By Sylvester Thompson, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
No doubt, Nigerian scientists are making world contributions in numerous fields of science and know-how.
They have significantly excelled in areas like biotechnology, house analysis, and Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Their contributions vary from groundbreaking analysis and technological improvements to creating options for native and world challenges.
The Nigerian Government, on its half, has been actively selling Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) via numerous initiatives, together with growth of STI insurance policies.
President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda emphasises STI as a development engine for the nation with a view to fostering innovation and technological growth.
Also, lately, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Dr Uche Nnaji, mentioned Nigeria was working in direction of modeling strong coverage frameworks to foster collaboration amongst academia, business, and authorities.
“Our objective is to place Nigeria as a worldwide chief in analysis and innovation; attaining this requires strong partnerships with worldwide organisations, collaboration with main analysis establishments, and showcasing Nigeria’s achievements on the worldwide stage.
“By changing into a hub for impactful analysis, we are able to entice investments, construct capability, and develop options that handle not simply native however world challenges.
“In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda championed by the Tinubu administration, I need to reaffirm the federal government’s dedication to leveraging science, know-how, and innovation to realize financial diversification, industrialisation, and digital transformation,’’ he mentioned.
Nigerians are making headlines in science and know-how as a result of a mix of things which embrace authorities initiatives, particular person achievements, and rising funding within the sector.
One of such Nigerians is Dr Abraham Isah, an Environmental Biologist and Research Scientist, who has achieved world breakthrough in biotechnology analysis, pushing the boundary of scientific understanding and innovation.
Isah has joined the league of excellent Nigerian scientists like Dr Festus Anagwu, who developed a high-performance, recyclable, and self-healing vitrimeric resin throughout his Doctorate diploma (PhD) at Cranfield University.
On May 2, it was reported that Anagwu’s work on the novel resin had grow to be a part of a European aerospace challenge referred to as PLAEIDES.
Isah’s floor breaking analysis marked a big milestone in Nigeria’s agricultural biotechnology panorama, probably impacting world agriculture.
The Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN) and the University of Abuja each lauded and celebrated his exceptional achievement.
Prof. Sylvia Uzochukwu, President of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN), in a congratulatory message, mentioned Isah’s PhD analysis work on the “Integrative Proteometabolomic and Ecotoxicogenomic Analysis of the Single-Line Transgenic Cowpea,’’ was pioneering.
According to her, the work stands out as a pioneering five-year research with seven worldwide publications and two notable worldwide convention shows which yielded important findings.
She mentioned the exceptional achievement not solely superior scientific information, but in addition bolsters Nigeria’s management in agricultural biotechnology.
Highlighting key targets of the findings, Uzochukwu mentioned that in protein expression evaluation, the analysis recognized substantial adjustments in protein expression with a fold-change threshold of >1.2 or
Both expressions signify a logical situation involving numerical values.
The BSN president mentioned purposeful classification mapped organic roles of deferentially plentiful proteins through Gene Ontology (GO) omics.
Another goal was metabolomics perturbations, which investigated potential metabolic results from the Cry1Ab transgene.
Cry1Ab transgene is a genetic assemble that encodes a protein derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
This protein is a part of the Cry (crystal) toxins household, which is understood for its insecticidal properties.
Cry1Ab is broadly utilized in genetically modified crops, reminiscent of Biotech (Bt) cotton and Bt corn, which have been engineered to specific this protein.
Other targets talked about as achievable by Isah’s work had been non-target organism (NTO) Impact, which assessed structural adjustments in arthropod communities from Cry1Ab publicity.
Evolutionary dynamics in contrast evolutionary patterns between transgenic and non-transgenic cowpea.
Environmental variation evaluation carried out elemental profiling to analyse environmental influence.
The BSN President mentioned that Isah’s work contributed to information in numerous methods, representing a landmark in Nigeria’s agricultural biotechnology.
“This research gives an built-in omics strategy, the primary globally to mix proteomic, metabolomic and ecotoxicogenomic assessments for environmental analysis of pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea.
“Isah’s work additionally supplies crucial biodiversity insights, including essential knowledge on the influence of transgenic crops on non-target organisms, thereby enriching our understanding of ecological results in discipline circumstances.
“It confirms the molecular stability of Cry1Ab in PBR cowpea, that it doesn’t induce important molecular adjustments which helps its environmental stability.
“It additionally establishes a Nigeria-specific danger evaluation framework, and introduces an modern molecular-ecological methodology for transgenic crop analysis,’’ the BSN president mentioned.
Prof. Lar Patricia Manko, Vice Chancellor (VC), University of Abuja, mentioned at a Public Lecture on Agricultural Biotechnology, that Isah’s work was a shining instance of the establishment’s legacy in biotechnology.
“This analysis, accomplished right here on the University of Abuja, was the primary of its variety globally to combine the implications of proteometabolomic adjustments with biodiversity outcomes in Pod Borer Resistant transgenic cowpea.
“Part of its findings has been printed within the extremely respected journal Peer J, incomes widespread acclaim.’’
The vice-chancellor hinted that Isah’s pioneering work acquired world recognition when it was honored with a prestigious award on the World-renowned International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR) symposium in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
She mentioned the research’s modern strategy considerably enhanced world discussions on the protection of genetically modified (GM) crops.
Accordingly, that it has offered crucial insights into how transgenic crops just like the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea (genetically modified, insect resistant beans) will be each environmentally protected and agriculturally transformative.
Manko famous that Isah’s analysis provided a sturdy framework for assessing the ecological influence of GM crops, influencing coverage and scientific discourse worldwide.
“Today, his work continues to encourage confidence within the adoption of biotechnology, guaranteeing that small-holder farmers can domesticate resilient crops with out compromising biodiversity,’’ Manko mentioned.
Isah’s contributions additionally align with Nigeria’s nationwide objectives, and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) publish Malabor technique for 2025-2026.
Stakeholders say there’s want for continued funding in analysis and partnership to construct on such a feat as a way to place Nigeria as a frontrunner in agricultural innovation.(NANFeatures)
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