Africa: Would You Trust an Ant to Amputate Your Limb? Science Is Showing They Are Skilled Surgeons

An insect bites off another insect's leg. Is this predatory behaviour, aggression, defence, competition or something else? In the case of carpenter ants, it's for the good of the… Read more »

Africa: Infectious Diseases Spike When Kids Return to School - Here's What You Can Do About It

Ready or not, back-to-school season is here, and kids will be bringing home more than homework. They'll be carrying germs, too. Read more »

Africa: Fewer Car Journeys and More Flights - How Covid-19 Has Changed the Way We Travel

Four years after the outbreak of Covid-19, the pandemic seems like a distant memory for many. Yet its impacts on our lifestyle today are often profound and long-lasting, with many… Read more »

Africa: Teenage Girls in Africa Face Shocking Rates of Physical and Sexual Abuse in Intimate Relationships - New Global Report

Nearly a quarter of adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who have been in a relationship will have suffered intimate partner violence by the time they turn 20. This is… Read more »

Nigeria: Babies in Nigeria Are Being Born With Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Sepsis occurs when one's immune system has an extreme response to an infection. It's a life-threatening condition: globally, it accounts for about 11 million deaths - 20% of all… Read more »

Africa: Ethnicity, Race and Health Equity - 3 Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for robust and equitable public health systems in Canada that address the population's diverse needs. One of the most… Read more »

Africa: Even If They Aren't Sporty, All Kids Need to Throw and Catch. How Can You Help If Your Child Is Struggling?

Apart from literacy and numeracy, some of the most important skills children learn in their primary school years are throwing and catching. These are considered "fundamental… Read more »

Africa: Moms Think More About Household Chores - and This Cognitive Burden Hurts Their Mental Health

When you think about housework, you likely think of actions: scrubbing the dishes, running errands, chopping vegetables for dinner. And it's not news to say that mothers often… Read more »

Africa: I Feel Sick. How Do I Know If I Have the Flu, Covid, RSV or Something Else?

You wake with a sore throat and realise you are sick. Is this going to be a two-day or a two-week illness? Should you go to a doctor or just go to bed? Read more »

South Africa: South African Teens Are Struggling - Western Cape Study Shows 33 Percent Have Symptoms of Depression

In South Africa, little research has been done on depression and anxiety among younger adolescents, those between the ages of 10 and 14. Existing studies have primarily targeted… Read more »

Africa: The Human Virome - Why Viruses Could Be As Important for Good Health As Gut Bacteria

We often hear about the importance of the human microbiome - the vast collection of bacteria and fungi that live on and inside us - when it comes to our health. But there's… Read more »

Africa: Pandemic Effects Linger, and Art Invites Us to Pause and Behold Distance, Time and Trauma

When I finished the manuscript for my book The Pause, which looked at the COVID-19 pandemic through the idea of "pausing," a notion frequently invoked in pandemic discussions of… Read more »

Nigeria: 11 Million Nigerian Children Are Going Hungry - How This Hurts Their Health and What Needs to Be Done

Unicef, the UN agency for children, reported in June 2024 that around 11 million Nigerian children were experiencing severe child food poverty. Read more »

Africa: Lb.1, or D-Flirt, Is the Newest Covid Subvariant. What Do We Know About It? Where Has It Come From?

Headlines are again warning of a new COVID variant in Australia. This time it's LB.1, or as some experts have dubbed it, "D-FLiRT". Read more »

Africa: What's the Difference Between 'Strep Throat' and a Sore Throat? We're Developing a Vaccine for One of Them

What's the difference? is a new editorial product that explains the similarities and differences between commonly confused health and medical terms, and why they matter. Read more »

Africa: TB - Gene Editing Could Add New Power to a 100-Year-Old Vaccine

Tuberculosis dates back more than 9,000 years. It is the most infectious bacterial disease and in 2022 10.6 million people fell ill with it. Of these 23% occurred in Africa. Read more »

Africa: The HIV Epidemic 40 Years On - 5 Essential Reads On Breakthroughs, Blind Spots and New Challenges

In June 1981 The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a rare form of pneumonia in young gay men in California. Although they didn't know it at the time, these… Read more »

Egypt: Is Your Desk Job Killing Your Back? Ancient Egyptian Scribes Had the Same Aches and Pains, Say Researchers

Tens of thousands of years ago, during a period of Egyptian history known as the Old Kingdom (around 2649-2130 BC), it was rare for people to be able to read and write. From an… Read more »

South Africa: 144 South Africans With Mental Disability Died in the Life Esidimeni Tragedy. Lessons From the Inquest Judgment

A South African high court ruling marks an important milestone in holding public officials to account for their decisions. Read more »

Africa: Long Covid Puzzle Pieces Are Falling Into Place - the Picture Is Unsettling

Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing… Read more »

Africa: What Can You Do If You Think Your Teen Already Has Unhealthy Social Media Habits?

Many parents are worried about how much their children use social media and what content they might encounter while using it. Read more »

Africa: Beating River Blindness - Blackfly Bites Dramatically Reduced After Breeding Sites Are Destroyed With Machetes

Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is a neglected tropical disease that causes severe itching, disfiguring skin conditions and visual impairment. Read more »

Africa: New Research Shows Small Lifestyle Changes Are Linked to Differences in Teen Mental Health Over Time

Judging by recent headlines and policy ideas, you might think screen time is the only lifestyle behaviour influencing teen wellbeing. Read more »

Nigeria: Surviving Breast Cancer - Nigerian Women Share Their Stories

"I believe I will still beat it again." These are the words of a Nigerian woman, Didi, who feared a recurrence of her cancer - but saw herself as a survivor. Read more »

Africa: Alzheimer's Risk Higher If Your Mother Had Cognitive Problems

The genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is more strongly influenced by the mother's side than the father's side, a recent study has discovered. Read more »