent Google artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru said she was fired by the company after managers asked her to retract or withdraw her name from a research paper, and she objected. Google maintains that she resigned, and Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a company memo on...
Antitrust litigation isn’t enough, Biden will need to go beyond the law
On Wednesday this week, the Federal Trade Commission and 46 states, the District of Columbia and Guam filed parallel antitrust suits against Facebook for the acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, and practices that excluded competitive threats in social networking and messaging. In October, the Department of Justice and 11 states...
Kenya Rugby taps high performance wonk Harding for national teams
High performance consultant Peter Harding has been seconded to the Kenya Rugby Union on a three-month renewable contract by World Rugby. Harding’s immediate task will be to prepare Kenyan rugby teams for KRU, specifically KRU Women’s 7s for Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. iIn a statement, KRU said Harding “will also...
