World Mosquito Day

20th August is World Mosquito Day. Watch this video http://vimeo.com/14269599 to learn more about how Ronald Ross first made the connection between the female mosquito and malaria in humans.


Image source http://www.mosquitotraps.com/world-mosquito-day-august-20-2009/

Image Source http://www.worldmalariaday.org/live_detail_en.cfm?id=572

Autism, Intelligence and the Nurtured Brain

Lack of social skills, ritualistic behaviour, excellent memory retention and simply genius are a few traits associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

In the early 1900’s when autism was first coined as a psychological condition sufferers were institutionalised and subjected to all sorts of intervention some as extreme as electric shocks. How unfortunate for the victims at that time. Today, the condition is almost hailed as a scientific beauty.

With the likes of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Alan Turning and Henry Cavendish postulated to suffer from Asperger’s syndrome, one cannot help but question whether autism is a hindrance or a glimpse into the future of human evolution and how much experience or genetics influences this condition. Asperger’s syndrome, named after Hans Asperger is a condition on the autism spectrum characterised by a higher than average level of intelligence and no physical disability.

The one thing the above scientists arguably have in common is their shear ingenuity and apparent lack of social skills. But is that to say that Aspergers’s syndrome is an underlying trait among all brilliant scientific minds or as commonly referred to in today’s society to all geeks and nerds? A traditional geek or nerd is characterised by the lack of friends and poor social skills, attributes associated with autism. They are often very knowledgeable and also have some form of obsessive interest. A typical example being Mark Zuckerberg who has almost revolutionised the face of the internet from what appears to have started with a broken heart as a result of being too geeky and Gary McKinnon another IT professional who is currently facing extradition charges to the USA for what is supposedly the biggest military computer hacking of all time. Notice the nerdy connection? Now, whiles Gary has a confirmed diagnosis of autism from renowned experts, Mark does not and his association to autism is solely based on his social deficiencies and enthusiastic behaviours.   

Even more interestingly, Mark Zuckerbergs’ parents are both scientist with his mother being a psychiatrist and his father being a dentist whereas Gary McKinnon’s parents are neither scientist nor engineers. Nature recently published an article where psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen suggested that children born to scientists and engineers are more likely to suffer from some form of autism. So is the autistic trait exhibited by Mark and Gary due to the environment they grew up in or as a result of a genetic trait?

A mutation in a single gene, HGMA2, has been identified as being responsible for intelligence. HGMA2 has been found in people with larger brains and has a positive correlation with the level of IQ. But if a large brain is associated with high IQ and the likes of Einstein apparently had a smaller than average brain surely his ingenuity must be down to the nurtured brain as supposed to this genetics, bearing in mind that the mutation in HGMA2 only increases IQ by an average of 1.3 points. The high IQ in Einstein’s brain must therefore be due to other factors including the nurturing of this non-mutated HGMA2 gene to behave as if it were in a larger brain to encourage the shift above the average IQ.

In the same way Chinese and Jews are said to have evolved from an intelligent lineage. Could this be solely due to genes or a result of nurtured brains? The Chinese are one disciplined race who are raised to work hard and aspire to be the best.  Surely the abundance of talent in the race must be due to a culture of discipline being nurtured to aspire to be nothing less than the best. There is no official data comparing the prevalence of autism in china to that of the west, hence the link to this intelligent lineage and autism cannot be made in this article. 

But take Britain’s prime ministers for example, 41 out of the 54 prime ministers to date went to one of the Uxbridge colleges. Although they may not always come across as the most intelligent, it’s no secret that entrants into Uxbridge are arguably the brainy bunch. All these prime ministers do not originate from a single parentage so surely their intelligence must be as a result of nurtured brains rather than the natural genes.  Going across the other side of the continent however, US presidents like George Bush and George W Bush, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams and John Adams, Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison originate from a common parentage and their suitability to govern a country could be in the genes.

So is there a genetic basis to ingenuity or is it a simple case of nature versus nurture. As much as the level of one’s intelligence may be due to genetics and the believe that the likes of Einstein found genius through autism, I conclude that even genes, like new-borns still have to be nurtured to be best they can be and nurtured brains are responsible for the high IQ associated with this ingenious scientific beauty we call Autism.

Drug for thought

• It takes an average of 10 - 15 years from the initiation of research to the approval of a drug for patient use
• It cost an average of $802 million to develop a single drug from concept to market
• Of every 5000 drugs in research today, only 5 will make it to clinical trials
• Of every 5 drugs that make it to clinical trials, only 1 will make it to the approval stage for patient use

Facts adapted from Wyeth Research

I love what I do. It may take 10 years to get your drug on the shelf but we are committed to your  wellbeing.

Link to my press release

Ghanaian Londoners Network encourages Ghanaians in UK to invest in Ghana and aid economic growth & development.

By Hephzi Angela Tagoe, Ghanaian Londoners Network

A business & investment event theme: “Ghana Golden Opportunities (GGO2012)” took place on Friday 18th of May 2012 at the 5 star Grange City Hotel in London. The event which was organised by Ghanaian Londoners Network and sponsored by Tullow Oil aimed to highlight business and investment opportunities in Ghana. This popular event sold out within days of advertisement and attracted over 100 delegates including investors, professionals and businesses including graduates and students with an interest in Ghana.

The carefully selected guest speakers included representation from the UK trade and investment (UKTI), Ghana high commission (GHC), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Tullow oil.

Ghanaian Londoners Network founder and social entrepreneur Adwoa Agyemang opened the event by giving a brief history of the rich culture of Ghanaians in the diaspora and the importance of using networking as a tool towards contributing to Ghana's development. She gave a prime example of Dr Kwame Nkrumah who through his association with George Padmore and others during his stay in the UK contributed to achieving greatness. She also invited the audience to sign up as members of the Ghanaian Londoners network so together we can tap into our contacts and encourage the active engagement of the diaspora in the socio-economic development of Ghana to promote business & investments.

Adwoa's welcome was followed by 1st speaker, Mr. Michael Amaning from the UKTI who talked about how they assist UK based businesses export to the international market and vice versa by providing practical political, cultural, diplomatic and commercial advice as well as contacts required to enter the market. He emphasized on product quality being key to entering any market.

The 2nd speaker was Mr. George Fynn from the Ghana High Commissions' department of trade and investment. He mentioned the fact that as much as Ghana is ripe for business and investment opportunities it was important for potentials to bear in mind that most established businesses today started with one small step and a budding investor should take time in nurturing an idea. Potential business and investment areas highlighted by Mr. Fynn included hospitality, manufacturing, tourism, IT, entertainment and agriculture. He noted that, it is no secret that Ghana currently has one of the fastest growing economies and a safe haven in Africa but bearing in mind that Africa has a history of rising and falling now is the time to break that cycle and ensure Ghana's rise progresses and the Diaspora has a role to play in this. The audience were tickled with laughter when Mr Fynn shared his experience of being an absent CEO. His advice being that you can't manage a business in Ghana from the Diaspora.

Tullow then took the stage to elaborate on opportunities in the oil and Gas sector. Rightly, Rosalind Kainyah advised that as much as Ghana has high expectations from the discovery of oil it is not as clear cut as people perceive it to be. It is important for interested parties to read, research and learn about the industry before embarking on a career or contract in the Oil and Gas industry. She highlighted Tullow's desire to operate in Ghana long term and their commitment to giving back to the Ghanaian community citing examples of their scholarship scheme and other training programs. She noted that investment opportunities in the oil & gas sector are vast and she encouraged investors to think broadly and consider other related areas such as infrastructure, travel and hospitality. Rosalind also stressed the fact that Tullow being an international company operates by international standards and to bear this in mind when bidding for contracts. Contractors are however bound by regulations requiring employing a minimum of 60% Ghanaian work force with Tullow itself currently having an 80% Ghanaian workforce and aiming for 90%. She concluded by mentioning opportunities to buy shares in the Company.

Ghanaian Londoners used the occasion of the event to inform attendees about their forthcoming fundraising efforts to launch the young entrepreneurs programme (YEP) in Ghana during global entrepreneurial week from 12th – 18th November 2012. YEP is a series of business learning and mentoring programme for young people, which has proven to be a success in the UK is now broadening its horizon to the homeland with the aim of educating and empowering 60 young people with entrepreneurial skills to help towards combatting the high youth unemployment rate.

Overall, attendees found the event very useful and insightful and the evening finished off with networking over drinks and canapé reception.

For details about Ghanaian Londoners, membership into the network, any of our upcoming events and to donate towards the young entrepreneurs program please visit www.ghanaianlondoners.org

Celebrate Ghana! 2012 - London

When: Saturday, 18th August 2012

Time: 2.30pm - 5.30pm

Where: Ripple Centre, Barking.

Dresscode: Ghanaian/African Attire( includes Ghana/African inspired t-shirt).

This Olympic inspired cultural event is aimed at bringing together Ghanaian Londoners, the African-Caribbean communities, individuals & organisations with links to Ghana and anyone with an interest or influenced by African culture to celebrate all things Ghanaian in London and our Olympians in a fun, relaxed, social setting.

Join us in this vibrant cultural celebration of our history and presence in London as we showcase the diverse talents, culture, arts, food, music and the general hospitality of our people.

There will be special guest speakers, stage performance, time with sport personalities, stalls, food, networking and lots of music and dancing.

We are really looking forward to welcoming you on the day.

In the true spirit of celebrating all things Ghanaian, we are encouraging all our guests to wear Ghanaian/African Attire. This includes Ghana/African inspired t-shirts.

We will be running a mini competition for best dressed male & female. Surprise Prizes will be given out to the winners.

Activities on the day includes:1. Azonto Dance Demonstration (This is a participatory activity, so come prepared to Azonto) This activity will be led by a team from Azonto Fitness http://azontofitness.wordpress.com/2. Games: The oware society will be setting up their stand for people to learn how to play this game. Read More > http://www.oware.org/3.Cultural drumming & dancing by The Academy of African Arts > http://www.academyofafricanarts.org.uk/
4. Ghanaian high Life, Hip Life & Afrobeats Music by Darling J ( Rainbow Radio)5. Guest Speakers, Artists, Performers + mini exhibition of ghanaian/African inspired products/services 6. Ghanaian Food & drinks will be on sale + many more.

This event to open to all individuals, families, communities, organisations and visitors in the UK with an interest in Ghana and anyone who wishes to explore our rich vibrant culture.

This event is organised by Ghanaian Londoners.

Ghanaian Londoners is a social enterprise which unlocks the potential of individuals with a core focus on enterprise education and networking for community development.

Ghanaian Londoners (GL) will use this event as a fundraiser towards the launch of our young entrepreneurs programme in Ghana and to promote our services.

More info: http://www.ghanaianlondoners.org/2012/05/13/young-entrepreneurs-programme-ghana/

v When: Saturday, 18^th August 2012

v Time: 2.30pm – 5.30pm

v Where: Ripple Centre, 121- 125 Ripple Road. Barking. IG11 7FN

vTickets: £5 early bird, £15 for family or group of 4 and £10 per person, standard price.

Bus Routes

287, 387, EL1, EL2, 368, 687, 62

Nearest tube station Barking Station

Underground: District Line, Hammersmith & City Line

Rail Services: C2C, London Overground - Gospel Oak to Barking service

For more information, contact

Name: Hephzi Angela Tagoe

Organisation: Ghanaian Londoners Network

Mobile: 07738249621 / 07949792527

Tel: 02032882180

Email: info@ghanaianlondoners.org

Geek's the new cool.

Forget "fifty shades", here's the book you should all be reading.
Did you know that only 1 of the UK's current 650 MPs is a scientist. Understandably, he'll have to shout really loudly to be heard. Mark Henderson, former Sciene editor of the times and now the head of communications at the Wellcome trust shares his concerns about the lack of science on the political agenda and why the cause for conecern. Visit Why Science matters to find out more.



Image of Mark Henderson from google

 

WOW!!!!! a living human brain

Isn't Science fascinating. The award winning Image from the "Wellcome Image of the Month". Read about it here http://wellcometrust.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/wellcome-image-of-the-month-award-winner/