SCIENTISTS DEVELOP ARTIFICIAL BLOOD FOR MOSQUITOES

Dealing with mosquitoes can be one hell of a process. It can mean slapping yourself hard in the middle of the night when you try to hit it against your skin. Fumigating your house with tonnes of insecticides, leaving you breathless would be another option or simply sleeping under a treated mosquito net. All this we do just to deny it a sip of our blood. This is also because mosquitoes have been called the deadliest animal on the planet, because of the diseases they spread. As this reality stands an artificial buffet for them would be appropriate, isn’t it?

Welcome to Stephen Dobson’s finding. The professor of medicine and Vetinary entomology believes his mosquito food may lead to fewer mosquitoes. But how exactly?

Through a press release he explains that, the artificial blood he developed will allow people in remote areas around the world to sustain colonies of mosquitoes, even in those areas with limited resources and difficult logistics. Colonies that will later be used in studying the blood sucker.

“Multiple, new approaches to control mosquito populations require the ability to rear mosquitoes,” Dobson said. “The artificial blood technology will help us to better fight disease-transmitting mosquitoes in resource-limited areas.”

In one approach patented by the University of Kentucky, mosquitoes are essentially sterilized by a naturally occurring bacterium, called Wolbachia. With an ability to rear large mosquito numbers, the approach can be used as an organic pesticide, to overwhelm and sterilize mosquito populations that transmit diseases like malaria, flilaria, dengue and yellow fever. Once sterilized, the mosquito population declines and can be eliminated.

Dobson’s research on developing artificial blood for mosquitoes has made him a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, in an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mosquitoes spread deadly diseases like malaria, Yellow fever, West Nile, Chikungunya and many others.

CELEBRITY NEWS: SUSUMILA AFICHUA SABABU YA KUFUNIKA MANENGUO KWENYE VIDEO YA WIMBO IHALE

SUSUMILA. PHOTO||COURTESY

Ni kawaida kwa wanamuziki hapa nchini na ulimwengu mzima kwa ujumla, kuwatumia vibaya wasichana  katika video za nyimbo pasipokujali ni nani atakayezitazama.

Wengi wao hunengua viuno huku wakiwa nusu uchi. Jambo ambalo wapenzi wa mziki wa kizazi kipya hulishabikia kwa sana, lakini mambo ni tofauti ikiwa video ya Susumila alioiachilia hivi majuzi ni ya kuzingatiwa. Kwani ni video a kupigiwa mfano, na ya aina yake.

Kinyume na wasanii wengine susumila, mwanamziki kutoka ukanda wa pwani ya Kenya, aliamua kutumia vijibango hai kufunika manenguo ya dada mmoja katika video yake. Ni jambo liloshangaza wengi, lakini kulingana na Susumila, kuna sababu mwafaka kwa nini akafanya hivyo.

“nimefunika kwa sababu najua mziki wangu unashabikiwa na watu wakila umri, kwa hivo nisingetaka kuwakwaza mashabiki wangu pengine waone haya kuangalia video ile mbele ya familia zao.” Alisema Susumila

 Kando na hayo, Susumila kwa sasa anayetamba na vibao kidekide na Ihale, amekuwa akifanya mziki wa mtindo tofauti na ule wa pwani.  Ni hatua hii ya kufanya mitindo ya mziki tofauti na ule wa pwani uliopelekea wengi kusema kwamba amepoteza dira na ameanza kuiga.

Lakini kulingana na Susumila sio ati anaiga bali upana wa mtandao wa mashabiki wake ndio uliochangia pakubwa kwa yeye kufanya mitindo tofauti ya mziki.

“siezi sema naiga kwa sababu music is universal na siimbii maahabiki wapwani pekee that is why leo utaona nimefanya afrobeat mara kesho lingala mara wakati mwengine hiphop au reggae mimi hua sijekei limit katika kutayarisha mziki wangu” alisema Susumila.

Bonyeza hapa kuitizama video hiyo.

1.3 MILLION KENYANS UNABLE TO WATCH TV

More than 1.3 million Kenyan citizens are unable to watch television due to the country switching from analogue to digital broadcasting. According to the The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) only 2.2 million Kenyan citizens have acquired set-top boxes to access digital TV.

CA Director-General, Francis Wangusi, stated that poor distribution of set-top boxes was to blame for the television blackout. He added that remote areas are the most affected, though the government is working on ways of penetrating the region – this is according to Business Daily.

According to the report, the availability and affordability of the set-top boxes was a core part of the media owners’ request for more time to migrate — a request the CA and Information ministry vehemently opposed.

Wangusi’s latest position is also contrary to the reality on the ground showing the high cost of set-top boxes as the main obstacle to many households making the transition.

The report revealed that the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) on dismissed Wangusi’s explanation of the slow uptake, saying the CA chief executive’s mishandling of the migration and failure by the government to adopt globally accepted practices had left consumers, especially of the free-to-air television, without television.

In the report, Wangusi insisted that Kenya has an estimated 3.2 million set-top boxes imported by 79 licensed vendors and dismissed claims that a shortage of the gadgets and high retail prices are to blame for the slow uptake.

According to the report, Pay-TV subscribers have to pay monthly fees of between KES 499 and KES 8,200. The prices for multi-channel decoders range between KES 1,999 and KES 2,500, while free-to-air set-top boxes cost between KES 3,300 and KES 6,500. The CA has licensed over 79 types of set-top box and the sector has created over 2,500 jobs, according to ICT ministry statistics.

In South Africa there are plans to spend about $250 million this year alone to buy set top boxes for underprivileged citizens before switching off analogue television signals. This is according to South African Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi. Muthambi revealed that more than five million set top boxes will be given away to these citizens.