Can you get a DEGREE in AI?

The British University in Dubai has announced it will be launching the country’s first bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Developed in tandem with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the course will be open to both Emiratis and overseas students and is the culmination of five years of planning.

The announcement is testament to the British University’s recognition that AI...

Can BLINDNESS be treated?”

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness, with over 20 million people suffering from the condition worldwide. Often developing in persons of more advanced years, cataracts caused a clouding effect in the lens of the eye, which results in the deterioration or loss altogether of vision.

While cataracts can be successfully removed via surgery, the procedure is often too expensive or simply ...

Why should ASTHMA SUFFERERS avoid the Dust Storm?

The dust storm which enveloped the UAE at the beginning of the month is particularly dangerous to asthma sufferers, experts have warned. High concentrations of particulate matter 10 (PM10) were recorded at the end of July and continued for just over a week in many places around the country, with visibility severely reduced and the health of Emirati citizens jeopardised.

According to authorit...

Is OPEC set to expand?

The current President of OPEC has indicated that the bloc will look to continue close ties with non-OPEC countries, and even opened the door to expanding its membership to include others. Suhail Al Mazroui, who is also the oil minister for key OPEC member UAE, has said that the organisation is eager to “institutionalise” its ongoing partnership with non-OPEC nations.

OPEC vs non-OPEC

At p...

How is the UAE cutting down on PLASTIC POLLUTION?

The problem of plastic pollution is one of which the world is becoming ever more conscious and the UAE is no different. Due to the intense heat in the country, bottled water is widely consumed (last year alone, UAE residents consumed 768.1 million bottles), with the vast majority of those being sent straight to landfill or, worse, ending up in the ocean.

However, awareness around the issue i...

How is INDIA working with the UAE?

Over the last six months, India has finalised a number of trade deals with the UAE in a bid to bolster its supply of crude oil and achieve a better price per barrel. This collaboration has taken a number of different forms, including bidding alongside Middle Eastern companies for Emirati oil blocks, storing Emirati oil in Indian facilities and investing in refinery projects in the country.

“...

Do we need a Toxicity Tax?

The founder of an environmentally-friendly vehicle association in the UAE has proposed introducing a “toxicity tax” on older and more polluting cars in a bid to improve air quality in the country. Fares Al Mazrooei, who is the head of the country’s Electric Vehicle Owner Association (EVOA), mooted the idea in an interview with The National.

UAE’s air quality crisis

A 2015 study from the W...

Are we getting enough Sleep?

Most of us would be happy sleeping for one-third of our lives – or perhaps even more – but very few of us have that luxury. In fact, the vast majority of UAE residents (a staggering 90%) enjoy less than eight hours sleep every night… But what exact;y is ‘enough sleep’?

The amount

The scientific community has often disagreed on how much sleep we need. Although it’s far from an exact scienc...

UAE & South Africa to co-operate in Space Exploration

Representatives from the United Arab Emirates Space Agency and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) have agreed an accord to cooperate in peaceful exploration of space. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the global space conference UNISPACE +50, which was held in Vienna last month.

Among other things, the MoU outlines how a framework for the ongoing collaboration ...

NIPAH Virus

The Nipah virus is a relatively recently discovered infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans, with deadly effects on both. Named for the town of Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia were it was first discovered in 1998, Nipah represents just one of an estimated two million known and unknown viruses that affect human health.

In the most recent outbreak of Nipah in Kerala, India, at l...