Infectious disease outbreaks in African countries are, unfortunately, all too common. Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Uganda; Marburg virus in Guinea or Equatorial Guinea; cholera in Malawi; malaria and tuberculosis are among them. These diseases do not respect human-made or porous borders. So it’s essential that scientists in Africa are able […]
In May 2023, the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR) – hosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT) on behalf of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) – marked its fifth year since it was established as one of ARUA’s interdisciplinary research centres of excellence in 13 priority thematic areas that align […]
It is time for Africa to focus on producing vaccines for its population. In February 2021, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres highlighted vaccine equity as “the biggest moral test before the global community.” This statement was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic which exposed the vulnerability of Africa’s health systems and amplified the urgency for the continent […]
I am a poor navigator. This is not an easy thing for a field geologist to admit. We need to be able to find our planned area of interest in good time and make our way back to our potentially hidden and distant vehicles at the end of the day. It’s especially true that I […]
When a Virgin Galactic commercial flight soared into space on 8 September 2023, there were two Virgin Galactic pilots, an instructor and three passengers on board – as well as two fossils of ancient prehuman relatives from South Africa. Timothy Nash, a businessman, carried a clavicle belonging to Australopithecus sediba and the thumb bone of […]
The search for an effective vaccine against Lassa fever has gained momentum in recent years. Currently, early supportive care and the anti-viral drug Ribavirin are the primary methods of patient treatment. Lassa fever has long been a public health concern in Nigeria and parts of West Africa, since the disease was first identified in 1969. […]
On 17 March 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that health officials in Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had detected cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus. The WHO said the Burundian government had declared the detection of the virus a national public health emergency after three cases were confirmed. The Conversation Africa’s Wale Fatade […]
Sukulwenkosi Dube — Matutu Bulawayo Bureau Rural schools in Matabeleland South are being equipped with computer and science laboratories as part of President Mnangagwa’s vision of leaving no one and no place behind. The development has uplifted areas that were previously perceived as marginalised. Last Thursday, computer laboratories were commissioned at 12 rural schools in […]
Sixty-six million years ago, the Cretaceous period ended. Dinosaurs disappeared, along with around 90% of all species on Earth. The patterns and causes of this extinction have been debated since palaeontology began. Was it a slow, inevitable decline, or did the end come quickly, driven by a sudden, unpredictable disaster? Georges Cuvier, working in the […]
Africa is the continent with the most genetic diversity, but is gravely underrepresented in genomic research, with only 2% of global genomic data coming from people of African ancestry as of 2021. As a result, disease risk prediction and drug development has predominantly used data from European populations, with varying applicability to health outcomes in […]
While using the MeerKAT radio telescope to study a distant galaxy towards PKS 1830-211, scientists discovered something unexpected: gas clouds made up of some of the largest hydrogen atoms in the universe, Rydberg atoms. It is the first time scientists observed these hydrogen atoms in a distant galaxy. What’s more, they believe the large atoms […]
Where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet, forming the modern border between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, lies a hill that hardly stands out from the rest. One could easily pass it without realising its historical significance. It was on and around this hill that what appears to be southern Africa’s earliest state-level society and […]
Meteorites – fragments of rock that have fallen to Earth from space in spectacularly fiery meteors – have been the subject of public fascination, awe, myths and even religious worship for thousands of years. In recent decades they’ve become a cosmic Rosetta Stone for scientists investigating the birth throes of our solar system and the […]
A small study published in September found that some ceramic plates and bowls bought from South African chain stores are coated in glaze that contains lead, a toxic heavy metal which can damage multiple organs when consumed. The paper comes in the wake of research that finds that due to its harmful effects on the […]
Despite not securing a phase-out of fossil fuels, COP28 witnessed a historic focus on food. The summit saw over $7 billion in funding commitments, as well as a pledge by 152 countries to include food and agriculture in their climate plans. There is no doubt that commercial agriculture is a major contributor to the climate crisis, […]
Climate change and vaccine hesitancy pose serious threats to public health Vaccination is one of the most important ways to protect people against diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, influenza, and even the coronavirus. It is a simple, safe, and effective way to save millions of lives […]
Lusaka, Zambia — The battle against infectious diseases neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa is a critical and complex issue that requires urgent attention. While the continent has made significant strides in combating these threats, formidable challenges remain, demanding a unified and strategic response. During a high-level session on Combating Infectious […]
A large group of premium tobacco producers and workers from a few tobacco growers’ countries, Colombia, Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua, have protested on February 5th in front of the Panama Convention Centre where the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP) of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is currently taking place. […]