November 21, 2022
Africa: Intellectual Property Waiver for Covid Vaccines Should Be Expanded to Include Treatments and Tests
Global inequities in access to COVID vaccines have turned out to be a "catastrophic moral failure", just as the World Health Organization warned they would in January 2021. Yet it… Read more »
Africa: Monkeypox - Latest Data Reveals How the Virus Has Affected Women and Non-Binary People
Since May 2022, a global outbreak of human monkeypox infections has been reported in over 78,000 people. So far, infections have overwhelmingly occurred in sexually active men who… Read more »
Africa: Tested Positive to Covid? Go Easy On Yourself - Try Not to Rush Back to Work or Exercise
With COVID isolation rules largely gone, some people feel pressured to rush back to work, school, or other activities after testing positive to COVID. Read more »
Africa: Less Burping, More Meat and Milk - How Livestock Farmers Can Help Tackle the Climate Crisis #AfricaClimateHope
Africa's livestock farmers are at the forefront of climate change. Images of parched landscapes littered with the carcasses of starved cattle are becoming all too familiar as… Read more »
November 14, 2022
Africa: 'Gain of Function' Research Can Create Experimental Viruses. It Should Be More Strictly Regulated - or Banned
The United Nations Environment Programme recently published a scientific review that looks at environmental threats and risks in light of the COVID pandemic. It analyses links… Read more »
South Africa: Over 12 Percent of South African Adults Have Diabetes - Education Is Critical to Achieve Good Outcomes
Over 12% of adults in South Africa have diabetes. Since 2019, researchers at the University of Pretoria have been working on the Tshwane Insulin Project. The project consists of… Read more »
November 10, 2022
Africa: High Blood Pressure Linked to 22 Percent Greater Risk of Severe Covid - New Research
From early on in the pandemic it was apparent that older adults and those with underlying health problems were more likely to get very sick from a COVID infection compared with… Read more »
November 08, 2022
Africa: From Deficits to a Spectrum, Thinking Around Autism Has Changed. Now There Are Calls for a 'Profound Autism' Diagnosis
A heated debate about autism was reignited after the recent publication of an article advocating for use of the term "profound autism". Read more »
November 10, 2022
South Africa: Climate Change Affects Mosquito Behaviour. This May Make It Harder to End Malaria in South Africa
Changes in climatic factors - such as higher temperatures and increased rainfall - affect the developmental, behavioural and distribution patterns of insects like mosquitoes. These… Read more »
November 07, 2022
Africa: Why It's Wrong to Blame Online Learning for Causing Mental Health Issues During Covid-19
Post-secondary student mental health is in crisis: Research shows students' mental health was adversely affected in the pandemic, and this falls on the heels of pre-existing… Read more »
Africa: Covid - Inhalable and Nasal Vaccines Could Offer More Durable Protection Than Regular Shots
As the pandemic continues, many countries are rolling out COVID booster vaccines. In the UK, the autumn booster campaign is offering a fourth dose to those at higher risk from a… Read more »
November 06, 2022
Africa: How Climate Change Influences the Spread of Disease - Four Essential Reads
Climate change has led to extreme weather events such as floods and drought. These events have become more frequent and more severe. Natural disasters associated with climate… Read more »
November 03, 2022
Africa: Go Slow and Accept Your Limitations - How to Exercise If You're Recovering From Long Covid
A significant proportion of people who contract COVID are left with ongoing symptoms, commonly termed "long COVID". The nature of these symptoms and the duration of the illness… Read more »
November 04, 2022
Africa: Malaria in Africa - Why Most Countries Haven't Beaten It Yet
Malaria remains one of the most devastating parasitic diseases affecting humans. In 2020 there were around 241 million cases and 672,000 malaria-related deaths. This is a sharp… Read more »
November 03, 2022
Africa: Understanding How News Works Can Short-Circuit the Connection Between Social Media Use and Vaccine Hesitancy
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
Africa: Climate Change - the Effects of Extreme Heat On Health in Africa - 4 Essential Reads
Scientists are sounding the alarm about the extreme increases in the Earth's temperature. A new report by UNICEF warns that 2022 could be the "coldest year of the rest of our… Read more »
November 02, 2022
Africa: Lockdowns Had a Huge Impact in the Mental Health of the Elderly
In Spain we suffered one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in response to the COVID pandemic. For a time, we were only allowed to go to the supermarket, the bank and the… Read more »
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 »
Uganda: Ebola - Lessons From Covid Show That Heavy-Handed Lockdowns May Be a Bad Idea
Since the first case of the current Ebola outbreak in Uganda was confirmed in mid-September, the number of cases has topped 127 across seven districts, including 17 in the capital… 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 »
Ghana: Ghana's Illegal Mining Continues Because the Rules and Reality Are Disconnected
Artisanal and small-scale mining - a low-tech, indigenous mining subsector - is taking on increasing economic importance in many developing countries. Over 150 million people… 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: 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 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 »