November 02, 2022
Africa: From Centaurus to Xbb - Your Handy Guide to the Latest Covid Subvariants (And Why Some Are More Worrying Than Others)
The Omicron variant of concern has splintered into multiple subvariants. So we've had to get our heads around these mutated forms of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,… Read more »
Africa: Astronomers Have Detected Another 'Planet Killer' Asteroid. Could We Miss One Coming Our Way?
If you surfed the web this morning, you may have seen news of the latest existential threat to humanity: a "planet killer" asteroid named 2022 AP7. Read more »
November 01, 2022
Africa: The Horn of Africa Has Had Years of Drought, Yet Groundwater Supplies Are Increasing - Why?
The Horn of Africa - which includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and some surrounding countries - has been hit by increasingly frequent and devastating droughts. Despite this, it seems… Read more »
November 02, 2022
Africa: South Africa's Dance Music Craze, Amapiano, Could Conquer the World - If Its Stars Step Up
There's a lot of hype around amapiano. The South African dance music genre has dominated dancefloors since 2019, spreading from South Africa to West Africa and now to the world.… Read more »
Africa: Loss and Damage - Who Is Responsible When Climate Change Harms the World's Poorest Countries, and What Does Compensation Look Like?
You may be hearing the phrase "loss and damage" in the coming weeks as government leaders meet in Egypt for the 2022 U.N. Climate Change Conference. Read more »
November 01, 2022
Africa: Pancreatic Cancer Could Be Diagnosed Up to Three Years Earlier - New Study
Every year, more than 10,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, for most of those people, the disease is diagnosed too late to be cured. Less… Read more »
October 31, 2022
Africa: Who Sees What You Flush? Wastewater Surveillance for Public Health Is On the Rise, but a New Survey Reveals People Are Still Unaware
Flush and forget? Not if you have a toilet that flushes to one of over 3,000 sites around the world where researchers are using wastewater to track SARS-CoV-2, the virus that… Read more »
Africa: How Debt-for-Climate Swaps Can Help Solve Low-Income Countries' Fiscal and Environmental Challenges At the Same Time
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley spoke passionately to the United Nations General Assembly in September about the mounting debt many developing countries are shouldering… Read more »
Africa: Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 - An Expert Answers Three Key Questions About These New Covid Variants
Two new omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are quickly gaining traction in the US, collectively accounting for 27% of infections as of October 29. Both are descendants of BA.5,… Read more »
October 27, 2022
Africa: Fermented Foods and Fibre May Lower Stress Levels - New Study
When it comes to dealing with stress, we're often told the best things we can do are exercise, make time for our favourite activities or try meditation or mindfulness. Read more »
October 28, 2022
Africa: Zombie Worlds - Five Spooky Planets Orbiting Dead Stars
All stars, including the Sun, have a finite lifetime. Stars shine by the process of nuclear fusion in which lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, fuse together to create heavier ones.… Read more »
October 30, 2022
Africa: How Covid-19 Damages Lungs - Virus Attacks Mitochondria, Continuing an Ancient Battle
Viruses and bacteria have a very long history. Because viruses can't reproduce without a host, they've been attacking bacteria for millions of years. Some of those bacteria… Read more »
October 27, 2022
Africa: Elon Musk Takes Twitter Private - Here's What That Means for the Company and Its Chances of Success
Elon Musk has finally completed his US$44 billion deal to acquire Twitter and take it private. Read more »
October 30, 2022
Africa: Vaccines Could Be a Game-Changer in the Fight Against Malaria in Africa
The development of an effective vaccine for malaria has proved to be far more challenging than developing a vaccine to protect people from COVID-19. Several different COVID-19… Read more »
October 27, 2022
Africa: Coffin? Casket? Cremation? How to Make Your Death More Environmentally Friendly #AfricaClimateCrisis
We can all agree humans need to reduce their impact on the environment. And while most of us think of this in terms of daily activities - such as eating less meat, or being… Read more »
Africa: Covid Vaccines Don't Just Benefit Physical Health - They Improve Mental Health Too
The considerable physical health benefits of COVID vaccines, in particular, the significantly reduced risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death from the virus, are well… Read more »
Africa: Long Covid - How Lost Connections Between Nerve Cells in the Brain May Explain Cognitive Symptoms
For a portion of people who get COVID, symptoms continue for months or even years after the initial infection. This is commonly referred to as "long COVID". Read more »
Africa: A New Way to Name Bacteria - 300-Year-Old System Revised Thanks to Scientific Advances
Nearly 300 years ago the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus secured his place in scientific history when he created what's known as the binomial system. The year was 1737 and, due to… Read more »
Africa: The Unusual Ways Viruses and Parasites Use Their Cell Membranes to Spread - and How Scientists Are Fighting Back
Cell membranes make up the exterior of all cells and are a basic structure found in most living organisms. But they can also help parasites survive in the human body, play an… Read more »
October 26, 2022
Africa: South Africa's Wildlife Ranches Can Offer Solutions to Africa's Growing Conservation Challenges
Designated protected areas for wildlife - such as national parks - are the world's principal conservation strategy. But this model to conserve wildlife in Africa is increasingly… Read more »
Africa: RSV - a Pediatric Disease Expert Answers 5 Questions About the Surging Outbreak of Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Respiratory syncytial virus, more commonly known as RSV, sends thousands of children to the hospital every year in the U.S. But during September and October 2022, health… Read more »
October 24, 2022
Africa: It Matters That Rishi Sunak Has Become the UK's First Prime Minister of Indian Descent
Following his uncontested run at the top job, Rishi Sunak acquires the less-than-coveted title of second successive un-elected British prime minister to take office in 2022.… Read more »
Africa: From Water Conservation to Crop Selection, How Farmers CAN Take Action Against Drought #AfricaClimateHope
As climate change accelerates, many countries around the world are increasingly facing the risk of drought. Water scarcity has become one of the major constraints of food… Read more »
October 25, 2022
Africa: Four Ways to Support a Friend or Loved One With Long Covid
An estimated 2.3 million people in the UK are currently living with long COVID. The condition is most commonly reported by people aged 35-69, but it can affect people of any age.… Read more »
October 24, 2022
Africa: What Is - and What Isn't - 'Brain Fog'?
The COVID pandemic has introduced many scientific and medical terms into our everyday language. Many of us are now fluent in conversations about viral strains, PCR tests and… Read more »