May 19
Africa: Poor Pay Is Holding Back Africa's Biodiversity Research and Reducing Its Contribution to Global Science
Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. But much of its biodiversity remains poorly studied. Research from the continent contributes to less than 1% to global… Read more »
May 18
Africa: Ancient Tooth Proteins Suggest Homo Erectus May Have Left a Genetic Legacy in People Today
For most of the 20th century, the model of human origins was a tree: with the trunk dividing into branches, and then twigs. Each species of human relative (hominin) was a neat,… Read more »
Africa: Hantavirus in Africa - Why Climate Change, Rats and Weak Surveillance Are Worrying Scientists
Hantaviruses are not new. They have circulated for decades in rodent populations, particularly in rats and mice. Humans can become infected if they are bitten or scratched by a… Read more »
Africa: Ebola Outbreak Declared a Global Health Emergency - What You Need to Know
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a "public health emergency of international concern", with cases now… Read more »
May 17
Africa: A Football World Cup Is a Global Cultural Exchange. How Will That Work in Trump's America?
The most culturally diverse men's football World Cup in history is taking place in the United States at a time when foreign nationals feel less and less welcome in the country. Read more »
Africa: The World Bank Wants to Change the Way It Manages Complaints - the Fixes That Could Make It Better
The World Bank made history in 1994 by creating the Inspection Panel, the first independent accountability mechanism at any international organisation. Its function is to… Read more »
May 15
Africa: From Medieval Plague Ships to Hantavirus - How Outbreaks At Sea Helped to Shape the International Public Health System
Cruise ships are convenient floating hotels by which to see far-flung parts of the world - but as an epidemiologist, I know they are also everything an infectious pathogen could… Read more »
May 14
Africa: Hantavirus - a Cruise Ship, a Deer Mouse, and the Fictional Line Between Human and Animal Health
In February 2025, the classical pianist Betsy Arakawa died in her New Mexico home from a virus most people had never heard of. Her husband, the actor Gene Hackman, died a week… Read more »
Africa: How the World Can Avoid Millions Going Hungry When Supply Chains Collapse
Millions more people will face hunger in the coming months if the conflict in the Middle East is not resolved soon, the UN has warned. The price of energy, which instantly affects… Read more »
May 13
Africa: Bottom Trawling Is Scraping Oceans of Wildlife
Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world's fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that, you'd think there would… Read more »
Africa: 100 Million African Children Are Not in School. What's Driving the Trend and How to Reverse It
Many countries across Africa have embraced universal basic education policies in recent decades. But recent data has revealed that more than 100 million children and adolescents… Read more »
Africa: Agriculture in Africa - Science and Research Can't Make an Impact Without Investment and Good Policies
Agriculture is the lifeblood of Africa. More than 60% of African households depend directly or indirectly on the land for their livelihoods. And the continent has nearly 60% of the… Read more »
Africa: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - How They Stack Up On Reusing Waste
The global economy still largely follows a simple pattern: extract natural resources, manufacture products, use them and then throw them away. This "take, make, dispose" model has… Read more »
May 12
Africa: Millions of Farmers in Africa's Great Lakes Region Face Rising Temperatures. Study Predicts How Crop Disease and Pests Could Spread
Farming in the Great Lakes region of Africa (which includes Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Kenya) is challenging because of changing… Read more »
Africa: Africa Has the World's Greatest Genetic Diversity, Yet It's Missing From Research - We're Filling the Gap
Throughout history, most of the world's genomic research has relied on DNA data from people of European ancestry. Read more »
May 11
Africa: Why Nairobi Africa-France Summit Bears the Hallmarks of Macron and Ruto Priorities
The 2026 Africa-France summit in Nairobi on May 11-12 is the first to be held in an African country that is not a former French colony. It is also the first to be held since the… Read more »
May 08
Africa: Meet the Mosquito Terminator - a Spider That Likes Us and Eats Our Enemies
As a child, the mere glimpse of a spider used to send me screaming and running for cover. I was convinced that spiders were my enemies. I thought they were out to get me. Read more »
May 07
Africa: Health Authorities Work to Contain Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak
The MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, was on its way to the Canary Islands on May 7, 2026, after evacuating three ill passengers for treatment. Read more »
Africa: I've Investigated a Hantavirus Outbreak. Here's What I Can Tell You About the Cruise Ship Cluster
The cruise ship cluster of hantavirus cases continues to grow. The World Health Organization reports that as of May 6 there were eight cases, three of whom are confirmed by… Read more »
May 06
Africa: The Conversation Africa - 11 Years of Impact
Over the past 11 years, The Conversation Africa has published 12,961 articles by 8,257 authors, making the expertise of academics and researchers in Africa and other parts of the… Read more »
May 05
Africa: Hantavirus, Covid, Norovirus, Legionnaires' - Why Are Cruise Ships So Prone to Disease Outbreaks?
Cruises are sold as floating holidays, but they are also useful for understanding public health. Cruise ships are carefully designed places where many people live, eat, relax and… Read more »
Africa: Financial Strain, Lockdowns and Fear of Infection During Disease Outbreaks Magnify Violence Against Women and Girls - New Research
When the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, another crisis quietly grew behind closed doors. Reports from around the globe suggested that violence against… Read more »
May 04
Africa: What's Stopping Kids From Learning Useful Skills? Short Answer - Exams
Across Africa and beyond, education systems are shifting to curricula designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Read more »
Africa: What Is Hantavirus, the Disease That Has Killed 3 Cruise Ship Passengers?
Three people have died after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. At least one other passenger is in intensive care in South… Read more »
May 03
Africa: The Bias in Medical Research - Africa Carries a Huge Disease Burden but Is Missing From Clinical Trials
Modern medicine prides itself on being a universal science, built on evidence from clinical trials. Read more »
