October 21, 2022
Africa: Four Ways to Spot Hints of Alien Life Using the James Webb Space Telescope
The study of exoplanets, worlds which orbit stars other than our sun, is currently being transformed by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We will shortly gain our first… Read more »
October 19, 2022
Africa: First-Ever Genetic Analysis of a Neanderthal Family Paints a Fascinating Picture of a Close-Knit Community
Our closest evolutionary relatives, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), were once spread across Europe and as far east as the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. Read more »
October 17, 2022
Africa: One Does Not Simply Detonate a Volcano Into Mordor - a Scientist Explains the Problems With That Rings of Power Episode
In the blockbuster fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, one of the principal antagonists, the wicked Adar, diverted a river into the labyrinth of tunnels under… Read more »
October 18, 2022
Africa: Humans Are 8 Percent Virus - How the Ancient Viral DNA in Your Genome Plays a Role in Human Disease and Development
Remnants of ancient viral pandemics in the form of viral DNA sequences embedded in our genomes are still active in healthy people, according to new research my colleagues and I… Read more »
October 14, 2022
Africa: Earth's Oxygen Has Varied Dramatically Over Time - Here's How Our Data Could Help Us Spot Alien Life
Are we alone in the universe? This is a question that has intrigued humans for centuries and inspired countless studies and works of fiction. But are we getting closer to finding… Read more »
October 17, 2022
South Africa: How A Group Of Scientists Rescued A Rare 500kg Chunk Of Human History
Scientific breakthroughs can happen in the strangest ways and places. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin because of mould growing on a Petri dish left out while he was on… Read more »
October 11, 2022
Africa: Genetically Engineered Bacteria Make Living Materials for Self-Repairing Walls and Cleaning Up Pollution
With just an incubator and some broth, researchers can grow reusable filters made of bacteria to clean up polluted water, detect chemicals in the environment and protect surfaces… Read more »
October 09, 2022
Africa: New 'Ethics Guidance' for Top Science Journals Aims to Root Out Harmful Research - but Can It Succeed?
The British journal Nature was founded in 1869 and is one of the world's most influential and prestigious outlets for scientific research. Its publisher, Nature Portfolio (a… Read more »
October 07, 2022
Africa: Our Homo Sapiens Ancestors Shared the World With Other Types of Humans Whose DNA Lives On in Our Genes
When the first modern humans arose in East Africa sometime between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago, the world was very different compared to today. Perhaps the biggest difference was… Read more »
October 09, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria's Missing Virus Hunters - University Decline Robs Country of Virologists
Nigeria's university system witnessed its golden era between the 1950s and 1980s. It produced globally celebrated academics and virologists. But the story has changed. Under… Read more »
October 06, 2022
Morocco: 'Sea Monsters' Were Real Millions of Years Ago. New Fossils Tell About Their Rise and Fall
Sixty six million years ago, sea monsters really existed. They were mosasaurs, huge marine lizards that lived at the same time as the last dinosaurs. Growing up to 12 metres long,… Read more »
October 05, 2022
Africa: Women in Antarctica Face Assault and Harassment - and a Legacy of Exclusion and Mistreatment
A federal report that, in the words of its key finding, "sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking are problems in the U.S. Antarctic Program community" - and that efforts… Read more »
October 04, 2022
Africa: Five Steps Every Researcher Should Take to Ensure Participants Are Not Harmed and Are Fully Heard
Academic research is not always abstract or theoretical. Nor does it take place in a vacuum. Research in many different disciplines is often grounded in the real world; it aims to… Read more »
Africa: Africa in Space - Continent Has a Lot to Gain, but Proper Plans Must Be Put in Place
Every year in October nearly 100 countries organise activities to mark World Space Week. The theme this year is space and sustainability. In this interview, Adejuwon Soyinka, West… Read more »
September 26, 2022
South Africa: Some Plants Can Short-Circuit the Toxic Effects of Metals - Scientists Are Trying to Harness Their Power
At first glance, it's hard to see what gold, iron, lead, arsenic, silver, platinum and tin have in common. A look at the periodic table will clear up the confusion: they are all… Read more »
September 25, 2022
Africa: In a World First, Nasa's Dart Mission Is About to Smash Into an Asteroid. What Will We Learn?
On September 26 at 11.15pm UTC, NASA's DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) will be the first to deliberately and measurably change the motion of a significant body in… Read more »
September 21, 2022
Africa: Six Recent Discoveries That Have Changed How We Think About Human Origins
Scientific study of human evolution historically reassured us of a comforting order to things. It has painted humans as as cleverer, more intellectual and caring than our ancestral… Read more »
September 15, 2022
Africa: We Found the Oldest Ever Vertebrate Fossil Heart. It Tells a 380 Million-Year-Old Story of How Our Bodies Evolved
In the limestone ranges of Western Australia's Kimberley region, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, you'll find one of the world's best-preserved ancient reef complexes. Read more »
September 20, 2022
Africa: African Ubuntu Can Deepen How Research Is Done
Many academic studies have been centred on Western theories and methodologies for a long time. This approach to research is broadly defined as "universalist". It assumes that… Read more »
September 15, 2022
Africa: Like Genes, Your Gut Microbes Pass From One Generation to the Next
When the first humans moved out of Africa, they carried their gut microbes with them. Turns out, these microbes also evolved along with them. Read more »
September 16, 2022
Africa: WHO Advised Against the Use of Two Antibody Therapies Against Covid - Here's What That Means
New guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly advises against using the antibody therapies sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab to treat patients with COVID-19. Read more »
September 15, 2022
Africa: Viruses May Be 'Watching' You - Some Microbes Lie in Wait Until Their Hosts Unknowingly Give Them the Signal to Start Multiplying and Kill Them
After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might picture a virus as a nasty spiked ball - a mindless killer that gets into a cell and hijacks its machinery to create a… Read more »
September 12, 2022
Africa: Uncovering the Genetic Basis of Mental Illness Requires Tools That Aren't Just Based On White People
Mental illness is a growing public health problem. In 2019, an estimated 1 in 8 people around the world were affected by mental disorders like depression, schizophrenia or bipolar… Read more »
Africa: How Fake Science Websites Hijack Our Trust in Experts to Misinform and Confuse
The scientific method is rigorous. Claims and premises are supported with evidence. The peer review system is designed to ensure that research is scrutinised by experts before… Read more »
September 08, 2022
Africa: How Massive Stars Steal Planets - New Research
Our Sun has a rather lonely existence in the Milky Way galaxy. It sits on its own, four light years away from the nearest star, with only its planetary system for company. But it… Read more »