The Defender

Scientific discovery can be an artistic one too — like the intricate pattern of lines in this video that’s actually a zebrafish embryo growing an entire nervous system. Nikon Instruments Inc. unveiled the winners of the  Nikon Small World in Motion  on Thursday, September 27. A time-lapse of a zebrafish embryo took first place, not just for the intricate beauty of the developing nervous system, but because the work could also help provide more information about Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases. The first-place video, created by Dr. Elizabeth Haynes and Jiaye “Henry” He, compresses 16 hours of development down to seconds, using a 10x magnification. The researchers captured the zebrafish embryo in 3D high-temporal resolution. While most zebrafish embryos are immobilized in a gel for similar studies, the researchers were able to capture the embryo in water, which is closer to the fish’s natural development. “I hope people see this video and understand how much we...

Nigeria’s D’Tigress can walk with shoulders high despite their elimination from the FIBA women’s world cup. D’Tigress suffered a 71- 40 defeat to reigning champions the United States of America in the quarter finals of the competition. Nigeria started brightly in the contest taking a 19- 7 lead in the first quarter but could only manage 6 points in the second as against the united states 18 to go into half time with score at 27-23 in favour of the Americans. The third quarter ended 19-12 as the United States opened up an eleven points lead going into the final quarter. D’Tigress were a shadow of their initial spark in the final quarter as the U.S outscored them 25-20 to win the contest 71-40. Despite the defeat to the United States, the performance of Nigeria at this year’s world cup is unprecedented becoming the first African country ever to win three matches at a FIBA world cup tournament. D’Tigress will now face France in the classification game on Saturday. Be...

The presidency has stepped up efforts to convince labor unions in the country to call off their strike following the earlier meeting at which the government accepted their demand to reconvene the tripartite meeting on the proposed new national minimum wage. Presidency Intensifies Moves To End Strike The meeting between the labour leadership and the representatives of the employers of labor is now scheduled to reconvene on Thursday 4th October. By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of persons from the public sector, federal and state governments as well as the private sector made up of the largest private employer group and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA). Other members include the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES). The presidency in a statement assured Nigerians that the f...

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the Nigerian air force on the air accident which involved two fighter jets in the fleet in Abuja earlier on Friday. The president paid tributes to the gallantry of squadron leader Mb Baba-Ari, the officer who died in the accident while also wishing the two other wounded officers quick recovery. In a condolence message delivered on his behalf by the chief of air staff, Air Marshal Abubakar Siddique at the burial of the officer Friday in abuja, President Buhari extolled the virtues of the dead pilot saying that he laid down his life in the service of his fatherland at a time that patriotic citizens were needed to join hands to move the nation forward. He assured that, having paid the supreme sacrifice, the nation would not forget him. He prayed that god will grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and assured family members that the country will not abandon them. Representatives of the president had visited the two othe...

BMW Group BMW’s  world-renowned and iconic  3 Series  sedan is approaching the end of its average generational lifespan, having reached the age of seven this year. Despite getting a bit old, it’s aging gracefully, especially after a bunch of mid-cycle revisions. Nonetheless, a new seventh generation 3 Series is in the works and the crew at BMW just released some teasers to give us a little taste. Due for a worldwide reveal at the 2018  Paris Motor Show  next month, the next-gen BMW 3 Series takes on the internal designation, “G20,” leaving the previous car’s “ F30 ” behind. Not much is known about the next-gen 3 Series. But from the various  spy photo shots  available on the Internet and the teasers shared by BMW themselves, the new 3 Series looks to adopt a lot of design cues and similarities as the current generation “ G30 ” 5 Series — unsurprising, since the 3 Series has a habit of taking inspiration from its more expensive brethren. For ...