Latin America | Peru | Science

Peruvian invents drone to measure air contamination

Young Peruvian engineer, Monica Abarca, recently won the Global Impact Competition for her creation of a drone that detects air contamination. “The drone was designed from scratch as part of my thesis,” Monica said. “Its mission is to measure contamination (through gas and particle sensors) and radioactivity.” Monica explained that drones could replace stationary facilities at mines used to measure contamination. They would cover a greater distance, detect air quality faster and more effectively, as a way to protect nearby villages.

Latin America | Peru | Business

Peru’s women are breaking the code

Source: Aljazeera

Dozens of young women are zealously tapping away at laptops for a four-month primer in software development. Hailing from the underprivileged margins of Lima, the 35 students in the class - all female - are taught JavaScript, CSS, and English-language programming terminology for a fee of $16 a month. This year, it expects to teach about 100 young women whose average age is 20. Though less than a year old, La Laboratoria has already wooed more than $150,000 in grants from sponsors such as Google and telecom firm Telefonica. Peru's tech sector, which has been expanding between 10 and 15 p