Archive for category: Technology

Information and stories about technology news.

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UC Irvine’s ‘Solutions for Poverty Challenge’

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New technology and modern innovations have played an ever-increasing role in the fight against global poverty in the 21st century, but where do these new tools and practices come from? Most come from established technology and manufacturing firms like GE, IBM and Apple. Major universities are also hotbeds for invention. However, in the last five years there has been a surge in innovation coming from grassroots and non-traditional organizations with the help of social media and other sites, such as Kickstarter. Keeping with the changing tides, the University of California at Irvine launched a contest in May of this year encouraging students to propose original solutions for poverty relief.

The contest took development out of its traditional setting and encouraged all to participate. Undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and UCI alumni were all invited to come together and take part. The Blum Center for Global Engagement hosted the challenge. The goal of the challenge, as Blum Center Director Richard Mathew states, was “to bring the vast stock of ingenuity, creativity, knowledge and passion that exists across the campus to bear on alleviating poverty at home and abroad.” The Solutions Challenge presented an unorthodox approach to relief development as it aimed to bring minds of all backgrounds together in the hopes of producing greater results.

Participants were only required to submit a “feasible idea.” That is to say that the participants did not need to be engineers. All submissions had to meet three criteria, however. First, the proposals had to elaborate on the specific impact on poverty that the device or technology would address. Second, the proposal had to be reasonably realistic and achievable given limited time and resources. Finally, participants had to enumerate the scope their proposal would cover as long as their long-term goals. Three finalists were chosen and met with potential investors in a private venue.

First place was given to PhD student Katya Cherukumilli. Her proposal was to use certain minerals to remove toxic fluoride from drinking water in rural India. Erik Peterson, a resident of Irvine, won second place with his proposal for Lifesign, which would be a device given to homeless citizens as a register that would include data such as health information, hometown and needed services. Replacing handwritten signs, the device would show a code to be entered on the Lifesign website to donate to certain causes and services. Irene Beltran, an undergrad at UCI, took home third place with her “Lab on a Chip” proposal. The chip is tiny and only requires a drop of blood to test for tuberculosis. All three finalists are now consulting with industry leaders and investors.

UC Irvine’s challenge was inspired in part by another school in the University of California system. UC Berkeley’s Development Impact Lab runs a similar contest every year, encouraging engineers, computer scientists and IT specialists to develop technology-based ideas for global aid. UC Irvine’s contest encourages a more theoretical approach, prioritizing creativity in ideas ahead of a physical prototype.

– Joe Kitaj

Sources: Govtech, Blumcenter, Berkeley
Photo: UCI

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Cancer Seeing Glasses Developed by Nigerian Scientist

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Dr. Samuel Achilefu, a Nigerian born scientist, has developed glasses that can see cancer cells. For this new technology, Dr. Achilefu was awarded the 2014 St. Louis Award.

This award is given to a recipient who has made outstanding contributions to the profession of chemistry and has demonstrated potential to further the profession.

Dr. Achilefu, a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering, and his team developed glasses that contain imaging technology. The glasses are intended to help surgeons view cancer cells while operating, instead of operating “in the dark.”

The project began in 2012 when Dr. Achilefu and his team received a $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Before the grant, the team received limited funding from the Department of Defense’s Breast Cancer Research Program.

The glasses were in the development stage for years, testing the technology on mice, rats and rabbits to confirm the effectiveness of the glasses.

In order to see the infected cells, two steps must be followed.

First, the surgeons must inject a small quantity of an infrared fluorescent marker into the patient’s bloodstream. The marker, also known as a tracer, contains peptides that are able to locate the cancer cells, and buries itself inside.

The tracer lasts about four hours. As it moves through the patient’s body, it will clear away from non-cancerous tissue.

By wearing the glasses, the surgeon can inspect the tumors under an infrared light that reacts with the dye. The combination of the tracer and infrared light causes the tumor to glow from within and allows the surgeon to see the infected cells.

This technology was first tested on humans at the Washington University School of Medicine in June 2015. Four patients with breast cancer and over two-dozen patients with melanoma or liver cancer have been operated on using the goggles.

Ryan Fields, a surgical oncologist who is collaborating with Dr. Achilefu says, “[the glasses] allow us to see the cells in real time, which is critical. Because the marker has not been FDA approved, doctors are currently using a different, somewhat inferior marker that also reacts with infrared light.”

Julie Margenthaler, a breast cancer surgeon, explains that many breast cancer patients must go back for second operations because the human eye cannot see the extent of the infected cells alone.

“Imagine what it would mean if these glasses eliminated the need for follow-up surgery and the associated pain, inconvenience, and anxiety”.

The Food and Drug Administration are still reviewing the cancer seeing glasses and the tracer developed by Dr. Achilefu and his co-researchers. But, if the glasses are approved, the removal of cancerous cells has been changed forever. And most importantly, patients will receive the care in order to treat their cancer.

– Kerri Szulak

Sources: IT News Africa, Premium Times, St. Louis Section of American Chemical Society
Photo: Pax Nigerian

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Visually Impaired Kenyan Students Receive a New Kind of Education

Visually Impaired Kenyan Students and Education - TBP
The initiative “Computer Labs for the Blind” aims to bring assistive learning technologies to 356 blind and visually impaired Kenyan students at the St. Oda Primary and Secondary School for the Blind in Gem District, Siaya County, Kenya.

This technology will be provided by partnerships between the organizations InAble, AccessKenya and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The program will not only train blind and visually impaired students, but also their teachers. The students will learn basic computer skills and how to access the Internet, and will also complete an online education program.

The goal of the organizations involved is to help these students develop skills that will make them employable, leading to a life that many visually impaired Kenyans could only have dreamed of in the past.

Over the years, the education of the blind and the visually impaired has faced many obstacles, including logistics, the availability of facilities and teaching resources. With these setbacks, the visually impaired have not been capable of participating in mainstream life.

Visually impaired students that reach the high school level are barred from participating in the sciences, such as chemistry and physics. Even if they were able to participate, most teachers are not properly trained in the appropriate methods for teaching blind and visually impaired people.

This leaves the students at a tremendous disadvantage.

“Braille textbooks happen to be bulky and expensive, requiring up to four or more students to share a single book, presenting a challenge in imparting knowledge to students,” said Irene Mbari Kirika, executive director of InAble Kenya. “For instance, whereas the costs of books required by a Form 4 student are KES 7,060, it would cost slightly over KES 61,000 [to get] braille [textbooks], which is way out of reach for very many Kenyans.”

However, it is not only the braille books that are more expensive: the notebook paper blind and visually students write on also costs more. Many schools are not equipped with the necessary funds for blind and visually impaired students, even though these students are expected to sit for the same tests and exams as other students.

AccessKenya Group will be investing KES 7.2 million over the next two years in the provision of technology resources and financial support. From the fund, KES 6 million will go towards the “Assistive Technology Labs” project, which will include broadband Internet.

Emily Kinuthia, Marketing Manager at AccessKenya, added, “We realize that there was a lot of focus on the provision of hardware but little emphasis on skilling both for the teachers and students. We are therefore making it easier to access the curriculum and other resources, such as digital books and applications, all of which will be available online in order to deliver value in technology studies.”

With these set goals, blind and visually impaired students in Kenya will be schooled in useful, everyday skills. And with these skills, these students will have the opportunity to enter the job market, something that many blind and visually impaired individuals have previously never thought possible.

– Kerri Szulak

Sources: IT News Africa, All Africa
Photo: Inable

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China’s Modern Tactics to Address Domestic Poverty

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China, as the world’s most populous country with the second largest economy, faces a hushed issue on an epic scale. Nearly 70 million Chinese citizens live in severe poverty, most of them in the country’s expansive rural areas. Recently, President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of poverty reduction within China as a means for economic and social growth.

China seeks to eradicate domestic poverty by 2020. Between 1978 and 2014, the country successfully lifted 730 million impoverished citizens above the poverty line. However, there is still much work to be done—a sentiment that is at the heart of President Jinping’s domestic policy. He called for “high precision” in governmental policy.

The government is implementing time-tested tactics to address the issue, such as subsidies and work programs, but President Jinping’s policy also calls for the use of information age strategies and tools. In 2014, an internal database was complied of all Chinese citizens who are considered impoverished. The data complied included income levels, employment status and location. The government then hired top data analysts to determine, in the most empirical way possible, the causes of poverty in certain areas and the best respective solutions.

Big data has long been used by technology firms, but this marks its first major wide-scale usage in terms of humanitarian causes. The data collected will lead to the swift and accurate remedies that President Jinping seeks. China’s experiment in using numbers and analysis in addition to money and support may prove to be revolutionary and help the country reach its goal before 2020.

– Joe Kitaj

Sources: Global Times 1, Global Times 2, The Economist
Photo: Al Jazeera America

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Revolutionary Technology Advances Fight Against Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is often forgotten as a global health threat, but recent advances in molecular technology have health officials optimistic about the future.

It is estimated that one-sixth of all annual deaths caused by infectious diseases result from TB. The second-largest killer behind HIV/AIDS, the disease kills an estimated 4,000 people a day. Sub-Saharan Africa experiences the worst of it, as the infectious disease is the most common cause of death among HIV-positive people. Estimates say that over 1,000 people with HIV die from TB every day.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to TB is detection. Currently, HIV-associated TB is being detected in only half of the estimated number of people who have it. Another issue that arises is weak healthcare coverage, which places an economic burden on poor people. Additionally, a lack of healthcare coverage has an effect on people’s vulnerability to TB and health outcomes from the disease.

However, progress in the fight against TB has been seen over the past two decades. The TB mortality rate fell between 1990 and 2013 by an estimated 45%. In that time, over 60 million people were cured from the disease and 37 million lives were saved. Most of the success has been attributed to a rise in new technology. In fact, such interventions are said to not only save lives, but to be cost-effective, because for every dollar spent there is an estimated $30-$43 return.

Cepheid Inc., a diagnostics company based in California, created one such revolutionary piece of technology. Dubbed GeneXpert, the automated molecular technology has been said to be one of the most significant achievements in decades in regards to TB research.

The device is more accurate and faster than traditional diagnosis methods, such as the out-of-date smear microscopy, which was created a century ago. GeneXpert works by allowing health workers to place gathered sputum samples in cartridges, which in turn are connected to a computer. As a result, the DNA of TB bacteria can be detected within two hours. The device can also identify multidrug-resistant forms of TB.

In addition to being endorsed by the World Health Organization, it attracted the attention of global donors. Many poured in donations to help distribute it around the world.

In May, a study conducted in India showed that by using GeneXpert, the number of bacteriologically confirmed cases increased by 39%.

The problem with the technology, however, is its expense.

Poor people in the developing world, those who are most likely to need GeneXpert, have trouble getting necessary access to the technology. While donors across the world are taking care of the $17,000 price tag associated with each machine, countries are struggling to pay for the cartridges. Each cartridge costs $10, meaning some countries cannot purchase them on a large scale because of a lack of funds. Additionally, GeneXpert requires access to electricity, computers and refrigeration, a difficulty for many TB-prevalent areas.

Even with some of these issues, health officials are still excited with the recent activity. The creation of GeneXpert, as well as rather large investments in the device, have led to more companies starting to develop diagnostic technologies. The hope is that some of these technologies will eliminate the downsides of GeneXpert. According to a report by UNITAID, a global health initiative, there are currently 81 manufacturers running tests with almost 200 potential new products having to do with TB diagnostics.

One such company is Alere Inc. The diagnostics company, based in Massachusetts, is working on a transportable test that would be powered by batteries, giving it the capability of being used portably for an entire day. With the test being portable, the company says that health workers would then have the ability to decide about treatments on the spot, the same place where the diagnosis was made.

The company, which received a $21.6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is also working to make the costs of its machine and cartridges less expensive than GeneXpert.

While questions still remain, as Alere has yet to run any type of trials on its technology, those devoted to the fight against TB are still hopeful about the future. Through boosted investments and partnerships between public and private sectors, revolutionary technology has, and will continue to, aid the fight against tuberculosis.

– Matt Wotus

Sources: The Hill, New York Times
Photo: Dr. Dang’s Lab

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Effects of Emerging Technologies on Geopolitics

Effects of Emerging Technologies on Geopolitics
Although the final episode aired in September of 2013, Futurama remains a popular TV series today as it appeals to a range of generations, from youths to adults. This series is an exaggerated representation of a prediction of 31st century life: exploration and the discovery of life in countless other galaxies, acknowledgement of robots as true life forms and an even greater reliance on up-and-coming technologies.

Although it is a satire, the show does address interesting points about this human-techno relationship that applies even in the 21st century. This is evident, for example, in today’s use of drones.

It is speculated that, in the future, artificial intelligence systems will take over most jobs currently held by humans. Amazon’s new drone delivery system promises faster, more efficient deliveries, thus lessening the need for other methods of package delivery. The drone could drop off a package on someone’s doorstep in approximately 30 minutes or less. While this system, overall, would be more convenient for the general public, it would take out a good number of jobs.

However, there is a bright side to this situation. More jobs relating to drones, such as drone operations and drone assembly, will open to the public, and newer technologies that make these drones easier to operate will open up jobs for those with fewer qualifications.

Another important aspect to address is the ease at which people communicate through technological mediums. According to Kristel van der Elst, head of Strategic Foresight of the World Economic Forum, “Technology will not only allow us to be constantly in contact in an increasingly close-to-reality manner, it will also soon enhance communication beyond what traditional face-to-face interaction could ever allow.” Van der Elst also said that “technology has the potential to redefine the relationships between civil society, government and business.” Communication technology improves the ease of communication in geopolitics around the world.

More often, in the media, there have been discussions about how technology helps and hinders communication. Also addressed is the fact that the more we communicate via this medium, the less private human interaction becomes. Criminals are now turning to new technologies to communicate, and governments have limited abilities to regulate threats of attack.

So, are we to regulate and respect human privacy? Or not to regulate and allow for more criminals to make the utmost use of technology? Authors have suggested that instead of trying to fight the evolution of technology, the government should find new methods of integrating technology into their everyday lives and into geopolitics, which would greatly improve internal operations in local governments as well as appeal to the public.

– Anna Brailow

Sources: Scientific American, GCN, Comedy Central, YouTube
Photo: CNN

PowerGen’s Revolutionary Microgrid Empowers Kenya

On January 27, 2015, PowerGen, among three other innovative companies, won a global competition in which 30 total participants enter four categories: education, health, energy, and cities.

PowerGen Renewable Energy developed a microgrid that powers homes and businesses at a low cost. This environmentally sound and accessible energy source is making life easier for many residents of Kenya.

The competition was overseen by 1776, a U.S. tech incubator. Winning in equal status with PowerGen were Health E-Net, which connects patients to medical facilities, tasKwetu, a project management tracker and eKitabu, an online East African bookstore. Though, with a majority of Kenyans relying on diesel generators, kerosene lamps and charcoal as power sources, PowerGen is an important and extremely useful life-changing alternative.

Originally called WindGen Power, PowerGen is a micro-utility company working in East Africa. Their renewable energy products are dominantly solar-powered though wind is still utilized as a resource.

Solar-power products are cheap and simple to maintain. Powered by fuel cells and solar panels, micro representations of electricity grids are local. They have 1.4kW of solar panels, 9kWh of batteries and 3kW converters. These are known as a “PowerBoxes” to locals.

There are 600 million people without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. PowerGen supplies micro-grids to people in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Somalia. This system is utilized by lower income customers who run small businesses such as hair salons, restaurants, and guest houses. Rural villages and towns benefit the most from their micro-grids.

Take Lillian Muthoni, for example, and her transition to the micro-grid featured by TED Talks. She manages a “PowerBox” in Nkoilale, Kenya, which is 250 kilometers West of Nairobi. She replaced solar lights and a diesel generator with the “PowerBox.” She once paid $130 a month, but the “PowerBox” now only costs her $22 a month. She owns a restaurant and likes to entertain her customers with music and television. Since the switch to the cost-effective micro-grid, she has even managed to buy a refrigerator.

PowerGen’s objective is to connect customers with the outside world. Since Africans are becoming more familiar with mobile phones and online access, PowerGen has begun to train new users how to handle mobile devices powered by the micro-grid.

This further connects them to information and the outside world. Most Africans typically use their phones to access credit accounts and to prepay for their energy use online. People can keep track of payments more easily too.

In 2014, PowerGen partnered with KIVA in a seven-year-loan plan. They first tried to improve conditions in Oloolaimutia Village by installing a micro-grid. Lighting, television, refrigeration and a medical clinic were supported by its energy output. The company raised $9,780 within two days.

According to a January 2015 TED Talk, PowerGen makes $10,000 in revenue each month. To give some perspective, 10 micro-grids were powering Kenya in 2014.

Competition has sparked among other micro-grid marketers. Recently, a power connectivity project was initiated in Kenya, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Kenyan government in order to benefit 314,200 households. An accumulation of $150 million funds this project.

The goal of the Last Mile Connectivity Project hopes to add 1.5 million Kenyans to the national grid and connect 70% of rural houses by 2017. The initiative, which begins in September 2015, would require each customer to pay $165.

SteamaCo joined grid-building innovators like PowerGen, supporting 30 grids—26 of which are in Kenya and 4 in Tanazania, Renin and Nepal—with even cheaper offers, but a similar operating system. Predicting that internet use will double in 5 years, they take pride in their over-the-phone online monitoring systems.

Though PowerGen is neck-in-neck with other competing systems, their goal remains the same. The increase in competition breaches the gap between unconnected customers and connected ones. With 1.2 billion still without energy, PowerGen and companies like it are connecting less fortunate families who can then experience a richer and easier life.

– Katie Groe

Sources: 1776, Disrupt Africa, PowerGen Renewable Energy, TED, GVEP International, African Review, The Guardian
Photo: Ted

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Schools in Nairobi are Getting Free Internet

schools_in_nairobiThe internet has been a major agent in combating global poverty. Connectivity gives access to a new world of information and has revolutionized sectors ranging from finance to health in the global community. However, the internet has had perhaps its greatest impact in education, in which it gives students and teachers access to previously unknown quantities of information.

That’s why it’s great news that over 2,000 schools in Nairobi will be getting free internet.

This innovative solution comes from a project called WazED, through a partnership of telecommunications company Wananchi Group, the Kenya Education Network and the County Government of Nairobi.

WazED will put a total of 2,715 schools across Nairobi county online.

The program is a natural step for the nation Wananchi Group non-executive chairman Richard Bell calls, “the fastest growing ICT hub in the region.” Kenya has continued to be one of the most innovative nations in terms of helping people with technology, with services ranging from mobile finance platform mPesa to mobile education projects such as Eneza Education.

WazED is connected to Kenya’s “Vision 2030” goals, which seek to build a more politically just, economically thriving, and socially equitable Kenya by 2030. The Vision 2030 goals recognize the importance of all sectors of life in their achievement and particularly embraces technology as an important means of social change. And because of the educational potential that improving internet access in schools brings, this makes sense.

Connecting people to the internet is one of the most effective ways of empowering them. Online, not only can one find the most extensive collection of data and news imaginable, but an incredibly wide spectrum of ideas are also present. Connecting Kenyan schools to the internet is an incredibly important step in empowering the next generation and fighting against digital resource inequality.

– Andrew Michaels

Sources: CIO, IT Web Africa, allAfrica, IT News Africa, Kenya Vision 2030
Photo: CIO

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Global Development Lab Brings Silicon Valley to Washington

Global Development Lab Brings Silicon Valley to Washington-TBP

USAID’s mission to fight global poverty has just received significant support with the recent addition of the Global Development Lab. USAID has long been the leading government agency seeking to alleviate poverty, yet their mission has primarily been that of implementation. The agency is now not only committed to the physical deployment of aid, but also the development of future relief systems.

Founded in April of 2014, the new subdivision seeks to change the ways in which aid is delivered and developed. According to the official website, “The U.S. Global Development Lab is a new entity within USAID that brings together a diverse set of partners to discover, test, and scale breakthrough solutions to achieve what human progress has only now made possible—the end of extreme poverty by 2030.”

The Global Development Lab is bringing the fight against extreme poverty into the 21st century information age. Its aim is to use strategies that top technology companies have used, such as crowd sourcing, big data collection, and constant research and development to find the best solutions in terms of ending extreme poverty.

USAID has appointed Ann Mei Chang as Executive Director for the Global Development Lab. Chang worked for twenty years in Silicon Valley, spending eight of them working for Google as lead engineer of its mobile division. With both experience in the technology and nonprofit sectors, Chang brings a fresh outlook on new ways to implement global development.

The lab is revolutionary in its mission to use resources and partners from both the public and private sectors. The Global Development Lab is partnered with technology companies that are synonymous with innovation. Microsoft, Intel and Nike are listed as cornerstone sponsors. Many of the nation’s top universities, including the University of California, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have also partnered with the lab. USAID hopes that these partnerships will “leverage the combined skills, assets, technologies, and resources of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to deliver sustainable development impact.”

USAID and its new Global Development Lab are not only attempting to alleviate extreme poverty through donations and other tried methods, but the agency is now attempting to end the suffering of millions around the globe by seeking cutting edge solutions through science, innovation, and collaboration.

– Joe Kitaj

Sources: USAID, The White House
Photo: USAID Blog

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Pollution-Sensing Technology a Game Changer

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Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis. One of these must be the biggest cause of deaths in the developing world, right?

Wrong. It is pollution, not diseases, that causes the most deaths in developing countries. Around 8.4 million lives are claimed each year by various kinds of pollution. That is three times more deaths than those caused by malaria, and four times as many as caused by HIV/AIDS.

India and Africa are areas where there are particularly serious problems. India, not China, is home to the world’s most polluted city: Delhi. The number of PM 2.5 particles, the world’s most dangerous, capable of penetrating the lung and therefore entering straight into the bloodstreams of millions, reached 21 times the recommended limit recently.

These levels are twice as toxic as those in Beijing, the accepted pollution capital of the world. The pollution in India causes 1.3 million deaths a year. It also cuts 660 million lives short by three years. Three years off a life simply because of where a person is born or happens to live.

Pollution is also a danger in Africa, where malaria and HIV/AIDS often take the headlines as the leading killers on the continent. Gaborone, Botswana, ranks eighth in particulate pollution among cities that provided information about their pollution levels.

Besides outdoor pollution being an issue, there is also the problem of indoor pollution in both Africa and India. This is generated mostly from cooking with wood and other sooty fuels that clog up the air. Regulations are lax, toward both indoor pollutants and corporate ones.

Never fear, however. New wearable pollution-sensing technology is on the way to save the day, or at least improve the situation. TZOA is producing a small gadget capable of informing wearers about the air they breathe by using “internal sensors to measure your air quality, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, ambient light and UV (sun) exposure all in one wearable device.”

The device can hook up to an app on a phone to give air readings. It is not alone in the small pollution-sensing gadget department. A device that doubles for a key-chain called Clarity can perform a similar task. Clarity tracks “personal exposure to air pollution via a smartphone app,” just like TZOA.

While these technologically advanced gizmos cannot reduce the drastic levels of pollution around the globe that are killing millions, what they can do is help provide data where it is lacking in areas where pollution is prevalent. Data is often not available or not provided in some of the areas with the worst pollution.

These gadgets also have the potential to raise awareness for the severity of the issue. Empowering those in the thick of the worst conditions has the potential to make the severity of the situation clearer to governments as well as ordinary people. Armed with this information, both could take action because of the data provided by devices like TZOA and Clarity.

– Greg Baker

Sources: Tech Times, Inter Press Service, Huffington Post, BBC, Wired, New York Times
Photo:Flickr