Monthly Archives: January 2012

Hopes for Arab Spring and science

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© United Nations University

In an interview with SciDev.Net, Jordanian Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, who is the founder and president of the El Hassan Science City and president of Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society, talks about what the Arab Spring could mean for science in a region where it was marginalised for many years.

She stresses that a culture of meritocracy must replace years of favouritism based on class or wealth or connections. She suggests that the Arab Spring has unleashed a lot of talent that is now eager to contribute to developing their countries. She also suggests that new-found freedoms might entice scientists in the diaspora to return to the region and help with developing a science culture.

Princess Sumaya also argues that Arab and Muslim states need not fear the Western scientific superiority but learn from it. She suggests that Arab states need to use science to come closer together and work closer, much like post-World War II Europe. The richer Gulf countries can pool their financial resources with the strong human resources on Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, to promote high quality science research. “That’s where we can really build a second scientific Golden Age.”

Education needs to be overhauled and revitalized to create a new generation that is able to compete internationally in science, suggests the Princess. This means replacing rote learning with an analytic approach is important, especially with the new generation having the freedom to question and argue with what they were taught.

 

You can read the full interview here

 

3,000 years old tomb of Egyptian singer discovered

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A team of archaeologists from the University of Basel, Switzerland, stumbled on a burial well during a routine expedition in the Valley of the Kings containing the tomb and mummy of an Egyptian temple singer and daughter of the high priest of Amon Ra, reports the BBC.

The Valley of the Kings is an ancient burial ground for pharaohs and other high-born nobles, most famous for housing the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, discovered in 1922. The new tomb was discovered on nearly the royal tomb of King Thutmoses III during the first day of the January 25 Egyptian revolution. The discovery was kept hidden in fear of looters during the chaos that ensued in the following weeks but the tomb was only opened last week at the start of the season of field expeditions.

According to the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, the wooden tomb was painted black and decorated with hieroglyphics,with a wooden stelae engraved with the names and different titles of the buried singer. The intact mummy found inside is almost 3,000 years old, belonging to the singer at the Karnak Temple from the 22nd Dynasty (945-712 BC)

While over 60 tombs were discovered in the Valley of the Kings in the early 1990’s, this is only the second tomb discovery since Tutankhamun’s in 1922. The previous discover was a tomb unearthed in 2005. While it contained no mummies, it had flowers, sarcophagi, linen and pottery inside. Researchers think this location was an embalming cache.

Research is now in full swing to discover the rest of the tomb’s hidden treasures.

Are Saudi universities buying their way into top charts?

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In 2008, not a single university in Saudi Arabia ranked in the top 500 list published by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. However, in the 2011 edition of the rankings the King Saud University (KSA) jumped to the 200-to-300 bracket. A story in last week’s Science, however, suggests that a boost in scientific research may not be the main reason behind this impressive jump.

According to the feature, both King Abdelaziz University (KAU) and KSA, both in Saudi Arabia, have apparently offered lucrative contracts for professorships to internationally renowned scientists where they had to spend a few weeks in the Kingdom every year but would be required to add the university as a second affiliation to their names in the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) list of highly-cited researchers.

This has helped these universities rise very quickly in international rankings and get a boost to citations, though often for research that was not even conducted in Saudi Arabia, contends the article. Critics argue that this is deterring real efforts by Saudi Arabia to boost its research and international scientific standing, but supporters argue there is nothing immoral about the activities these universities are taking. “Universities buy people’s reputations all the time. In principle, this is no different from Harvard hiring a prominent researcher,”  Gerry Gilmore, a KAU affiliate and astronomer at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, told Science.

Over 60 international academics have signed similar contracts with KAU alone. While Surender Jain, a retired mathematics professor from Ohio University in Athens and an adviser to KAU acknowledges that raising the international standing of KAU is one of the main aims of the programmes offering these contracts, they are also hopeful that the presence of such renowned international figures could help kick start research in the Kingdom.

While the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education has invested a lot of money in these programmes, there are also other efforts in the Kingdom to promote home-grown research. Perhaps the biggest of these is the founding of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which boosts some of the most advanced laboratories in the world and has attracted many prominent researchers from around the world as full-time faculty.

Do you think the KSU and KAU programme to raise their ranking is controversial or is it an acceptable method? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

A window to science in the Arab world

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In time for the House of Wisdom’s blog new face list along with all the other nature.com blogs, here’s a new introduction to the blog to remind you of what we are trying to do through it.

The House of Wisdom blog deals with a nice niche field –  everything to do with science in the Arab world.

This region of the world may have fallen off the science bandwagon in recent history, but between the 8th and 13th centuries it was pretty much the home of science. There are various efforts now to bring about a science renaissance in the region and regenerate the science tradition that once lived here.

And that’s exactly why we created The House of Wisdom blog. It is named after one of the most major intellectual centres during the Islamic Golden Age of Science, which was based in Baghdad before it was destroyed during the Mongols invasion of the city. We want to be part of that science renaissance and cover it as it unfolds, making the blog a home for scientists and those interested in science who want to discuss issues of science and keep up with all the latest from the region, along with our parent portal Nature Middle East.

Most posts are written by the Nature Middle East editor, Mohammed Yahia, but occasionally guest blogs on really interesting subjects – often controversial – will pop up. If you think you have an interesting idea for a blog post do get in touch!

Posts are quite diverse, from coverage of conferences taking place in the Arab world to quick news to more in-depth discussions of topics important to science in the region. Just stop by regularly and there will always be something interesting!

More controversial topics that generate a lot of discussion are always a nice addition, such as one post last year, Evolution & Islam, discussing why there is outright denial of evolution in most of the Arab states, and whether it was indeed a case of “science vs. religion.”

We’re gearing up for more regular posts in 2012, with a bigger focus on science news and discussions to engage our audience – and we would be very happy to have input from you to tailor it to the topics that you find interesting and would like to discuss. Keep up to date with everything on the blog by subscribing to our RRS feed here.

Meanwhile, you can also easily find Nature Middle East and the House of Wisdom on Twitter, Facebook, and more recently now on Google+ as well. We are open to your suggestions so do stop by, even if just for a chat with one of the editors!

 

This blog post first appeared on the Of Schemes and Memes blog.

Top science features of 2011 in the Middle East

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In the past two blog posts, we did a round up of the best research conducted in the region and the most exciting science news stories from 2011.

In our final roundup of the year 2011, we look at the most interesting features from Nature Middle East in 2011, based on how popular they were with our audience.

1) The autism enigma: This special spanned several of the Nature-branded publications to bring wonderful coverage about autism from all the different angles. Nature Middle East contributed with two features on autism in the Arab world, with Addressing autism in the Arab world looking at how the medical community needs to change its approaches to better diagnose and handle autism at younger ages, while Turning tides of autism looks at the potential of autism research in the Arab world, where there are large consanguineous families that can offer a new genetic look at the condition.

2) The woes of Egypitan PhD students: Working on your PhD is not easy, but it is especially hard and taxing on Egyptian PhD students. It is so bad that success rates in some Egyptian universities is as low as 5%. Very low funding, lack of adequate labs and equipment and disinterested supervisors means these students often find themselves having to handle and pay for everything on their own. Many apply for their PhD’s overseas were the odds are not so insurmountable or apply in private universities – when they can afford it.

3) Extreme Red Sea bacteria pack protein potential: Researchers are turning to the Red Sea, one of the least studied waters in the world, and realizing it could be a rich source of extreme enzymes for use in industry and biotech. Researchers at the Saudi Arabia-based KAUST are discovering unique microbes adapted to live in harsh conditions underwater, such as in brine pools. They are hopeful these bacteria, which have novel metabolic processes, may yield new enzymes of commercial use.
4) Nile University’s future in doubt following the Egyptian revolution: While Egyptians rejoiced following the popular uprising in January 2011 that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak, Nile University staff found themselves in a tough situation, as they were prevented from moving onto a new purpose-built campus due to accusations of corruption and links to the previous regime. Their new campus was then allocated to the newly announced Zewail City of Science and Technology, further putting the univerity’s future in doubt.

5) Foreign researchers flee Yemen leaving conservation programmes in trouble: Following a popular uprising in Yemen inspired by the Arab Spring, foreign researchers working in the biologically rich Socotra Archipelago south of Yemen had to leave their work behind in fear of escalated violence. Both local and foreign biologists are worried that conservation efforts in one of the region’s richest areas for biodiversity, are under threat, triggering the question of how to conserve biodiversity in a changing world.

What was your favorite feature on Nature Middle East in 2011? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!

Top science news of 2011 in the Middle East

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The year 2011 was an exciting and pivotal one for the Middle East, mainly for political reasons. However, science also saw some very interesting developments, with a substantial increase in papers from the region published in prestigious journals and a boost to collaborative research between universities in the Arab world and their counterparts in the West.

Following our list of the most read research highlights of 2011 two days ago, here is a list of the five most interesting science news pieces published in 2011 on Nature Middle East, based on how popular they were with you, our readers.

  1. The Arab Awakening Special: By far the biggest news in the Arab world has been the spread of the Arab Spring from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, with young people rising against long-time dictators and seeking greater freedoms and democracies. Scientists and university professors and students played an important role in the events, taking to the streets to protest limited academic freedoms, and discussing how science can reshape their countries. Eventually, a scientist became the first post-revolution prime minister of Egypt.
  2. Attention drawn to epidemic of HIV in the Arab world: A new paper published in PLoS in 2011 offered the first systematic review of the rate of HIV/AIDS within the men who have sex with men (MSM) community in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This group is often ignored since the subject is taboo in the region, which easily fuels HIV/AIDS spread. The report found concentrated epidemics are starting to show up in several countries among MSM.
  3. Report tracks standard of research in Middle East: How has the Middle East performed in terms of science research output over the past decade? According tho a Reuters Thompson report, research output in the region has more than doubled over that period of time, with Turkey and Iran taking the lead. Engineering  is the strongest sector in research, with neuroscience and the social sciences the weakest across the Arab world.
  4. KAUST study reveals climate change impact on the Red Sea: Analyzing data collected from the Red Sea since the mid-1980’s, researchers at KAUST have that the temperature of the sea has been increasing sharply since the 1990’s, faster than global averages. The increase may be related to climate change, but its abrupt nature may make it hard to predict future temperature increases in climate models.
  5. Genes reveal gender of date palms: Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) were able to determine the date palm genes responsible for gender after assembling a draft of the tree’s genome. This could in the future allow farmers to increase their crop output by up to 100%, once a method is developed to extract DNA from the embryo without destroying the seed, thus determining the sex of the seed early on. They can select and only plant seeds of the fruit-bearing females.
What was your favorite science news article on Nature Middle East in 2011? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!