April 15

• Africa: Cellphone Microscopes - a How-to Guide

  Tiny microscopes that can be fitted onto any mobile phone with a camera and used to diagnose illnesses in remote areas may have the potential to revolutionise healthcare in... Read more »

April 13

• Malawi: Selenium Deficiency 'Endemic' in Malawi

  Low availability of selenium, an essential human micronutrient, in Malawian soils is responsible for its deficiency among the country's population, a study has found. Read more »

April 10

• Africa: Mhealth 'Could Save a Million African Lives By 2017'

  Mobile health (mHealth) applications such as text messages could save more than a million lives in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, according to a report. Read more »

April 09

• South Africa: HIV Drug Resistance Test to Dramatically Slash Costs

  Researchers in South Africa have developed a low-cost tool to test for HIV drug resistance, potentially opening the door to improved treatment for users of antiretroviral drugs... Read more »

• Burundi: Farmers Set to Embrace Hybrid Maize Seeds

  Farmers in Burundi are set to benefit from new high-yielding, fast-maturing hybrid maize seeds that are also resistant to maize streak virus. Read more »

April 08

• Africa: Brics Agree Development Bank and Science Forum

  The five BRICS countries agreed to set up a development bank, a forum of science ministers and a council for researchers and academia at their forum in Durban, South Africa, last... Read more »

April 05

• Uganda: Uganda Steps Closer to Creating Science Ministry

  Uganda's parliament has passed a bill paving the way for the creation of a science ministry, which will spearhead and harmonise the development of science, technology and... Read more »

• Africa: Biomedical Research Fellowship Aims to Build Capacity in Africa

  Two European research bodies are collaborating on a clinical research fellowship scheme to train biomedical students in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the first open call for... Read more »

• Africa: Famine Forecasting Systems Still Failing to Spur Action

  Further scientific improvements to famine forecasting will do little to save more lives without reforms to the way in which the humanitarian community uses them, according to a... Read more »

April 02

• Africa: Indian Court's Novartis Ruling Keeps Door to Cheap Drugs Open

  The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has lost its seven-year court battle to patent the cancer drug Glivec in India, whose generic versions provide life-saving drugs to... Read more »

March 29

• Africa: Giant Landslides Identified By Seismic Fingerprints

  A new technique that can identify catastrophic landslides based on their seismic signals could one day lead to a global system for identifying regions at particular risk from this... Read more »

March 26

• Africa: Climate Change Could Be Double-Edged Sword for Farmers

  On a global level, climate change could slash crop yields and increase reliance on irrigation in the 2030s, but in some regions, including Southern Africa, agricultural output... Read more »

• East Africa: Bioscience Should Underpin African Agriculture, Meeting Hears

  Bioscience projects including ones that turn tannery waste into manure can improve crop productivity and food security, and boost agricultural resilience to climate change-related... Read more »

March 25

• West Africa: Local Rice Makes the Grade

  New research from West Africa challenges the widely held view that African and Asian 'farmer rice' varieties have only local value owing to their poor ability to adapt to adverse... Read more »

March 22

• Cameroon: Nation Settles On New Bean Varieties

  Farmers in Cameroon are growing new varieties of beans that are providing up to three times the yields of traditional crops, which have been under attack from pests and disease as... Read more »

March 19

• Africa: EU's New Research Mechanism 'Complex and Narrow'

  Experts have questioned the ability of Horizon 2020 - the new six-year funding mechanism for European research - to foster research partnerships and build capacity in the... Read more »

March 18

• Africa: Global Team Urges Cancer Research Collaboration

  Researchers from 15 developed and developing countries have called for better global coordination of research and prevention efforts against cancer, which kills 7.5 million people... Read more »

March 16

• Africa: Variable Crop Sowing Dates 'Produce Higher Yields'

  Cropping systems with variable sowing dates adapted to changing climatic conditions - as opposed to those with fixed sowing dates - will result in increased mean future crop... Read more »

March 15

• Africa: Developing Countries to Get Access to 12,000 Online Research Books

  Research and academic communities in the developing world are set to benefit from free access to online books. Read more »

• Africa: Cheap 'Nano-Tablet' Purifies Water for Up to Six Months

  Researchers have developed a water purification tablet comprised of nanoparticles that can be used by developing world communities with no access to clean water. Read more »

March 12

• East Africa: Coffee Pest Spreading to Other Crops in East Africa

  East Africa's horticulture could face a severe crisis due to 'species jump' - whereby a disease moves from a known host to new and unusual ones - affecting fruits, vegetables, and... Read more »

• Africa: Bolivian Researchers Sound Alarm Over Quinoa Farming

  Bolivian scientists have warned that growing international demand for quinoa is endangering local farming practices and the environment, as well as denying access to local... Read more »

• Africa: Mobile Phone Microscope Detects Worm Infections

  Children suffering from intestinal worms can now be diagnosed using a mobile phone microscope that is significantly cheaper than conventional methods, which are prohibitively... Read more »

March 11

• Africa: Cash for Diagnostics May Help Track Cassava Disease

  An agricultural research project spanning seven African countries has received financial assistance for a second phase to develop national diagnostic capacity for controlling... Read more »

• Africa: Southern Skies May Go Unmonitored for Asteroid Risk

  The risk that an asteroid or meteor - much like the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Russia on 15 February - goes undetected in the Southern Hemisphere is set to increase this... Read more »