A beer pioneer, South Africa's first Black female brewery owner trains a new generation
'When you are brewing you must constantly check your mixture,' Nxusani-Mawela instructs them. 'We are looking for a balance between the sugar and the grains.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ethiopian fossils reveal new species in human evolutionary lineage
By Will Dunham (Reuters) -Researchers have unearthed tooth fossils in Ethiopia dating to about 2.65 million years ago of a previously unknown species in the human evolutionary lineage, one that lived in the same time and place as the earliest-known member of the genus Homo to which our own species belongs. The scientists discovered in the Ledi-Geraru research project area of northeastern Ethiopia's Afar Region 10 teeth - six molars, two incisors, one premolar and one canine - that they concluded belonged to a new Australopithecus species. The teeth came from two individuals. Until now, six species of the genus Australopithecus, an important early human ancestor that displayed a mix of ape-like and human-like traits, were known from fossils at various African sites. The researchers said the newly found teeth bore traits indicating they belonged to a seventh species. A genus is a group of closely related species that share similar characteristics. For example, lions and tigers are from the same genus but represent different species. The scientists also discovered three other teeth dating to 2.59 million years ago that had traits showing they belonged to the oldest-known species of Homo, one that was first revealed by a jawbone unearthed in the same vicinity in 2013. Scientists have not yet assigned names to the Australopithecus and Homo species represented by these 13 teeth because of the incomplete nature of the fossil remains. Our species Homo sapiens is the most recent member of the Homo genus, first appearing roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa before later spreading worldwide. The new dental fossils provide insight into a poorly understood period in human evolution. The close age of the teeth suggests that this newly identified Australopithecus species coexisted in this region with the early Homo species, raising questions about whether they competed for the same resources. The teeth also indicate that there were four hominins - as species in the human evolutionary lineage are known - that inhabited East Africa at the time. Previous fossils showed that another Australopithecus species and a species of Paranthropus, a hominin possessing a specialized skull adapted for heavy chewing, lived in East Africa during this time. An additional Australopithecus species also inhabited southern Africa, bringing the number of hominins then on the continent to five. The presence of these contemporaneous hominins illustrates the complicated nature of the human evolutionary process. "This reinforces the idea that the story of human evolution is not of a single lineage changing slowly through time," said University of Nevada, Las Vegas paleoanthropologist Brian Villmoare, lead author of the research published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. "Rather, the pattern of human evolution is similar to that of other organisms, repeatedly branching into multiple species throughout the fossil record, many of whom lived at the same time," Villmoare added. The researchers are seeking clues about the nature of any interaction between the Australopithecus and Homo species represented by the 13 teeth. "We are currently analyzing teeth to see if we can tell if they ate the same thing," said Arizona State University paleoecologist and project co-director Kaye Reed. If so, they may have fought over resources, Reed said. Crude stone tools dating to about the same time were previously discovered nearby, Reed said, probably made by the Homo species. The researchers determined the age of the teeth using a technique that dated feldspar crystals contained in volcanic ash in the sediments where they were discovered based on radioactive decay of the element argon. The Afar Region, one of Earth's hottest and lowest places, is an arid expanse of badlands. But at the time of these species, rivers flowed across a vegetated landscape into shallow lakes in a landscape populated by a splendid array of animals. These included giraffes, horses, pigs, elephants, hippos and antelopes as well as predators such as saber-toothed cats and hyenas. Homo is generally thought to have descended from a species of Australopithecus, though the exact species and the timing have been a matter of debate. Australopithecus eventually died out. Australopithecus includes the famous fossil Lucy, who was a member of the species Australopithecus afarensis who lived approximately 3.18 million years ago. Lucy's remains were discovered in 1974, also in the Afar Region. The newly discovered teeth had characteristics that showed they did not belong to Lucy's species, the researchers said. "This new Australopithecus species is in no way some 'missing link,' and we actually don't think that it was necessarily ancestral to any known species," Villmoare said. "Species arose and many went extinct," Reed said. "Each find is a piece of the puzzle that puts human evolution into a twiggy tree, rather than a linear graphic." Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
Schlumberger Foundation and Seeding Labs Advance STEM Education With Scientific Instrument Donation, Marking a Decade of Partnership
The initiative equips universities in developing nations with scientific instruments, directly addressing infrastructure gaps in STEM education and research. Since its inception, the initiative has facilitated the donation of over 2,500 pieces of equipment to 11 universities in Africa, impacting more than 30,000 students. The 10-year partnership aligns with the Schlumberger Foundation's mission of powering STEM education as a key enabler of sustainable development. The Schlumberger Foundation, in partnership with Seeding Labs, successfully implemented a significant donation of scientific instruments to the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti in Nigeria. This contribution, formalized at a handover ceremony, not only equips another institution with research and educational tools, but also officially marks ten years of a powerful collaboration between both parties dedicated to strengthening STEM education and research infrastructure in developing countries. For a decade, this partnership has strengthened STEM education and research infrastructure across Africa—facilitating the donation of over 2,500 pieces of equipment to 11 universities and positively impacting more than 30,000 students. Each of these institutions has also benefited from the return of Faculty for the Future Fellows—women from developing and emerging economies who, after earning advanced STEM degrees overseas, come back to teach and lead research. However, a major barrier remains: the lack of core scientific equipment. Without it, students miss out on hands-on learning, and lecturers are limited in their ability to conduct research, publish findings, and secure future grant opportunities. 'Without access to working labs, students are observers rather than participants in their own education,' said Capella Festa, President of the Schlumberger Foundation. 'Through our partnership with Seeding Labs, we're helping to create environments where education is active, research is possible, and opportunities can grow. This latest donation in Ondo State, following a decade of shared commitment, underscores the enduring success and continued expansion of this vital initiative.' Seeding Labs is a nonprofit organization supporting locally led development through science. Working collaboratively with select institutions in developing countries, Seeding Labs provides an often overlooked but critical element to these labs: infrastructure. In collaboration with partners, including the Schlumberger Foundation, Seeding Labs has shipped essential equipment to 42 developing countries since 2008. This equipment enables students to gain hands-on training previously limited to theory and empowers researchers with the tools needed to publish and secure international grants with improved lab capacity, fostering new collaborations with regional and global institutions. 'We are excited to celebrate a decade of impact in partnership with the Schlumberger Foundation,' said Melissa P. Wu, PhD., CEO, Seeding Labs. 'When Faculty for the Future Fellows return home, one of the major barriers they find is a lack of infrastructure to use their skills and knowledge. By supporting their universities with equipment, we make it easier for women to return and stay in science. It has been inspiring to see so many women taking our partnership as a launching point for shaping the future of the communities they call home.' 'The arrival of this state-of-the-art equipment will significantly enhance our research capabilities, foster innovation, and provide our students with hands-on learning experiences that will prepare them for the challenges of the future.' added Dr. Olalekan Faboya, Head of Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Oye-Ekiti. This collaborative effort directly supports the Schlumberger Foundation's mission of powering education, innovation, and thought leadership through strategic investments in people and infrastructure. As the partnership with Seeding Labs enters its second decade, this latest milestone reflects steady progress and a shared commitment to broadening access to STEM opportunities where they are needed most. About the Schlumberger Foundation The Schlumberger Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports science and technology education. Recognizing the link between science, technology, and socio-economic development, as well as the key role of education in realizing individual potential, the Schlumberger Foundation flagship program is Faculty for the Future. Learn more about Faculty for the Future and the call for fellowship applications here. About Seeding Labs Seeding Labs is an award-winning nonprofit that has spent the last 15 years working to overcome a major barrier to global development: the extreme concentration of scientific capacity in just a handful of countries. Seeding Labs' signature program, Instrumental Access, focuses on meeting the critical need for scientific equipment. They work with equipment manufacturers and end users to put their excess equipment to use at institutions in developing countries, where these resources are scarce and the need for them is greatest. Media Contact Tunde Aboaba – Communications Manager, West Africa, SLBEmail: [email protected] Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from SLB
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
One Side of Earth Is Rapidly Getting Colder Than the Other
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Research shows the Pacific hemisphere is losing heat faster than the African hemisphere. The heat is from Earth's molten interior, which causes continental drift. Landmass traps more heat than seafloor surface, indicating a hotter Pacific of the past. Scientists from the University of Oslo say one side of Earth's interior is losing heat much faster than the other side—and the culprit is practically as old as time. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters uses computer models of the last 400 million years to calculate how 'insulated' each hemisphere was by continental mass, which is a key quality that holds heat inside instead of releasing it. The pattern goes all the way back to Pangaea. Earth has a red hot liquid interior that warms the entire planet from inside. It spins, too, generating both gravity and Earth's magnetic field. This holds our protective atmosphere close to Earth's surface. Over the extremely long term, this interior will continue to cool until Earth is more like Mars. The surprise in the study is how unevenly the heat is dissipating, but the reason makes intuitive sense: Parts of Earth have been insulated by more landmass, creating something of a Thermos layer that traps heat. This contrasts with how Earth loses most of its heat: 'Earth's thermal evolution is largely controlled by the rate of heat loss through the oceanic lithosphere,' the study authors write. Why is this the site of the greatest loss? For that, we need a quick-and-dirty run-through of continental drift. Earth's mantle is like a convection oven that powers a treadmill. Every day, seafloor surface moves a tiny bit; new seafloor is born from the magma that erupts at the continental divide, while old seafloor is smashed and melted beneath existing continental landmass. To study how Earth's interior heat behaves, the scientists built a model that divides Earth into African and Pacific hemispheres, then divides Earth's entire surface into a grid by half degrees latitude and longitude. The scientists combined several previous models for things like seafloor age and continental positions during the last 400 million years. Then, the team crunched the numbers for how much heat each grid cell contains over its long life. This paved the way to calculate the rate of cooling overall, where the researchers found the Pacific side has cooled much faster. The seafloor is far thinner than the bulky landmass, and temperature from within Earth is 'quenched' by the enormous volume of cold water that's above it. Think of the gigantic Pacific Ocean compared with the opposite-side landmasses of Africa, Europe, and Asia—it makes sense that heat dissipates more quickly from the biggest seafloor in the world. Previous research on this seafloor effect only went back 230 million years, meaning the new model, which goes back 400 million years, almost doubles the timeframe being studied. There's a surprising contradiction in the findings. The Pacific hemisphere has cooled about 50 Kelvin more than the African hemisphere, but the 'consistently higher plate velocities of the Pacific hemisphere during the past 400 [million years]' suggest the Pacific was much hotter at a certain moment in time. Was it covered by landmass at some point in the far distant past, keeping more heat inside? There are other possible explanations, but either way, the Pacific's high tectonic activity today points to a heat disparity. The meltier the mantle, the more the plates can slide and slam together. Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the IssueGet the Issue Get the Issue You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life? Solve the daily Crossword
