Schools 4 Online

A GH¢4 million Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme for students at the secondary level will be instituted at the start of the 2010/11 academic year.

The scheme is to stimulate students to take up programmes in the field of Math and Science and make Science and technology the critical drivers for the country’s socio-economic development.

The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms. Sherry Ayittey, announced this at a national forum on Ghana’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy in Accra yesterday.

The forum was on the theme, “Achieving a middle-income status through science, technology and innovation”, and it was meant to discuss the STI policy before it gets to the higher realms of the Executive arm of the government.

The goal of the STI policy is to harness the nation’s total science and technology capacity to achieve national objectives for poverty reduction, competitiveness of enterprises, sustainable environmental management and industrial growth. continue reading…

Engineering and manufacturing are well represented in London, contrary to the impression that is sometimes given. Manufacturing alone represents 300,000 jobs or 8% of the capital’s total workforce. Many different types of manufacturing can be found in the capital, from food and drinks companies like Coca Cola in Enfield to vehicle production at Ford in Dagenham. In the London region, there are many more companies involved in manufacturing, taking advantage of more space, or more convenient access to transport links that in London itself.

However, such large scale traditional manufacturing is only one part of the story. London is also strong in high technology manufacturing like aerospace and computing, as well as precision engineering and pharmaceuticals. With its highly skilled workforce, much research and development is undertaken in London for products that are manufactured elsewhere, in other parts of the UK and overseas. While many large, global companies have a manufacturing presence in London, there are also smaller firms often producing high value, cutting edge products.
continue reading…

Most colleges have a Careers Advisor who can work with you to identify a workable, realistic, career plan.

Careers advice is, first and foremost, about you . It’s about what you want, and what you’re good at. It’s also very practical. You might cover some – or all – of the following areas with your Careers Advisor:

. Your strengths and weaknesses
. Opportunities suitable for you
. Planning how to get work in a particular industry
. CV writing
. Work placements
. Summer jobs
. How to make contacts – and make the most of them

continue reading…

Do I Need a Degree to Work in Biotechnology?

Due to the sensitive nature of working with chemicals and organisms, you will absolutely need at least a bachelor’s degree to find a job in biotechnology. Biotechnology has created research opportunities in nearly every area of biology, so if you cannot find biotechnology as a major, considering a four-year degree program in biology. A master’s degree is preferable for high-level research and laboratory work, while a doctoral degree is even better.

What Are the Requirements for Acceptance Into a Biotechnology Degree Program?

Colleges and universities, online or otherwise, require a high school diploma or equivalent. If you are applying to a graduate degree program in biotechnology, you will need a high GPA, along with proof of previous experience working in labs and researching biotechnology subjects. Direct any questions or concerns about admissions to the school’s admissions office.

What Topics Are Covered in Biotechnology Degree Programs?

Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary subject that covers topics such as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, embryology, chemical engineering and robotics. Most of the classes you will take as a biotechnology major will involve laboratory work, along with analyzing biological research.
continue reading…

The government has launched its latest weapon in the battle to wrest people away from their nicotine addiction
The NHS Stop Smoking Quit Kit hopes to tap in to New Year resolutions, with new research showing that 44% of smokers in England are attempting to quit from January.

Put together by smoking experts and smokers themselves, much of the new kit aims to combat stress and cravings, as well as giving tips on how to avoid the triggers that lead to sparking up a fag in the first place.

“We know that certain triggers and cravings can threaten a successful quit,” said Professor Robert West from the Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London.

“People need to find their own personal combination of support and tools to help combat them.”
continue reading…

New reaction cleaves dinitrogen, brings carbon and nitrogen together
To break some chemical bonds you need to know a guy, who knows a guy who knows a compound. Scientists ordered just such a hit and have broken two of the toughest bonds in chemistry in the laboratory equivalent of broad daylight. The reaction yields a new chemical connection and could lead to more direct routes for making various drugs or other biologically important compounds.

In the new work, a metal complex and carbon monoxide conspire to cleave the triple bond that connects two nitrogen atoms, one of nature’s strongest chemical bonds. Busting apart bonded nitrogen has always been a daunting task. Even when accomplished, it hasn’t necessarily yielded useful products.
continue reading…

Scientists have discovered the true identity of a contagious form of cancer that is killing Tasmanian devils. The cancer, called devil facial tumor disease, stems from cells that normally insulate nerve fibers, a new study shows.

Genetic analysis of tumors taken from infected devils in different parts of Tasmania reveals that these insulating cells, known as Schwann cells, became cancerous in a single Tasmanian devil and have since passed to other devils, an international group of researchers reports in the Jan. 1 Science.

Previously, scientists had suspected that a virus might be the source of the infection, but the new study confirms that cancer cells themselves are transmitted from devil to devil.

Knowing the origin of the contagious tumors could help conservationists diagnose the disease more accurately and may eventually lead to a vaccine that would target tumor proteins, says Katherine Belov, a geneticist at the University of Sydney who was not involved with the project.
A vaccine against the facial tumor disease, “while now pie in the sky, in 10 years might not be,” says Gregory Hannon, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y. “Ten years might be enough time” to save the devils from extinction, he says.

About 70 percent of the Tasmanian devil population has disappeared as a result of the disease, and if the current rate of decline continues, devils could become extinct in the wild in 30 to 50 years, says Elizabeth Murchison, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England. Murchison, a native of Tasmania who grew up seeing devils in the wild, led the project while working in Hannon’s lab at Cold Spring Harbor. “I didn’t want to sit back and let the devils disappear,” she says.
continue reading…

It’s the first week of January, and you’re back on the job. Or back on the job hunt.

But wherever you are career-wise, it’s a clean and shiny brand-new year. You’d like to make the most of it, right? Here are 10 ideas for resolutions that could make 2010 a lot better
1. Look for something new to learn every day. Whether you are ensconced in a career you love, toiling at a job you hate, or unemployed and looking, building your knowledge base is one simple key to success. What’s more, learning is good for your brain and your mood—and it’s just plain fun. So, read books/articles/blogs about your industry, ask to learn a coworker’s job, consider pursuing a new certification or degree—you get the idea.

2. Rise above the insanity. No matter the state of the economy or country, there is always something to worry about or be afraid of. You can join the naysayers and the fear-mongers, or you can refrain from panicking and be the voice of reason. Looking for rational solutions to problems is a much better use of your time than, say, freaking out about them. It also (bonus!) makes you an invaluable member of any organization.

3. Build a wide, deep, and active network. A professional network is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have source of new business, new jobs, support, advice, ideas, and consolation. So, this year, strengthen relationships with people you already know, and put energy into meeting new people. (Note: Networking includes your online presence, too. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and the rest—they’re not just fads, they are efficient and effective ways to stay in touch with a whole lot of people.)
continue reading…

FICTION
NOAH’S COMPASS
by Anne Tyler
(Knopf Doubleday, 288 pp., $25.95)
In Anne Tyler’s 18th novel, the unexceptional Liam Pennywell, a widowed schoolteacher, loses his job one day and wakes up in a hospital the next, with no recollection of the experience. Post-injury, he struggles with memory loss and learns to love. (Scheduled to be published in January.)

THE UNNAMED
by Joshua Ferris
(Little, Brown, 313 pp., $24.99)
A mysterious sporadic disorder causes successful lawyer Tim Farnsworth to start walking – and he doesn’t stop until the disorder vanishes, as randomly as it appeared. Meanwhile, his beloved wife, Jane, combats alcoholism and illness while trying to keep Tim in one piece. (January)

POINT OMEGA
by Don DeLillo
(Simon & Schuster, 128 pp., $24)
Filmmaker Jim Finley tracks down Richard Elster, a former war adviser living alone in the desert, to make a single-take, single-character documentary on Elster’s experience. Elster’s daughter Jessie appears weeks later, and the three bond until something disastrous happens. (February)
continue reading…

A new year means a fresh set of goals. That’s why so many of us – in addition to promising to exercise more and spend less time on Facebook – are also resolving to read lots of books in 2010. “The new year is about renewed energy and all the things you can accomplish,” says Daniel Goldin, owner of the Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee. “The pile of books that you think you’ll never get through in November becomes a possibility” in January.

Maybe. But as we all know, February can be a cruel month, littered with the debris of broken resolutions. So to help would-be readers chart successful courses for an actively bookish 2010, the Monitor asked the experts – booksellers, authors, and other “bookistas” in the know – what they are most excited about reading in the new year and why.

Goldin says he’s kicking the year off with both an author he’s never read before (James Hynes and his 2000 political thriller, “The Wild Colonial Boy”) and an old favorite (Sinclair Lewis’s 1927 satire on religion, “Elmer Gantry”).
continue reading…