November 24, 2022
Africa: Cheaper, Tougher, Less Toxic - New Alloys Show Promise in Developing Artificial Limbs
Titanium is a strong, resilient and relatively light metal. Its properties have also been well studied; scientists know a great deal about it. All of this makes it the ideal base… Read more »
November 23, 2022
Africa: Just Because Someone Had Covid Before They Had a Heart Attack Doesn't Mean It Was the Cause
Last week ABC journalist and physician Norman Swan suggested the heart attacks of two high profile people over the past year were unlikely to be a coincidence. The suggestion was… Read more »
Africa: Long Covid Stigma May Encourage People to Hide the Condition
An estimated 2.1 million people are living with long COVID in the UK alone. We recently asked 888 people in the UK with long COVID about their experiences of stigma, and 95% of… Read more »
Nigeria: People With Vitiligo Face Stigma - A Skin Doctor Calls for Better Support
Vitiligo - a disease which causes pale patches to develop on the skin and mucous membranes - can be psychologically devastating. The change in skin colour may even create doubts… Read more »
November 24, 2022
Africa: My Rapid Antigen Tests Are Negative but I Still Think I Might Have Covid. Should I Get a PCR Test?
You've been exposed to COVID and are starting to get symptoms. But after a couple of days of testing with rapid antigen tests (RATs), your tests remain negative. Read more »
November 22, 2022
Africa: Scientists Uncovered the Structure of the Key Protein for a Future Hepatitis C Vaccine - Here's How They Did It
The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, causes a chronic liver infection that can lead to permanent liver scarring and, in dire cases, cancer. It affects around 71 million people worldwide… Read more »
November 21, 2022
Uganda: Ebola - Schools Were Closed for Two Years During Covid, Now They Face More Closures - Something Must Change
Children in Uganda missed out on more school because of the COVID pandemic than their peers anywhere else in the world. An estimated 15 million pupils in the East African nation… Read more »
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 »