chemistry

Idah Sithole-Niang

Idah Sithole-Niang is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Idah Sithole-Niang rather than just read about it. In short: Idah Sithole-Niang (born 1957) is a Zimbabwean biochemist and educator. Her main area of research has been viruses which attack the cowpea, one of the major food crops of Zimbabwe.

Key takeaways

Idah Sithole-Niang belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Idah Sithole-Niang to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Idah Sithole-Niang from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Idah Sithole-Niang (born 1957) is a Zimbabwean biochemist and educator. Her main area of research has been viruses which attack the cowpea, one of the major food crops of Zimbabwe.

Biography Idah Sithole was born in Hwange, Zimbabwe, on 2 October 1957. She attended the University of London, on scholarship, earning a BS in biochemistry in 1982. When she was awarded a USAID Fellowship in 1983, Sithole chose to continue her education, studying plant and virus genetics. She earned a PhD in 1988 from Michigan State University (MSU) in Lansing, Michigan. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Plant Research Laboratory at MSU researching the genetics of photosynthesis in cyanobacteria on the first William L. Brown Fellowship, awarded by the Resources Development Foundation. Returning to Zimbabwe, she became a Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in 1992 on viruses which infect plants. Her chief area of research is the potyvirus, which attacks the cowpea, a legume which is a chief food crop of Zimbabwe. That same year, she married Sheikh Ibrahima Niang, a Senegalese professor of anthropology, whom she met at Michigan State University. They have a commuting marriage, as he works at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal. She was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for careers in Biotechnology between 1992 and 1995. She has continued teaching and researching, publishing numerous papers. In 2006 she was made Associate Professor at the University of Zimbabwe. Sithole-Niang is in favor of genetic modifications to make cowpeas resistant to disease and believes that GMO versions of traditional crops are beneficial to developing nations. Working with the Network for the Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa (NGICA) as a coordinator, she has consulted with other international experts, in part because of the lack of funding available from within Zimbabwe. She has served as both a member and a board member of numerous organizations including: Steering Committee Trustee of the African Women for Agriculture and Research and Development (AWARD) Programme, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Virologists, Oversight Committee of the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS), Selection Committee Chair of the Joshua Nkomo Scholarships, the New York Academy of Sciences, Vice Chair of the Research Council of Zimbabwe, Selection Committee for the Rhodes Scholarships in Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences. Sithole-Niang is a Technical Advisor to the Program for Biosafety Systems for sub-Saharan Africa.

Selected works Sithole-Niang, Idah (October 2001). "Future of plant science in Zimbabwe". Trends in Plant Science. 6 (10): 493–494. doi:10.1016/s1360-1385(01)02091-x. PMID 11590069. Mlotshwa, Sizolwenkosi; Verver, Jan; Sithole-Niang, Idah; Prins, Marcel; et al. (August 2002). "Transgenic Plants Expressing HC-Pro Show Enhanced Virus Sensitivity While Silencing of the Transgene Results in Resistance". Virus Genes. 25 (1): 45–57. doi:10.1023/a:1020170024713. PMID 12206307. S2CID 19367088. Mlotshwa, Sizolwenkosi; Verver, Jan; Sithole-Niang, Idah; Gopinath, Kodetham; et al. (October 2002). "Subcellular Location of the Helper Component-Proteinase of Cowpea Aphid-Borne Mosaic Virus". Virus Genes. 25 (2): 207–216. doi:10.1023/a:1020122104651. PMID 12416684. S2CID 25783145. Sithole-Niang, Idah; et al. (2003). Proceedings of a symposium on-the status of biotechnology research and priorities in Zimbabwe: May 9-10, 2000, Holiday Inn, Harare (Report). Harare, Zimbabwe: Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe. Eicher, Carl K; Maredia, Karim M; Sithole-Niang, Idah (2005). Biotechnology and the African Farmer. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press. Sithole-Niang, Idah (2004). "Putting GM technologies to work: public research pipelines in selected African countries". African Journal of Biotechnology. 3 (11): 564–571. Eicher, Carl K; Maredia, Karim M; Sithole-Niang, Idah (2006). Crop Biotechnology and the African Farmer. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. Sithole-Niang, Idah, ed. (2013). Genetic engineering. Rijeka, Croatia: InTech. ISBN 978-9-535-11099-6.

References

Bibliography Yount, Lisa (2007). A to Z of Women in Science and Math. New York, New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0795-0.

External links WorldCat Publications

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Idah Sithole-Niang

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Idah Sithole-Niang claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Idah Sithole-Niang before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Idah Sithole-Niang ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Idah Sithole-Niang

In research: Idah Sithole-Niang appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Idah Sithole-Niang in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Idah Sithole-Niang is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 20th-century women scientists, 21st-century women scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Idah Sithole-Niang outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Idah Sithole-Niang in 20 minutes

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Close the page and write down what Idah Sithole-Niang means in your own words.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Idah Sithole-Niang in simple terms?

Idah Sithole-Niang (born 1957) is a Zimbabwean biochemist and educator. Her main area of research has been viruses which attack the cowpea, one of the major food crops of Zimbabwe.

Why does Idah Sithole-Niang matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Idah Sithole-Niang?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Idah Sithole-Niang.