November 22, 2021
Kenya: A Fossil Cranium From Kenya Tells the Story of an Extinct Elephant Species
Some 4.5 million years ago, during the early Pliocene epoch, Kenya's Lake Turkana looked very different than it does today. Grasslands and open woodlands were spreading in cooler,… Read more »
July 15, 2021
South Africa: Fossil Tracks and Trunk Marks Reveal Signs of Ancient Elephants On South Africa's Coast
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, South Africa's Cape south coast looked very different. Some of the species that roamed this area are now extinct; others evolved over the… Read more »
June 17, 2021
Africa: Banning African Films Like Rafiki and Inxeba Doesn't Diminish Their Influence
Social media and internet forums function as an important space of contestation for issues relating to queer identities. This is evident in reactions to two fairly recent… Read more »
March 26, 2021
Africa: Africa's Elephant Species Are Both Endangered, Due to Poaching and Habitat Loss
Humans have been over-exploiting African elephants for centuries. More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire's demand for ivory led to the extinction of genetically distinct… Read more »
March 10, 2021
Cape Verde: How Indigenous Beans Could Boost Food Security
With just over half a million inhabitants, Cabo Verde is heavily dependent on food imports. It spent $65 million importing food products in 2018. Read more »
October 19, 2020
Africa: Invasive Mosquito Species Could Bring More Malaria to Africa's Urban Areas
A species of mosquito that can carry malaria - known as Anopheles stephensi - has invaded eastern Africa and is quickly moving across the region. Moina Spooner, from The… Read more »
August 28, 2020
Mali: One Coup Leads to Another, History Shows
Immediately after Mali's unpopular president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was removed on Aug. 18 by the military in a swift and bloodless coup, many Malians celebrated. Read more »
August 13, 2020
Africa: These World Heritage Sites Are Under Threat From Climate Change
Very few academics or policy makers are talking about the impact of climate change on heritage. Yet heritage is essential for social wellbeing, for identity creation, for… Read more »
March 24, 2020
Sudan: How the People Pulled Off an Improbable Revolution
When the turbulent and often tragic history of the past decade in North Africa is written, the 2019 pro-democracy revolution in Sudan will likely be considered one of the few… Read more »
June 12, 2019
Botswana: Court Ruling Is a Ray of Hope for LGBT People Across Africa
Botswana's High Court has ruled that private consensual sex between adults of the same sex is no longer criminal. The decision gives hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender… Read more »
June 02, 2019
South Africa: How Technology Could Help Rural South Africa Turn Sunshine Into Income
The way energy is produced and distributed is changing rapidly as the industry moves away from carbon-based energy production. Technological development in the production of… Read more »
April 18, 2019
Africa: Explainer - What Is Quantum Machine Learning and How Can It Help Us?
Artificial intelligence refers, among other things, to machines' capacity to demonstrate some degree of what humans consider "intelligence". This process is being driven by the… Read more »
January 30, 2019
Zambia: We Revealed the Value of Zambia's Wild Yam. Why It Matters
Wild harvested crops are a vital source of food in much of the world. Some common wild edible plants in southern Africa include wild mushrooms, such as Termitomyces titanicus,… Read more »
January 15, 2019
Africa: Huge Disparities in C-Sections Highlights Inequalities in Healthcare
When pregnancy or childbirth go wrong, access to Caesarean section - usually known as C-section - can be the difference between life and death for both the woman and her baby. Read more »
July 25, 2018
Africa: Africa's Ability to Deliver Peace and Security Rests On Fixing Key Relationships
The recent African Union (AU) summit was overshadowed by peace and security issues. In particular, the focus was on political instability and armed conflict in Libya, Democratic… Read more »
May 06, 2018
Africa: Why Hip-Hop Needs to Be Taken More Seriously in Academic Circles
Jazz's current generation of stars grew up in these genre-fluid times with hip-hop. Concurrently, a significant number of hip-hop artists have been integrating jazz into their… Read more »
August 08, 2017
Africa: Why It's So Difficult to Tackle Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa
In the 1990s diabetes was seen as a condition that mainly affected rich people in high income countries. Nowadays, it's one of the leading contributors to death in all countries in… Read more »
June 28, 2017
South Africa: ANC Policy Papers Point to a Party in a Panic About Losing Power
The documents released ahead of the upcoming policy conference of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) expose a panicking party that sees enemies everywhere.… Read more »
January 15, 2017
Tanzania: Coral Reefs Off the Coast Are Being Destroyed, Most Beyond Repair
If current trends continue and countries fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all of the world's coral reefs will suffer severe bleaching on an annual basis, according… Read more »
November 13, 2016
Africa: How Biotechnology Could Offer Hope for Snakebite Victims
Snakebite is a major public health burden for low-income countries in tropical parts of the world. There are around 5 million bites and 150,000 deaths every year. And about 400,000… Read more »
October 29, 2015
Angola: Where Did All the Oil Riches Go? - Luanda Residents
A few years ago, Luanda, the capital of Angola, was on every ambitious investor's lips. With large infrastructure and housing projects rapidly changing its appearance, the city… Read more »
September 01, 2015
South Africa: E-Cigarettes May Help Smokers Cut Back but That Doesn't Mean They're Not Toxic
A recent study showing teenagers who use e-cigarettes are three times more likely to smoke normal cigarettes than those who don't amplifies the South African government's calls to… Read more »