TechnoScan is about thought-provoking comments from eminent role-models who have used technology to make a difference in our country.

If society is going to be as profoundly influenced by the digital age as the experts predict, then let's hear it from the experts - on TechnoScan!

This week, Dr David Molapo comments on long distance learning :

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE ELEVEN

"It is amazing that most of the people in rural areas or even in the townships have to spend a lot of money in travelling to Universities by bus, taxi, or by train. Imagine if all they had to do was to go the University or College once a week, and the rest of the week have all the information they need at their fingertips via the Internet. All they would need is a workstation to enable them do their assignments and then send them via the Internet, and also receive everything online. Long distance learning is going to be the future of our country and our continent."

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE TEN

Steroids inhibit your testosterone secretion and takes over as the main drug. That is then stored in the fat cells and slowly excreted into the urine over many months after first taking it. So it is usually easily detectable if someone has been taking it, and with the new technology available it's even more easily detectable.

But since people aren't stupid, they don't use those drugs anymore. They will rather use something that won't be detected. And testosterone itself can be missed because we all excrete testosterone , both male and female. Since everyone has testosterone present, how can one tell from the urine whether it has come from an abnormal source or not? That is done by looking at the ratio of testosterone and one of its breakdown products in the urine. In the average person that ratio is always below a certain value. The trouble is, you can inject quite a lot of testosterone before you get into the abnormal range. And that is probably what happens with most people who are using anabolic steroids.  They inject testosterone at a level that will keep them safe on that testing.

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE NINE

"At the end of the day, technology will change the status of Africa from being a third world or a fourth world, and elevate them to be the same level as a first world country.

"One has to appreciate that such technology actually is a leveller. I can write a letter to whoever - to Bill Clinton, and the turnaround in terms of responses is phenomenal. So by wiring the rest of Africa, we will still be bringing development a lot quicker than we would have done with people flying in, setting up an infrastructure, discovering that they miss this, then going back.

"The biggest drawback is the type of backbone that we've got by way of telecommunications. The cost of telecommunications is difficult to afford for people in areas such as Soweto."

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE EIGHT

"We are encouraging distance education. In other countries we've gone very far in promoting distance education to achieve education for all, and Africa cannot be an exception. I have seen many programs on South Africa that are interesting, even though I am not at school. But I am so interested that sometimes I follow them and rediscover how to do fractions and things like that. That is entertaining!"

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE SEVEN

"If one wants to be something in life, one ought to be able to engage technology. Everything is technology - computer, communications, everything - so any person with technological know-how has a good advantage, and in fact for this country to be internationally competitive, it must of necessity be able to produce people who are competent to run the economy of this country - to be able to provide the technology - to put this country in an excellent position - particularly for the 21^st century."

TECHNOSCAN - EPISODE SIX

I work in a field - astronomy and cosmology - which is not directly relevant to the public but in which there is very wide public interest. So I think people in my field have a particular obligation to present our work to a wide audience and it's gratifying that there's great public interest in astronomy - especially in South Africa - which has a high tradition in that subject. There's a general public interest in all issues of what you might call origins, you want to know about the origin of man, which of course has been clarified greatly by the efforts of the South African anthropologists. We want to learn about the origin of life, we want to learn about the origin of our entire cosmos and so astronomy and anthropology are two aspects of that quest which South Africa is very strong in.

Profile of Professor Sir Martin Rees

Sir Martin Rees is Royal Society Research Professor at Cambridge University.  He is also a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge and the Astronomer Royal.  He obtained his MA and PhD from Cambridge University.  He travels and lectures widely.  He is a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.  He is the author, or co-author, of over 400 research papers, mainly on astrophysics, cosmology and space science.  He has written numerous general articles and books including Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others (Simon & Schuster, 1997) and Gravity, Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe with M C Begelman (W H Freeman, 1996.)

TECHNO SCAN - EPISODE FOUR

"We must be able to expose all our people to what is happening in the sciences. I think that's the critical aspect - that's how the people will acquire and understand it - the importance of science - in addition to learning it at school - if they are exposed to what is happening with it every day"

TECHNO SCAN - EPISODE THREE

"Well, technology is very fundamental in disseminating information, and the television is one such medium of disseminating information. Telephones - you name it - everything is based on technology, so to be able to deliver information to the general public, technology is absolutely indispensible."