Late nights sap children’s brain power....the reason why there is mass failure in our schools these days

Late nights and lax bedtime routines can blunt young children’s minds, research suggests.
The findings on sleep patterns and brain power come from a United Kingdom study of more than 11,000 seven-year-olds.
Youngsters who had no regular bedtime or who went to bed later than 21:00 had lower scores for reading and maths.
Lack of sleep may disrupt natural body rhythms and impair how well the brain learns new information say the study authors.
They gathered data on the children at the ages of three, five and then seven to find out how well they were doing with their learning and whether this might be related to their sleeping habits.
Erratic bedtimes were most common at the age of three, when around one in five of the children went to bed at varying times.
By the age of seven, more than half the children had a regular bedtime of between 19:30 and 20:30.

Scientists building the world's first synthetic yeast

By Melissa Hogenboom Science rep

Synthetic yeast could be used to make biofuels and vaccines

A UK team is building a synthetic chromosome to be inserted into the world's first synthetic yeast.

Teams worldwide are making the other parts of its genome, which will be assembled to make the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Once complete, new strains of synthetic yeast could help make products such as vaccines, biofuels and chemicals.
The UK government has announced a grant of almost £1m towards the project, which aims to be complete by 2017.
Synthetic biology involves assembling artificial genes to create new materials in a similar way that engineers build machines using many parts. Some even think it can form the basis of a new industrial revolution.

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Now we have the opportunity to adapt yeasts further, turning them into predictable and robust hosts for manufacturing the complex products we need for modern living ”

Prof Paul Freemont Imperial College London

Humans have successfully learnt to control many aspects of nature, from agriculture to artificial insemination - now the emerging field of synthetic biology appears next in line to take centre stage.

The world's first living cell controlled entirely by synthetic DNA was made in 2010, but this was in a bacterial cell without a nucleus; yeast is a much more complex cell.
Like humans and plants, yeast is a eukaryotic organism that contains complex structures that store DNA within a nucleus. It was picked as it only has about 6,000 genes which makes it small compared to other more complex organisms such as plants.
Computerised DNA Now a team around the world will make up the 16 chromosomes needed to complete the yeast genome, including researchers from the US, China and India.
Chunks of DNA will be designed by teams on computers, which will then be synthesised by specialised companies. The teams will then assemble the pieces of DNA in a sequential manner and insert them into a yeast cell, first stripping out its natural DNA.
Tom Ellis is leading the UK team with Paul Freemont, both from Imperial College London. Prof Freemont explained that building genetic structures such as chromosomes is a fundamental process for synthetic biology, where human features can be implemented into chromosomes to allow them to be manipulated.

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Is DNA the 'smartest' molecule in existence?

"Yeasts have evolved over millions of years, making energy from sugars and excreting alcohol and carbon dioxide gas," he said.

"Humans have adapted these organisms to their advantage, using their by-products to make alcoholic drinks and risen baked goods.
"Now we have the opportunity to adapt yeasts further, turning them into predictable and robust hosts for manufacturing the complex products we need for modern living."
The work could help scientists gain a better understanding of human biology, Prof Freemont added.
"Yeast is a model organism we use to study cancer. It has the architecture and some of the coding regulatory systems we have. Therefore, it's a massive leap forward because these are individual chromosomes that have all the abilities to mimic the chromosomes in our own cells."
'Unparalleled opportunities' The international project is being co-ordinated by Prof Jef Boeke of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, US.
He said that once complete, it would provide "unparalleled opportunities" for asking some profound questions about biology such as: "How much genome scrambling generates a new species? How many genes can we delete from the genome and still have a healthy yeast? And how can an organism adapt its gene networks to cope with the loss of an important gene?
"Moreover, genome scrambling may find many uses in biotechnology, for example in the development of yeast that can tolerate higher ethanol levels."

Like humans and plants, yeast is a eukaryotic organism

David Willetts, minister for universities and science, said the work will impact important industrial sectors like life sciences and agriculture.
"This research is truly groundbreaking and pushes the boundaries of synthetic biology.
"Thanks to this investment, UK scientists will be at the centre of an international effort using yeast - which gives us everything from beer to biofuels - to provide new research techniques and unparalleled insights into genetics."

5.9kg cocaine abandoned at Lagos airport

 by Comfort Oseghale 

DRUGS suspected to be cocaine, weighing 5.9kg, has been abandoned by a suspected drug trafficking syndicate at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

The drug, which was detected by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, was hidden inside some industrial equipment.

A statement by the Head of Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the industrial equipments were said to have originated from panama.

NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr Hamza Umar said that the cocaine consignment was left unclaimed.

He said, “The luggage was imported from Panama. When nobody came forward to claim ownership, we invited other security agencies and carried out search. It was through the search that the cocaine was discovered inside the equipment.”

The statement added that the discovery was made as a suspected drug trafficker excreted 54 wraps of cocaine he had ingested in Brazil.

Umar said, “Onyema Nnamdi, 36, was apprehended in connection with the ingestion of 54 wraps of cocaine, weighing 875 grammes.”

Nnamdi claimed that he intended to marry with $4,000 that was promised as payment.

He said, “I have struggled in my life but I have nothing to show for it. I was in Cape Verde for six years before I went to Brazil in March 2013. My decision was to use the proceeds to marry and settle down.”

Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade promised to investigate the illegal shipment and expose those behind it.

He said, “Drug barons have no hiding place. This abandoned seizure is an indication that we are winning the war on narcotics. This case shall be thoroughly investigated and those that are responsible be exposed and brought to justice.”

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