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Showing posts from December 13, 2017

Smartphone addiction creates imbalance in brain, study suggests.

Researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of young people addicted to smartphones and the internet, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 46 percent of Americans say they could not live without their smartphones. While this sentiment is clearly hyperbole, more and more people are becoming increasingly dependent on smartphones and other portable electronic devices for news, information, games, and even the occasional phone call. Along with a growing concern that young people, in particular, may be spending too much time staring into their phones instead of interacting with others, come questions as to the immediate effects on the brain and the possible long-term consequences of such habits. Hyung Suk Seo, M.D., professor of neuroradiology at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to ...

Black holes' magnetism surprisingly wimpy.

Black holes are famous for their muscle: an intense gravitational pull known to gobble up entire stars and launch streams of matter into space at almost the speed of light. It turns out the reality may not live up to the hype. In a paper published today in the journal Science , University of Florida scientists have discovered these tears in the fabric of the universe have significantly weaker magnetic fields than previously thought. A 40-mile-wide black hole 8,000 light years from Earth named V404 Cygni yielded the first precise measurements of the magnetic field that surrounds the deepest wells of gravity in the universe. Study authors found the magnetic energy around the black hole is about 400 times lower than previous crude estimates. The measurements bring scientists closer to understanding how black holes' magnetism works, deepening our knowledge of how matter behaves under the most extreme conditions -- knowledge that could broaden the limits of nuclear fusion pow...

New technologies to save telcos from $386b exposure to OTT.

Telecommunications operators in Nigeria and other African countries have been urged to invest in disruptive technologies to curb the growing influence of Over the Top (OTT) platforms on their businesses. For the past five years, the increase in uptake of mobile VoIP services provided by apps such as Google, Facebook, Skype, Viber, Wechat, WhatsApp, and many others, have eroded revenues and profitability of telecoms operators. The telecommunications industry in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is projected to lose a total of N109trillion ($386billion) in voice revenue to the growing usage of OTT Internet voice applications by 2018. United Kingdom-based research and analytics company, Ovum, stated in a report that “the $386billion loss will accrue over a period of six years – between 2012 and 2018 – from Nigerian customers using OTT voice applications.” Checks by The Guardian showed that the rise of the OTT players, who...

Accenture demonstrates technology capabilities to revolutionise economy.

Accenture Nigeria has demonstrated its technology capabilities to help businesses across different sectors in the country boost their productivity and efficiency through its recent innovations and investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), robotics and blockchain. The Managing Director, Accenture Nigeria, Niyi Yusuf, at the demo, in Lagos, said: “Early this year, we predicted that in five years, more than half of consumers and enterprise clients will select products and services based on a company’s AI, instead of the company’s traditional brand. And in seven years, most interfaces will not have a screen and will be integrated into daily tasks. These two predictions alone strongly suggest that companies must act now on developing their AI Journey. “We want businesses in Nigeria – from banking to manufacturing, health, construction, education, retail, security, and other sectors to take advantage of the innovations we have created to impr...

Hackers could use brainwaves to steal passwords, study finds.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggest that brainwave-sensing headsets, also known as EEG or electroencephalograph headsets, need better security after a study reveals hackers could guess a user's passwords by monitoring their brainwaves. EEG headsets are advertised as allowing users to use only their brains to control robotic toys and video games specifically developed to be played with an EEG headset. There are only a handful on the market, and they range in price from $150 to $800. Nitesh Saxena, Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Ph.D. student Ajaya Neupane and and former master's student Md Lutfor Rahman, found that a person who paused a video game and logged into a bank account while wearing an EEG headset was at risk for having their passwords or other sensitive data stolen by a malicious software program. "These emerging devices open immense opportunitie...

PSG swoop for Fluminense starlet Wendel , says agent.

Paris Saint-Germain will reinforce their midfield with the latest Brazilian wonderkid Wendel in the January transfer window, the player’s agent told French daily L’Equipe on Wednesday. The 20-year-old is under contract with Rio outfit Fluminense where he is enjoying a remarkable breakout season, but has now agreed to “a dream move to Paris”, the agent Carlos Henrique Brasil told L’Equipe. The player would be seen as a long-term replacement for midfield general Thiago Motta, now 35, but may first be loaned out to Porto until next July. “Whatever PSG decide Wendel is ready, he’s got lots of personality and lots of heart,” the agent said. The ambitious French club signed two Brazilians in the striker Neymar and defender Dani Alves this summer and also have defenders Thiago Silva and Marquinos on their books.

NPA begins secret recruitment against presidential directive.

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman has commenced secret recruitment into the agency, contrary to the Federal Government’s directive that all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should halt fresh recruitment till further notice. President Muhammadu Buhari during his presentation of the 2018 Budget to the National Assembly had placed embargo on recruitment into federal MDAs. According to Buhari the embargo was to enable government manage a rising personnel expenditure that was expected to increase to 12 per cent in 2018, adding that the overhead cost would also rise by N26billion in 2018 or 12 per cent increase in unchecked. But in a flagrant disregard of the presidential directive, Bala-Usman, has begun secret recruitment into the authority.Investigations showed that A series of recruitment exercise was done on November 10, which held at the Tahir Guest Palace, Kano State by the Human Resource Manager, Bukar Yahaya...

US condemns deadly Ethiopia clashes.

The United States on Wednesday said it was “troubled and saddened” by clashes in Ethiopia that local reports said has left at least 18 people dead. The violence was reported to be most intense in the eastern town of Chelenko, near the volatile border between the Somali and Oromia regions, home to two of the country’s largest ethnic groups. There have been a string of recent clashes over the border between the two ethnically demarcated federal regions. The cause of the latest violence is not clear, nor if they are linked, but they have raised concerns of growing ethnic divisions in Africa’s second most-populous country. “We are troubled and saddened by reports of violence that has resulted in deaths and injuries in the town of Chelenko and at several universities over the past two days,” the US embassy in Ethiopia said in a statement. Security forces reportedly killed 15 people on Sunday after protesters accused the police of killing a man, Oromia regional spok...

INIESTA: COUTINHO WOULD BE IMPORTANT SIGNING FOR BARCELONA.

The Catalan side are expected to make another push to sign the Brazilian from Liverpool and the midfielder believes it would be a smart move Andres Iniesta has urged Barcelona to sign Philippe Coutinho as he would be an "important reinforcement" as they look to strengthen their team in January. Barca pushed heavily to sign the Liverpool star in the summer but saw their advances rejected by Premier League club, despite the Brazilian's desire to make the move. The Catalan club are expected to return for Coutinho, however, and could make another bid in the January window. They are also linked with signing a centre-back, as Javier Mascherano looks set to leave, and 23-year-old Colombia international Yerry Mina is reportedly on his way. And Barca midfielder Iniesta believes Coutinho, 25, and Mina would be smart purchases from his side. "I think they would be two important reinforcements to the squad," he told reporters. "If the club wants to stre...