Newsflashtalk.com Lifestyle, learning, health and food.

 Natural soils are influenced by rainfall and temperature,heavy rain causes the soil to become leached. High temperatures increase the rate of decomposition of organic matter in the soil, thereby lowering its humus content. Thus, climatic conditions tend to produce poor soils in the tropics and rich soils in the temperate regions. Besides climate and vegetation, the parent rock material also contributes to the quality of the soil. For example volcanic rocks tend to produce fertile soils.    Laterite, a red soil which is a product of leaching, is commonly found in the tropics. It is composed mainly of iron and aluminium compounds,and poor in humus and essential plant nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The black and brown soil of the temperate grasslands are the world's richest soils, with a high mineral and humus content. The light coloured desert soils tend to be very rich in minerals but have a low humus content.    Mainly the soils ar...

   In rural areas, animals are slaughtered on a slaughter slab. In an urban area, this is carried out in a slaughter house. An abattoir, that are found only in most developed countries, is a modern slaughter house with equipment for the proper, hygienic and humane slaughtering of animals. Public health inspectors have to be present before the slaughtering of animals to examine them. The inspectors have to certify by observation that the animals are free from diseases like anthrax, rinderpest, foot and mouth disease. Very young animals and diseased animals cannot be killed for meat production. The inspector then ensure that the healthy animals are slaughtered in humane manner. The inspector will carry out a postmortem examination on the slaughtered animal to ensure that it is free from the following diseases and parasites. Mostly pigs and cattle suffer from more diseases than goats and sheep.     Public health inspectors send samples of vegetables, fruits, co...

We live in a very big country, Nigeria. Our country occupies a large land space and there are millions of people in it. The people have different views, beliefs and ways of life. As a result, their religious beliefs are also different. Some people in the country believe in one God, his son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost,these people are called the Christians. They read the Holy Bible and worship God in the church.     Some other people believe in one God called Allah, and in His prophet called Mohammed. They read the Holy Quran and worship Allah in the mosque. They are called Muslims.      There is yet a third group in the country. Members of this group believe in gods and goddesses and in an Almighty God. They believe in the African traditional religion. Since all of us in the three groups have to live together in the same country, we should not condemn the religion of other people, rather we should respect each other's religious beliefs. There are ma...

  We can measure the growth of an organism by measuring its mass, length, height, width and area or volume. Over a period of time, sometimes it's possible to measure just one of an organism such as, the leaf of a plant, but this part must grow in proportion to the complete organism. In the case of seedlings, the number of leaves may be used as a growth indicator. Each of these growth indicators is known as a parameter of growth.    The pattern of growth of an organism would vary with the growth parameter that is used. In growth studies, the parameter used would depend on the type of organism. For example, we can measure the height of maize plant to estimate it's growth, but we cannot use the same parameter to assess the growth of a mouse. The ease of measuring a growth parameter will also determine its usage. Thus, area and volume measurements give an accurate picture of growth but are often difficult to measure and so are rarely used.      Mass and len...

Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. They are used especially in a monoculture to control agricultural pests. Most pesticides kill the harmful organisms, as well as, the harmless and beneficial ones. Insecticides kill pollinating agents like bees and butterflies along with pests like leafhoppers, stem borers and yam beetles. In addition, animals like toads and birds that used to feed on the killed organisms find that their food source is gone and move to other areas, thus affecting the ecosystems. These are the immediate results of spraying pesticides.     When crops are sprayed with pesticides, some fall on the crops and some fall on the ground. When such crops are eaten, the pesticides tend to accumulate in the body of the consumers. Over a period of time, the pesticides accumulate in their bodies, building up to toxic levels and causing them harm. The pesticides that fall on the ground get into the ground water and eventually reach surrounding wate...

(i) Shifting Cultivation: This is a traditional form of agriculture which is practised in the tropics and subtopics by societies which do not have permanent homes, but moves from one place to another. (ii) Land rotation: This is a modified form of shifting cultivation. A farmer clears an area of bush, cultivates the land until its fertility decreases, allows it to lie fallow to regain its fertility and then returns to cultivate it again.     Like shifting cultivation, land rotation is an uneconomical and wasteful farming practice. It cannot provide for the needs of a rapidly growing human population. Often, the land is not left to lie fallow long enough to allow it to regain its fertility before it is cultivated again. This eventually damages the soil and converts the land into into a barren desert. This form of farming is a major factor in the destruction of tropical forests. (iii) Pastoral Farming: This is a traditional type of farming. Certain tribes keep only gra...

  Every household produces a certain amount of waste or refuse daily. If this refuse is just thrown outside the house, it will soon encourage the breeding of animal vectors like houseflies, mosquitoes, cockroaches and rats. These vectors would spread many diseases, thereby affecting the health of the community. Refuse, therefore must be collected, stored in covered bins by each household and disposed of properly at regular intervals.     In many rural areas, each household is responsible for disposing its own refuse. This is done by burning, burying or composting. Dry refuse such as paper and husks of food is usually burnt. Refuse which cannot be burnt such as glass and metal is usually buried in a piece of waste land. Waste vegetable and food matter, dry leaves and animal dung which will decompose are placed in pits lined with stones. The refuse is sprayed with sewage to start to start up decay, and covered with soil to prevent flies from breeding. In time, this refus...

   In some countries, many children under the age of fourteen work outside their homes. They work as househelps, hawkers, bus conductors as well as servers in bars and eating places, some wash cars, sell newspapers or carry heavy loads in the market. These kinds of work are called child labour. Child labour endangers children's health and safety. Very often, the work prevents them from going to school or slows down their education. It does not allow children to play games watch television, play or do other things that children love doing.      It is true that in most Nigeria communities, young children have always been used for selling goods around the villages or town. The children sell goods by calling their wares aloud or by going from door to door. However, this takes place in villages where the children are well known and are quite safe. In such cases, the children hawk things very early before going to school or after they come back from school. In big ...

The world is changing everyday, so are the people in it. Right from our mother's wombs, we grow and change. The world is growing into a huge family with all the people in different countries, knowing about, sharing and caring for one another. This is all due to change, so change is very important to us. But how do people change?  One way is by copying what we see on television and films. We learn new things from the radio, especially from news, reports and stories. We also learn by traveling to other lands to see how the people there live. We imitate what we read in books, magazines and newspapers about other country that we think are more developed than ours.     It is important to note that no country or group of people or even a person can live alone without others. We need to associate with people of other countries to share, borrow and exchange ideas and methods. However, being copy-cats can be both good and bad. In some countries you can see the benefits of copyi...

Globalization is the rapid integration of production and investment decisions across the world by economic agents desirous of taking advantage of the environment where their competitive edge can manifest in high returns. Under globalisation, capital is moved and employed in countries with higher productive investment opportunities. With rapid integration of national economies through globalization, the economic prospects of nations are becoming increasingly determined by factors beyond the scope of domestic economies. This is because national economic development which entails the application of a consistent set of policy measures to raise the level of economic growth and ensure a fair distribution of the proceeds of growth can be undermined by unfavorable developments not only in the domestic economy but also in the development in the trading partners economies and other major economies in the world.   Globalization therefore imposes discipline on nations if they must survive t...

Shortage of Capital: Shortage of investment capital has handicapped the process of industrialization in West Africa. This is so because income per capital is low. Therefore, savings and investment are equally low. Investment by government, even during the  old days of oil boom, was financed largely with foreign loans which were not easy to obtain. Poor Infrastructure: Rapid industrialization requires an efficient system of infrastructure such as railways, docks, and regular supplies of water and electricity. Without these, there can be no efficient production. Shortage of Skilled Manpower: Although there is an abundant supply of unskilled labour, there is a serious shortage of skilled manpower such as doctors, engineers, architects, surveyors, experienced managers, etc. Underdevelopment of Agriculture: In the past, particularly after the extensive exploration of mineral oil, there has been a substantial decline in agricultural production due to general neglect. The result has ...

Overpopulation is a term that refers to a condition by which the population density enlarges to a limit that provokes environmental deterioration, a remarkable decline in the quality of life, or a population collapse. The term population density means the number of inhabitants dwelling in a specific area.     The impact of human population on the environment has been severe. Some animal species have been destroyed or forced to live in inhospitable regions by the advance of urban areas, pollution is a problem that is increasing gradually because we are using more cars. Emerging countries are not paying attention to environmental issues because of the feeding demands of their ever growing populations. Human overpopulation has been attributed to diverse factors such as the increase in lifespan, the absence of natural enemies, the improvement in the quality of life and the access to get better goods. Every year, more people are added to the world's population.     Ov...

   A war is an act of fighting between two or more countries or opposing groups within a country, involving large numbers of soldiers and weapons. When a war breaks out, a lot of tragic consequences usually follow. Wars have short term and long term effects. The immediate effect of war is the death of people in large numbers, especially the youth. Soldiers not only suffers on the battlefield but also physically and psychologically. Because people are so close during wartime conditions, diseases such as tuberculosis could easily spread. Some emissions that come out of the weapons used in war can cause asthma, heart and respiratory conditions. Nerve gas leads to instant death.      War also breeds emotional problems. The first world War is often associated with the syndrome called shell shock. This was originally believed to have a physical origin caused by the impact of loud shelling. However, it became clear that soldiers who had never been exposed to shells ...

Drug abuse is the routine use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods neither approved nor supervised by medical professionals. Some of the drugs most often associated with this term include alcohol, cocaine, or heroin. Drug abuse often leads to drug addiction, a chronic brain condition that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the addicted person and his associates. People often erroneously believe that only conventional drugs can be abused, not herbal medicine. People who take herbal medicine often say it is safe because it is natural. But some experts assert that because herbal medicines, can be purchased without prescription, most people who use them do not consider them to be risky.     Some herbal medicines may be potentially toxic or cause adverse reactions either on their own or in combination with other conventional drugs. Among the herbs that can be toxic are borage, calamus, comfrey, chaparra...

Patriotism is how we show our love and our readiness to serve our country. If we are patriotic, we must be loyal to our country and not our ethnic group. Patriots must speak well of their country at all times. If patriots are outside their country, they must not say or do anything that will harm the country, even if they are not happy with the Government. If patriots are called to serve their country in any way, either in time of peace or war, they should be ready to serve. If there had been no patriotism on a country, the country would have not existed. A patriotic person must place the country above the state or ethnic group.     As citizens of a country, we should be loyal to our government. We should pay our taxes, defend our nation at all times, show respect for our leaders and all national symbols, be honest in all our dealings with fellow citizens and, above all, keep and defend the constitution or laws of the nation. Being a good citizen also means respect for natio...

  The dog is a domestic animal. It is generally considered to be the first domesticated animal. It has been living with humans for more than 15,000 years. The dog, has four legs that it uses to run. It's head is long with two well positioned eyes. It can see short and long distance objects very much. It sense of smell is very high. It can easily see what humans cannot perceive.    The dog is very useful to man. It guards the home and wards off thieves. This is because they are active, they also helps in hunting bush meats. Some dogs also performs jobs such as guarding property and water resources. They are very intelligent, big and strong. There are also herding dogs that help to keep farm animals from straying. Some dogs are trained to detect criminal and drugs in people's luggage especially at airports and seaports. The dog needs good food and care. It costs a lot to take care of it. It needs to be taken to veterinary doctor from time to time for injections against...

    Tin ore and columbite are two minerals that co-occur in the form of heavy black grains like gunpowder, mixed with sand and gravel. They are deposited in alluvial beds of old river valleys and subsequently buried under layers of soil overburden. The ore is mined by the open cast method. To do this, a powerful machine called a dragline is used to first remove the overburden, and then to scoop out the tin ore which it piles in heaps called a monitor is used to direct a powerful jet of water to this tin wash, which washes it down through a series of sluice boxes. Here, the black, heavy tin grains together with other minerals like columbite, now called tin concentrates, sink to the bottom of the boxes, while the water carries the dirt and sand away.     At this stage, the columbite grains are separated from the pure tin concentrates. The concentrates are then sent to factories to be smelted refined and moulded in bars called tin ingots. It is in the form of either ...

The butterfly is an insect that has four coloured wings. The body is slender and is divided into three parts, the head, the thorax and the abdomen. The head of the butterfly is small and round. It consists of the brain, the sensory organs and the mouth parts. It has a pair of large compound eyes. The butterfly has two antennas which stick out from its head. The antennas serve as smelling organs. They are used to locate food. The mouth is located between the eyes. The proboscis, which looks like a sharp straw, is used to take in food. The thorax is the middle part of the body. It contains powerful flight muscles and it carries the wings and the legs. The abdomen is tube like in shape and usually consists of six segments. It consists of the heart, the respiratory, reproductive and digestive organs. The butterfly breathes through about ten holes called spiracles. Like all insects, the butterfly lays eggs which hatch into larvae. The larvae are called caterpillars. The caterpillars...

There have been significant pendulum shifts in classroom delivery in the average African primary and secondary schools. Before 1960's, the pendulum swing was on the class teacher as superiority of teaching and learning. The class teacher determined what was to be taught, what was to be tested and how it was to be taught. The child was considered as an empty vessel, that had nothing to contribute to the teaching and learning process. At that time it was just okay for a child to regurgitate a seemingly right response. The teacher never cared and so given the above painted scenario, it was conventional to describe the teaching and learning at the same time.    The emphasis on the child somehow minimized the role of the teacher. Today, the pendulum has swung to the middle. The teaching is still child centered. However, the teacher has some vital roles to play in the child centered education. For instance, the teacher must ensure that instruction is activity based. The teacher i...

Most diseases are infectious, they can be passed on from one person to another. Scientists study the structure, mode of life and life cycle of organisms responsible for transmitting diseases. They also study the method of transmission of diseases. These studies helps scientists to work out ways of preventing the spread of these diseases and of protecting people from contracting them, one method of preventing diseases is immunisation.      Immunisation is a method of preventing diseases by injecting or taking into the body specially treated disease causing organisms or their products. When such materials enter the human body, the body reacts as if the disease causing microbes are actually present, but the person does not fall ill. The body produces substances called antibodies destroy the disease causing microbes or their harmful products. Excess antibodies remain in the blood and if the individual comes in contact with any of the given diseases organisms, the antibodie...