By Dr. Jemimah Njuki A man and a woman are heading to a flood plain in Zambia. They part ways upon arrival: he disappears on a boat to go fishing, and she makes her way to collect firewood to fry fish by the roadside. He will earn much higher wages…
Authorities in the Cabo Verde islands are looking for clues as to why 163 whales washed up on a Boa Vista beach this week, launching a massive rescue effort that included everyone from police and fire professionals, to maritime and fisheries staff. Volunteers from Norte and Bofareira, two nearby communities,…
A Nigerian-led startup that wants to boost the access to African DNA for research purposes has received US$4.5 million in funding. The 54gene enterprise – launched earlier this year with bases in Nigeria and the United States – seeks to end the lack of diversity in DNA that’s used in…
Madagascar is known for its breathtaking biodiversity, but it appears that conservation efforts there often are disconnected from the scientific research that might inform the decisions made by managers of the nation’s many protected areas. That’s according to a new study from a team at Bangor University in the UK,…
The high rise can mean high risks when making professional decisions, according to an intriguing new study set for publication in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. A team of U.S. researchers conducted experiments to measure the impact of elevation – commonly found in the high-rises of Nairobi, Cape Town, Cairo…
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) say they’ve made promising breakthroughs in understanding how a treatment for the deadly Marburg virus might work. The team led by Erica Ollmann Saphire, a TSRI professor and senior author of the study, mapped the Marburg virus structure using high-resolution imaging to better…
For an island nation like Seychelles, the loss of coral reefs has impacts in tourism and fishing, two of the country’s key economic sectors. Yet protecting coral is a priority because of climate implications too, and new research from SECORE International – a global network of scientists and coral conservationists…
Researchers studying African bonobo populations in the Congo Basin say they’ve discovered a new malaria parasite that’s specific to their geography and species – with potential implications for human health, because the newly discovered Plasmodium lomamiensis is closely related to a parasite known to cause malaria infections in people. Dr….
In the quest to better understand marine ecosystems and climate, South Africa and Brazil will partner with the European Union to study the Atlantic Ocean shared by their nations. The South Atlantic Research and Innovation Flagship Initiative was launched in July at the Belém Tower in Lisbon. The program is…
Wildlife traffickers are exploiting the air transport sector to smuggle ivory, rhino horn and other protected animals and products on commercial airline flights, but there are ways to stop them. Those recommendations are found in a report, “Flying Under the Radar: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector,” produced as…
A team of scientists studying a toxic mold in Tanzania say it is commonly found on sunflower seeds and can pose a health risk. The study conducted by Michigan State University researchers looked for the presence of aflatoxin in seeds and cakes in communities including Dodoma, Singida and Babati-Manyara, where…
About 200 experts and policy decision makers wrapped up a conference on science and technology in Nairobi on Friday. Kenya hosted leaders from 19 countries across sub-Saharan Africa who connected with their counterparts from China and other “innovation nations.” The Partnership for Skills in the Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET)’s…
For more than 100 years, anthropologists and other scientists have studied the San people who live in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, with pockets in Angola, Lesotho, Zambia and other southern nations. Now, those scientists who want to study their culture, heritage and genes will need to abide by a code…