The Mail & Guardian’s Faranaaz Parker rounds up five odd things you may have missed this week.
The rise of Ghana’s dodgy email scammers
CNN has posted an intriguing video from the website Motherboard.tv that documents the rise of Ghana’s growing email spamming culture, known as “Sakawa“. With its high youth unemployment and an internet infrastructure that’s miles ahead of its neighbours, Ghanaian youths have taken a page out of their Nigerian neighbours’ books and embraced the world of 419 scams. It’s a get-rich-quick scam that’s paid off for many a young Ghanaian, to the point where anything to do with money and success has come to be called “Sakawa“. Last month Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice Martin Amidu implored the Ghanaian youth not to get involved in get-rich-quick schemes and to take a stand against money-laundering and transnational crime.
Iran on the science track
A survey by Britain’s national academy of science, the Royal Society, has revealed that a number of smaller countries, many of them in the Islamic world, are beginning to challenge traditional science superpowers.
According to the Financial Times, the survey found that the world’s fastest-growing country, in terms of scientific development, is Iran. In 2008, the country ‘s scientists published almost 20 times as many research papers as they did in 1996. The report found that, in addition to more research being done globally, there is also now a greater degree of collaboration on projects among academics.
Artificial leaf may harness solar energy
SciDev.Net and Science magazine say a chemist from Boston’s prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology has built a silicon “leaf” that is about the size and shape of a playing card. The theory is that sunlight passes through a silicon wafer or “leaf” and into a catalyst that splits water in to hydrogen and oxygen particles. The hydrogen molecules can then be collected and burned or converted into electricity and stored in a fuel cell. Daniel Nocera, who built the leaf system, says he hopes to commercialise the technology within two to three years. He is also said to be joining forces with Tata Group chairperson Ratan Tata to produce a fridge-sized plant that can convert sunlight and water into electricity.
Wind farms less efficient than thought
A new study by a United Kingdom consulting firm has found that wind power may not be as reliable as we’ve been brought to believe. The study showed that most wind farms operate below 20% of capacity more than half the time, and below 10% capacity about a third of the time. The BBC says the report states that “wind cannot be relied upon to provide any significant level of generation at any defined time in the future.” But critics say the John Muir Trust, which commissioned the report, seems to be “going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy”.
Electric car-makers struggle for standardisation
CNN reports that electric car manufacturers are trying to put their heads together to decide on a set of standards when it comes to electrical plugs and sockets that will be used to charge electric cars. BMW and General Electric are among those currently debating the issue. Instead of going the route of the cellphone industry, in which most cellphone makers have their own standard connections, the car industry has so far managed to keep the number of different power connections used down to about seven. The debate is now shifting to ways in which to help customers avoid recharging entirely, say by offering battery swop-out services at filling stations.
Faranaaz’s interests span science, technology and development. Read her weekly wrap every weekend on the M&G and follow her on Twitter here.