December 19, 2023
Africa: How Govt Payments to the Vulnerable Can Multiply to Create Economic Growth for Everyone
The economic fallout of COVID-19 left people around the world facing a significant threat to their livelihood. As governments scrambled to mitigate the pandemic's impact on their… Read more »
December 13, 2023
Africa: COP28's Commitment to Transforming Farming and Food Systems Is an Insult to Africans
Globally, food systems are unsustainable: 80% of the production of food is powered by fossil fuels. The food system is responsible for over one-third of global greenhouse gas… Read more »
December 10, 2023
Africa: Improved Employment Policies Can Encourage Fathers to Be More Involved At Home
While the COVID-19 pandemic had many detrimental socio-economic and health impacts, one silver lining has been the influence of remote work on men's involvement in unpaid work at… Read more »
December 08, 2023
Africa: Frozen Methane Under the Seabed Is Thawing As Oceans Warm - and Things Are Worse Than We Thought
Buried beneath the oceans surrounding continents is a naturally occurring frozen form of methane and water. Sometimes dubbed ''fire-ice'' as you can literally set light to it,… Read more »
Africa: The Disagreement Between Two Climate Scientists That Will Decide Our Future
Getting to net zero emissions by mid-century is conventionally understood as humanity's best hope for keeping Earth's surface temperature (already 1.2°C above its… Read more »
December 05, 2023
Africa: Could Antivirals Reduce Your Risk of Long Covid? Where the Research Is Up to On Prevention and Treatment
Evidence is continuing to accumulate on the burden and frequency of chronic effects after a COVID infection, which fall under the umbrella term "long COVID". Read more »
November 26, 2023
Africa: How Worried Should We Be About the Pneumonia Outbreak in China?
Reports of a surge in pneumonia-like illness primarily affecting children in northern China have captured our attention. The last time we heard about a mysterious respiratory… Read more »
October 24, 2023
Nigeria: Kola Nut - From Nanofertiliser to Protecting Metals From Corrosion - Our Research Finds New Uses for the Valuable Plant
The kola nut tree is grown for its seed. The tree is indigenous to west Africa, where it is widely cultivated. It's now also found in Asia, South America and the Caribbean. Read more »
October 23, 2023
Africa: How Much Time Do Kids Spend On Devices - Playing Games, Watching Videos, Texting and Using the Phone?
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 »
September 24, 2023
Southern Africa: Young People With Sexual, Gender Diversity At Higher Risk of Stopping HIV Treatment Because of Stigma, Harsh Laws
Ending the AIDS pandemic - particularly in eastern and southern Africa - cannot be achieved unless more resources are channelled to meet the needs of key vulnerable populations. Read more »
Africa: Global Approach to Serious Crimes Is Shifting to Domestic Trials - Here's What I Found in Three African Countries
Domestic trials of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are considered quicker, cheaper and more responsive to victims' needs than the International Criminal Court's… Read more »
September 21, 2023
North Africa: Was the Freak 'Medicane' Storm That Devastated Libya a Glimpse of North Africa's Future?
Storm Daniel landed on the Libyan coastal town of Toukrah in the early hours of September 10 and started moving east. Soon the wind was rising and heavy rain falling, forcing… Read more »
September 20, 2023
Africa: Your Unique Body Odor Could Identify Who You Are and Provide Insights Into Your Health - All From the Touch of a Hand
From the aroma of fresh-cut grass to the smell of a loved one, you encounter scents in every part of your life. Not only are you constantly surrounded by odor, you're also… Read more »
September 19, 2023
Africa: Why Invasive Ants Are a Silent Threat to Our Ecosystems
Invertebrates are often described by experts as the "little things that run the world", and ants are certainly one of the top contenders for this role. Ants help ecosystems to… Read more »
September 18, 2023
Africa: Racial Trauma Has Profound Mental Health Consequence - a Black Clinical Psychologist Offers 5 Ways to Heal
Since European expansion into the Americas, white people have demonized Black people and portrayed them as undesirable, violent and hypersexual. Originally, the intent of this… Read more »
September 20, 2023
Africa: Five Golden Rules for Effective Science Communication - Perspectives From a Documentary Maker
Over the past three years, people from all walks of life have learned a great deal about different branches of science. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many of us to information… Read more »
August 28, 2023
Africa: Finding a Live Brain Worm Is Rare. 4 Ways to Protect Yourself From More Common Parasites
News reports this morning describe how shocked doctors removed a live worm from a woman's brain in a Canberra hospital last year. The woman had previously been admitted to hospital… Read more »
August 29, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's Traditional Medicines Should Be Used in Modern Health Care
Traditional medicines are part of the cultural heritage of many Africans. About 80% of the African continent's population use these medicines for healthcare. Read more »
August 22, 2023
Africa: 'Dirty Red' - How Periods Have Been Stigmatised Through History to the Modern Day
About a year ago, at a friend's wedding, a fellow guest asked whether I knew that modern sanitary towels owe their origins to resourceful World War I field nurses who discovered… Read more »
August 15, 2023
Africa: The Orgasm Gap and Why Women Climax Less Than Men
Imagine a steamy sex scene involving a woman and a man from your favourite television show or movie. It's likely that both parties orgasm. But this doesn't reflect reality. Read more »
August 03, 2023
Africa: Direct Costs of Climate Policies Aren't a Major Barrier to Public Support, Research Reveals #AfricaClimateHope
Amid headlines of wildfires raging across Europe and Africa and flooding in China, the UK government took the bewildering choice to expand fossil fuel extraction. Read more »
August 06, 2023
Ghana: Ghana's Housing Policy and Regulation Is Failing - Covid Proved As Much
Access to decent housing is a fundamental human right. Across sub-Saharan Africa, however, this right remains an elusive dream for many households. Read more »
Kenya: Living in Nairobi's Informal Areas Spikes Chances of Having High Blood Pressure
Hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is a non-communicable disease that occurs when there is a sustained elevation in the pressure of the blood that flows… Read more »
August 04, 2023
Africa: More Adults Than Ever Have Been Seeking ADHD Medications - an Expert Explains What Could Be Driving Trend
As a woman in my 30s who was constantly typing "ADHD" into my computer, something interesting happened to me in 2021. I started receiving a wave of advertisements beckoning me to… Read more »
July 31, 2023
Africa: 3 Ways Higher Education Can Become More Hopeful in the Post-Pandemic, Post-AI Era
We live at a time when universities and colleges are facing multiplying crises, pressures and changes. Read more »