Africa: Humans Infecting Animals Infecting Humans - From Covid-19 to Bird Flu, Preventing Pandemics Requires Protecting All Species

When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, humans had been the only species with reported cases of the disease. While early genetic analyses… Read more »

Africa: Long Covid Inflicts Deep Scars On the Lungs, but Targeting Specific Immune Cells Could Reverse Damage - New Research in Mice

The long-term effects of respiratory viral infections such as COVID-19 are a major public health burden. Some estimates suggest over 65 million people around the world suffer from… Read more »

Africa: Mobile Phones Are Not Linked to Brain Cancer, According to a Major Review of 28 Years of Research

A systematic review into the potential health effects from radio wave exposure has shown mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer. The review was commissioned by the World… Read more »

East Africa: Mpox Could Spread Into Conflict Zones in East Africa - How to Manage the Response

Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda are some of the east African countries that have reported cases of mpox - a viral infectious disease - in the latest outbreak which started in the… Read more »

Africa: Why Children Are At Such High Risk for Mpox

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that children, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems are at higher risk from the mpox outbreak in the Democratic… Read more »

Kenya: Burnout and Bias Can Lead to Poor Care During Childbirth - We Created a Project in Kenya That Helps Health Workers

An estimated 800 women die every day across the world as a result of pregnancy-related complications. Most deaths (95%) occur in low- and middle-income countries. Two-thirds are in… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Vaccines - Where They Come From and What Stands in the Way of Distributing Them in Africa

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared the latest outbreak of mpox in Africa a health emergency. An epidemic in… Read more »

Africa: Squid Have Tiny Teeth in Their Suckers - Scientists Could Use Their Unique Properties to Make Self-Healing Materials

When you think of a fearsome, sharp-toothed predator, a squid probably isn't the first animal that comes to mind. But these complex creatures have sophisticated eyesight, a strong… Read more »

Africa: Ancient Viral Genomes Preserved in Glaciers Reveal the History of Earth's Climate - and How Viruses Adapt to Climate Change

As humans alter the planet's climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth's history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice… Read more »

Africa: What the Unique Shape of the Human Heart Tells Us About Our Evolution

Mammals, from the mighty blue whale to the tiny shrew, inhabit nearly every corner of our planet. Their remarkable adaptability to different environments has long fascinated… Read more »

Africa: Mpox - African Countries Have Beaten Disease Outbreaks Before - Here's What It Takes

Barely over a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that mpox was no longer a public health issue of international concern, it is back in the news. This time with… Read more »

Africa: Spontaneous Acts By Yoko Tawada - an Adroit Poetic Novel About Connection Post-Pandemic

Spontaneous Acts by German-Japanese writer Yoko Tawada follows a fierce and scrupulous search for connection and meaning in a noisy and overwhelming world emerging from the… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Cases in Australia Are Less Severe Than in Africa. Here's What to Know About the Strain Spreading Here

Western Australia and Victoria both issued health alerts this week over cases of mpox. WA has seen two cases, while Victoria has recorded 125 cases so far this year. New South… Read more »

Africa: How Does a Disease Spread From Animals to Humans? A Lot Has to Do With People's Behaviour

COVID stunned the world with an unanticipated pandemic. Now mpox, a disease which originated in animals, has been declared a global public health emergency. Read more »

Africa: Mosquitoes Use Gut Bacteria to Fight the Malaria They Transmit - Scientists Are Exploring How to Use This to End the Disease

The months of September to May are an unfortunate season in South Africa: malaria season. The mosquito-borne disease is found in the north-eastern districts of KwaZulu-Natal,… Read more »

Africa: Alzheimer's Might Not be Primarily a Brain Disease. A New Theory Suggests it's an Autoimmune Condition.

The pursuit of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is becoming an increasingly competitive and contentious quest with recent years witnessing several important controversies. Read more »

Africa: Genetically Modified Mosquitoes and Malaria in Africa - Top Scientist Shares Latest Advances

Mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal on the planet. According to the World Malaria Report (2023), the African continent bears the brunt of the most deadly… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Outbreak in Africa Was Neglected – It Could Now Turn into the Next Global Pandemic

The mpox outbreak in Africa is yet another example of how infectious diseases perceived to be “someone else’s problem”, and affecting mainly poor, developing… Read more »

Africa: Love for Cats Lures Students Into This Course, Which Uses Feline Research to Teach Science

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Read more »

Africa: From Science Fiction to Telemedicine - the Surprising 150-Year History of Long-Range Medical Treatment

In 1874, a surgeon in South Australia telegraphed wound care instructions for a patient 2,000 kilometres away. A few years later, in 1879, a letter in The Lancet medical journal… Read more »

Africa: What Is Mpox? a Microbiologist Explains What's Known About This Smallpox Cousin

On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. There have been over 15,600 cases and over 530 deaths reported in… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Outbreak in Africa Was Neglected - It Could Now Turn Into the Next Global Pandemic

The mpox outbreak in Africa is yet another example of how infectious diseases perceived to be "someone else's problem", and affecting mainly poor, developing countries, may… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Now a Global Health Emergency - What Happens Next?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, after rising cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the… Read more »

South Africa: Air Pollution in South Africa - Affordable New Devices Use AI to Monitor Hotspots in Real Time

Air quality has become one of the most important public health issues in Africa. Poor air quality kills more people globally every year than HIV, TB and malaria combined. And… Read more »

Africa: Mpox Cases Are Soaring in Africa - What Must Be Done to Prevent a Global Pandemic

Alarmed by the surge in mpox cases, the Africa Centres for Disease Control has taken the unprecedented step of declaring the outbreak sweeping through African countries a… Read more »