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Tag: Researchers

  • Galamsey endangering honey production – KNUST researchers

    Galamsey endangering honey production – KNUST researchers

    Experts in veterinary medicine at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have expressed deep concern about the harmful impact of illegal mining, or Galamsey, on bee populations.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the Bee Health Club at KNUST on March 15, Dr. William Tasiameh, who leads the School of Veterinary Medicine, emphasized that the destruction of forests caused by illegal mining is severely affecting bee habitats and limiting their food sources, putting their survival at risk.

    “Bees need trees, and if the environment is being destroyed, as seen in the case of Galamsey, it becomes a serious issue. We are cutting down trees and destroying our forests, which poses a significant challenge to the survival of bees. They need space, trees, flowers, and a conducive environment to reproduce, just as nature intended.”

    Dr. William Tasiameh emphasized the dangers of water contamination from illegal mining, noting its harmful effects on honey quality.

    “The major part of honey is water. Bees drink from these water bodies that are heavily polluted through illegal mining operations… It affects the livelihoods and survival of these bees”.

    Meanwhile, bee farmer Donyina Effah Kwasi Opoku appealed to the government to introduce policies that would make beekeeping attractive to young people by offering training and resources. He underscored its potential as a profitable industry.

    Adding to the discussion, Prof. Benjamin Emikpe, Dean of KNUST’s School of Veterinary Medicine, stressed the need to integrate beekeeping into education to ensure the long-term growth of honey production.

    “For sustainable honey production in Ghana, it is important to engage the youth early. Veterinarians, as well as students from the College of Education and the College of Agriculture, should be encouraged to understand the value of honey and the importance of bee health.”

    The Bee Health Club, which champions bee welfare and sustainable honey production, is supported by the UK’s Agency for Plant and Animal Health.

  • Half of China’s largest cities are sinking – Researchers

    Half of China’s largest cities are sinking – Researchers

    Almost half of China’s big cities are sinking into the ground, which could cause flooding for millions of people as the sea levels rise. This information comes from a study that looked at satellite data from all over the country.

    The researchers who wrote the article in the journal Science discovered that 45% of China’s cities are sinking at a rate of more than 3 millimeters per year, and 16% are sinking at a rate of more than 10 mm per year. This is happening because the water levels are going down and the weight of the buildings is pushing the land down.

    “China has a lot of people living in cities, over 900 million. If the land starts sinking, it could be a big problem for the cities,” said the researchers.

    Sinking land in China is causing big problems and costs a lot of money every year. In the next 100 years, about a quarter of the land near the coast could be lower than the sea, putting many people at risk of flooding. This could affect hundreds of millions of people.

    “Robert Nicholls at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia said it shows that this is a problem for all of China, not just a few places. ” “And it represents what is happening in the rest of the world in a small way. ”

    Tianjin, a city in the north with over 15 million people, was one of the hardest hit. 3,000 people had to leave their homes because of a sudden earth disaster. Investigators said it happened because there wasn’t enough water and because people had been building geothermal wells.

    A lot of China’s old coal areas have been damaged because there was too much mining. Sometimes, officials have to put concrete into the falling apart holes in the ground to make the land stronger.

    The problem is not just in China. Another research published in February found that about 6. 3 million square kilometers of land around the world could be in danger. Indonesia is one of the countries that has been hit the hardest, with many areas of the capital city Jakarta now underwater.

    Nicholls said cities that are at risk could learn from Tokyo’s example. Tokyo used to sink by about 5 meters until it stopped taking water from the ground in the 1970s.

    “We need to take subsidence seriously, but we can’t prevent all of it. So, we should also focus on adapting and building dykes,” he said.

    In a study from Singapore in 2022, it was found that out of 44 big cities by the coast with a problem, 30 of them were in Asia.

    Matt Wei, who is an expert in studying the Earth, said that when more people move to cities and the population grows, there is a bigger demand for water. This can cause the ground to sink.

  • Recent study reveals link between abdominal muscles and depression among men in Ghana

    A recent study has provided insights into the potential dangers linked to men’s preoccupation with attaining the ideal set of abdominal muscles, highlighting a significantly elevated risk of depression among such individuals.

    Some researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in partnership with Harvard University, conducted an extensive examination of male body image disorder and its correlation with mental health, offering valuable understanding of this concerning phenomenon.

    The study’s results indicate that men who are excessively concerned about their physical appearance are at a higher risk not only of experiencing depression but also of engaging in detrimental behaviors like binge drinking on weekends and using illegal supplements such as anabolic steroids.

    Remarkably, the research uncovered that approximately 10% of men suffer from body image disorder, perceiving themselves as overweight and desiring a thinner physique.

    To arrive at these conclusions, researchers interviewed 2,460 men aged 18-32, delving into their gym habits and mindsets.

    Common statements emerging from these interviews included sentiments like feeling guilty for missing a workout, dissatisfaction with chest muscularity, and contemplation of using anabolic steroids.

    “The problem arises when the bodies of professional athletes like Ronaldo become the ideal for regular young men who have regular young men who have jobs, studies and family,” Dr. Trine Tetlie Eik-Nes, the lead researcher revealed,

    Unrealistic Body Ideals:

    Dr. Eik-Nes highlighted the unrealistic expectations placed on men and women in terms of body image.

    “Training has to be your full-time job if you want to look like Ronaldo,” he underscored.

    Dr. Eik-Nes emphasized that achieving the physique of an athlete like Ronaldo is unrealistic for regular individuals with diverse responsibilities.

    “He belongs to one in a thousand of the world’s population who make their living from sports. Some people train as if they were on the national team, but they’re only exercisers.

    He also pointed out that narrow ideals, prevalent in today’s society, present challenges for individuals of both genders, perpetuating unrealistic body standards.

    “Girls are supposed to be thin and have small waistlines. Boys should have wide shoulders. Those are the narrow ideals that that people grow up with today. This unrealistic body image is challenging for men and women,”  he added.

  • Archaeologists uncover 5,000-year-old pub in Iraq with food remains

    Archaeologists uncover 5,000-year-old pub in Iraq with food remains

    Eating out seems to have been as popular 5,000 years ago as it is today, with archaeologists in Iraq uncovering an ancient tavern dating back to 2,700 BCE.

    Researchers working in the ancient city of Lagash discovered that the pub, hidden just 19 inches below the surface, was split into an open-air dining area and a room containing benches, an oven, ancient food remains and even a 5,000-year-old fridge.

    They initially found themselves in the open courtyard space, an area that was difficult to excavate, being “open and exposed to the outdoors,” Reed Goodman, an archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN.

    After returning to the mysterious courtyard a few months later, in fall 2022, field director Sara Pizzimenti, from the University of Pisa, broadened the trench.

    The team then discovered the industrial-sized oven, a moisture-wicking ancient “fridge,” to keep food cool, and dozens of conical bowls, many containing fish remains, revealing the purpose of the courtyard to be an outdoor dining area.

    An international team of researchers plans the next steps at Lagash.

    An international team of researchers plans the next steps at Lagash. Credit: Lagash Archaeological Project

    “I think the first feature to show itself was this very large oven and it’s actually beautiful,” Goodman said. “From various burning episodes and deposits of ash it left a sort of rainbow coloration in the soils and the interior is framed by these big bricks.”

    Lagash, now the town of al-Hiba, was one of the oldest and largest cities in southern Mesopotamia — occupied from the fifth millennium until the middle of the second millennium BCE and encompassing an area of almost two square miles.

    It has since become an important archaeological site, with excavations restarting most recently in 2019 as part of a joint project between the Penn Museum, the University of Cambridge and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Baghdad, using new techniques such as drone photography and genetic analysis.

    Using state-of-the-art technology, the archaeologists are able to "see" underground and only excavate when necessary.

    Using state-of-the-art technology, the archaeologists are able to “see” underground and only excavate when necessary. Credit: Lagash Archaeological Project

    Previous excavations focused on religious architecture and understanding the elites, but Holly Pittman — director of the Lagash Archaeological Project and curator of the Penn Museum’s Near East section — concentrated on non-elite areas during these latest excavations to provide a broader understanding of ancient cities.

    Uncovering a tavern supports the perspective of Pittman and her team that society was not organized into just elites and enslaved people — the previous prevailing view — but included an ancient middle class.

    “The fact that you have a public gathering place where people can sit down and have a pint and have their fish stew, they’re not laboring under the tyranny of kings,” Goodman said.

    “Right there, there is already something that is giving us a much more colorful history of the city.”