Africa: Vitamins and Supplements - What You Need to Know Before Taking Them

If you were to open your medicine cabinet right now, there's a fair chance that you'd find at least one bottle of vitamins alongside the painkillers, plasters and cough syrup. Read more »

Africa: Covid Still a Global Emergency, WHO Says, but We're At a Transition Point. What Does This Mean?

As we enter the fourth year of living with COVID, we are all asking the predictable question: when will the pandemic be over? Read more »

Africa: People With Light Skin Are At Higher Risk of Skin Cancer. How to Reduce Sun Exposure

Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to the sun - specifically solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation or rays. These can damage the cells in the skin and cause them to… Read more »

Africa: Long Covid - a Range of Diets Are Said to Help Manage Symptoms - Here's What the Evidence Tells Us

Most people who contract COVID recover within a few weeks. But for some people, symptoms can develop later, or persist for a long time after the initial infection. A recent review… Read more »

Africa: Children Lost One-Third of a Year's Learning to Covid, New Study Shows - but We Need to Think About the Problem Differently

Children's learning progress has slowed substantially during the pandemic, roughly equating to a loss of around 35% of the typical learning in a school year, according to a new… Read more »

Africa: Children and Teens Aren't Doing Enough Physical Activity - New Study Sounds a Health Warning

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It's also associated with chronic illness and disability. Recent research estimates that the world could see… Read more »

Nigeria: 100 Million Nigerians Are At Risk of Neglected Tropical Diseases - What the Country Is Doing About It

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of communicable diseases found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are classified as "neglected" because they have… Read more »

Africa: Covid Booster Vaccines - How a Third Dose May Help Vulnerable People 'Level Up' Their Immunity

COVID vaccines call our immune systems to action, generating antibodies which fight against any contact we have with the virus. Antibodies help to reduce the effects of an… Read more »

Africa: Eliminating Neglected Diseases in Africa - There Are Good Reasons for Hope

Togo had reason to celebrate in 2022 when it became the first country in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases. The west African nation stamped out Guinea worm… Read more »

South Africa: Vaccine Hesitancy - Covid Experience Highlights Conspiracies, Mistrust and Role of Media

In recent weeks, China has reported a spike in new cases of COVID and related deaths. Some countries have imposed travel restrictions as a result. But most - including South Africa… Read more »

Africa: Even Bivalent Updated Covid-19 Boosters Struggle to Prevent Omicron Subvariant Transmission - an Immunologist Discusses Why New Approaches Are Necessary

By almost any measure, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been a global success. Read more »

Africa: Yoga - Modern Research Shows a Variety of Benefits to Both Body and Mind From the Ancient Practice

The popularity of yoga has grown tremendously in the past decade. More than 10% of U.S. adults have practiced yoga at some point in their lives. Yoga practitioners spend on average… Read more »

Africa: We Tested the Wastewater From Planes to Detect Covid Among Travellers - Here's What We Found

Small traces of many pathogens, such as viruses we may be infected with, are excreted when we go to the toilet. Ultimately, these agents find their way to municipal wastewater… Read more »

South Africa: Ernest Cole - South Africa's Most Famous Photobook Has Been Republished After 55 Years

Photographer Ernest Cole was born in 1940 in the Pretoria township of Eersterust, just before apartheid was formally introduced in South Africa in 1948. Read more »

Africa: Moderna's Experimental Cancer Vaccine Treats but Doesn't Prevent Melanoma - a Biochemist Explains How It Works

Media outlets have reported the encouraging findings of clinical trials for a new experimental vaccine developed by the biotech company Moderna to treat an aggressive type of skin… Read more »

Africa: Vaccination to Prevent Dementia? New Research Suggests One Way Viral Infections Can Accelerate Neurodegeneration

One in nine Americans ages 65 and over had Alzheimer's disease in 2022, and countless others were indirectly affected as caregivers, health care providers and taxpayers. There is… Read more »

Africa: Is Veganuary Bad for You? a Nutritionist Explains Why Plant-Based Diets Need Proper Planning

Veganuary is upon us again, with thousands of people around the world giving up animal products for the month of January. The movement, which encourages people to follow a vegan… Read more »

Africa: FAQ On Covid-19 Subvariant Xbb.1.5

Despite intensive public health efforts to grind the COVID-19 pandemic to a halt, the recent emergence of the highly transmissible, extensively drug-resistant and profoundly immune… Read more »

Africa: Strep A Cases Are Rising. We Must Remember Our Earliest Hygiene Lessons As Vaccine Trials Continue

Group A streptococci, also known as "strep A", were the first organisms ever identified to be the cause of a disease. Read more »

Africa: How to Treat Scars At Home - and Hopefully Make Them Disappear

Maybe you've had a skin cancer removed from your face or body. Perhaps you had an injury or accident and needed stitches. However you came by a cut on your skin, you probably want… Read more »

Africa: Sitting All Day Is Terrible for Your Health - Now, a New Study Finds a Relatively Easy Way to Counteract It

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »

Africa: Why Cholera Continues to Threaten Many African Countries

Malawi is facing its worst cholera outbreak in two decades. The outbreak started early in 2022 and has, so far, resulted in over 18,000 cases and the loss of 750 lives. It's also… Read more »

South Africa: Pregnant Learners Need Creches and Compassion to Keep Them in School

After Boitumelo gave birth she decided not to go back to school. She assumed that, because she was now a mother, she would be barred from returning. Then she had a surprising… Read more »

Africa: Cancer Vaccine Trials Could Start in the in Autumn - UK Signs Deal With Biontech

The UK government recently announced that it is partnering with German firm BioNTech to test vaccines for cancer and other diseases. The project aims to build on the mRNA vaccine… Read more »

Africa: Speculum - the Creepy History of This Ancient Gynaecological Device and Why It's Still Feared

Women's health is in crisis. In many places, gynaecology waiting lists are rising or are even at record lengths. Read more »