South Africa: Is My Water Safe to Drink? Expert Advice for Residents of South African Cities

In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new… Read more »

Africa: As the Pandemic Turns Four, Here's What We Need to Do for a Healthier Future

Anniversaries are usually festive occasions, marked by celebration and joy. But there'll be no popping of corks for this one. Read more »

Africa: Why 'One Health' Needs More Social Sciences - Pandemic Prevention Depends On Behaviour As Well As Biology

On March 11, 2024, it will be four years since the World Health Organization characterized the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a pandemic. And while COVID-19 continues to impact people… Read more »

Africa: Why and How Often Do I Need to Wash Makeup Brushes and Sponges?

From the bristles of brushes to the porous surfaces of sponges, your makeup kit can harbour a host of bacteria and fungi. Read more »

Africa: Measles Is One of the Deadliest and Most Contagious Infectious Diseases - and One of the Most Easily Preventable

"You don't count your children until the measles has passed." Dr. Samuel Katz, one of the pioneers of the first measles vaccine in the late 1950s to early 1960s, regularly heard… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa Has More Than 4 Million People Living With Diabetes - Study Shows Many Aren't Getting Proper Treatment

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. Read more »

Africa: Covid-19 Rapid Tests Still Work Against New Variants - Researchers Keep 'Testing the Tests,' and They Pass

By September 2020, just six months after COVID-19 triggered shutdowns across the U.S., it was clear that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had mutated from its original… Read more »

South Africa: Big Companies, Like Nestlé, Are Funding Health Research in South Africa - Why This Is Wrong

In 2021, the director of the African Research University Alliance Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria was appointed to the board of the… Read more »

Africa: Early Covid-19 Research Is Riddled With Poor Methods and Low-Quality Results - a Problem for Science the Pandemic Worsened but Didn't Create

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers flooded journals with studies about the then-novel coronavirus. Many publications streamlined the peer-review process for COVID-19… Read more »

Africa: Outrage Culture Is a Big, Toxic Problem. Why Do We Take Part? and How Can We Stop?

"Outrage culture" is pervasive in the digital age. It refers to our collective tendency to react, often with intense negativity, to developments around us. Read more »

Africa: Mounting Research Shows That Covid-19 Leaves Its Mark On the Brain, Including With Significant Drops in IQ Scores

From the very early days of the pandemic, brain fog emerged as a significant health condition that many experience after COVID-19. Read more »

Cameroon: Benefits of Using Cleaner Cooking Fuels Are Blunted in Urban Areas Where Outdoor Air Is Polluted

Household air pollution from cooking, heating and lighting with fuels like wood, charcoal and kerosene poses a substantial global health problem. Read more »

South Africa: Pregnant Women in South Africa Should Be Offered Social Grants - It'll Save the State Money in the Long Run

A baby's first 1,000 days, from the time of conception until their second birthday, is a crucial window of opportunity to optimise their potential - through healthy nutrition for… Read more »

Africa: 80 Percent of Premature Baby Deaths Happen in Poorer Countries. Five Simple Measures That Can Help Save Them

Worldwide in 2020 a baby died every 40 seconds because of complications of prematurity. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years old. Read more »

Africa: Why Is Free Time Still So Elusive?

There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century. Read more »

Kenya: Antibiotic Use On Kenya's Dairy Farms Is Putting Consumers and Animals At Risk

Farmers often use antibiotics to keep their livestock healthy. They're sometimes used as "quick fixes", to avoid more costly management measures like regular disinfection, waste… Read more »

Africa: Why Banning Gym Selfies Could Do Us All a Lot of Good

Taking selfies to document daily life is now a completely normalised activity across all ages and demographics. Read more »

South Africa: HIV Among Older South Africans in Rural Areas - Big Study Shows There's a Problem That's Being Neglected

South Africa continues to have a high prevalence of HIV among all age groups. About 8.2 million people or 13.7% of the population live with HIV, one of the highest rates in the… Read more »

Africa: Anger, Sadness, Boredom, Anxiety - Emotions That Feel Bad Can Be Useful

Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn't concentrate for… Read more »

Africa: 'It Needs to Be Talked About Earlier' - Some Children Get Periods At 8, Years Before Menstruation Is Taught At School

Managing menstruation in public can be challenging at the best of times, but imagine being eight years old and having to deal with your period at school. You might need to change… Read more »

South Africa: Medicinal Plants Help Keep Children Healthy in South Africa - 61 Species Were Recorded

In 2021, almost 33 of every 1,000 South African children under five years old died. Read more »

Africa: Why Do People and Animals Need to Breathe? a Biologist Explains Why You Need a Constant Source of Oxygen

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Read more »

Africa: Demography and Reproductive Rights Are Environmental Issues - Insights From Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa's population is growing three times faster than the rest of the world with an average of 4.6 births per woman in 2021. By comparison, the fertility rate in… Read more »

Africa: Microplastics Found in Nile River's Tilapia Fish - New Study

The Nile is one of the world's most famous rivers. It's also Africa's most important freshwater system. About 300 million people live in the 11 countries it flows through. Many… Read more »

Africa: A New Virus-Like Entity Has Just Been Discovered - 'Obelisks' Explained

Biological entities called obelisks have been hiding - in large numbers - inside the human mouth and gut. These microscopic entities, which were recently discovered by a team at… Read more »