Uganda’s electricity distribution is changing hands – what’s at stake: Uganda’s electricity sector is at a turning point, as Umeme Limited’s 20-year concession draws to a close. Umeme was the first private distribution operator in anglophone Africa. For nearly two decades, the listed company was the dominant distributor of electricity to the country’s 2.3 million …
South Africa’s modern rondavels: family homes may be changing, but traditions remain: The Mbhashe area of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province is a landscape of hills, fields and river valleys leading to the Indian Ocean. All along the ridges are the homesteads of the Xhosa people who have lived here since before colonial times. In …
Warming oceans are changing marine habitats – study explores the impact on thousands of species: Every year, human activities release billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the Sun, making the Earth warmer than it would be without them. Over 90% of the extra heat from greenhouse gases …
Graphene at 20: still no sign of the promised space elevator, but here’s how this wonder material is quietly changing the world: High Level Specialist Twenty years ago this October, two physicists at the University of Manchester, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, published a groundbreaking paper on the “electric field effect in atomically thin carbon …
Four breakthroughs that are changing our understanding of dreams: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock People have pondered whether dreams have a purpose throughout human history. Modern scientists are fascinated with this question too. For a long time the science of dreams has oscillated between fringe research and the mainstream. But creative study designs and new technology are transforming …
South Africa is changing its retirement rules to help boost country savings: how it will work: A study of 160 countries, spanning 60 years of economic history, establishes that there is no country that has been able to transition from “poor to prosperous” without a high savings rate. And that households – in other words …
How supermarkets are changing their branding to make you think they’re cheaper: Discounters have long copied more established brands – but now it's working the other way too. Tesco UK shoppers have specific preferences when it comes to their favourite supermarkets. M&S was voted as the best in a recent survey, followed closely by German …
Spycatcher scandal: newly released documents from the Thatcher era reveal the changing nature of government secrecy: I grew up in Tasmania in the 1980s. The capital city, Hobart, had a bit of a “living at the edge of the world” feeling in those days. It seemed about as far away from anywhere as you could …
Changing the lyrics to hit songs might be increasingly noticeable – but it’s a longstanding musical practice: Electronic dance music band The Prodigy are the latest act to attract attention for changing the lyrics to a longstanding hit in recent live shows. They now repeat the opening line “change my pitch up” in place of …
Health professionals need to collaborate. Changing how they’re taught helps build that skill: It's crucial that medical professionals learn to collaborate. Katleho Seisa When health professionals collaborate rather than operating in silos, everyone benefits – patients, families and the health system at large. This is a fact supported by ample research evidence. The professionals reap …
Birds of east Africa: new book reveals their extraordinary diversity and changing behaviour: 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds is a new book that uses academic research to tell fascinating stories about the tropical birds of east Africa, from well-known species to rare ones. It also explores changing bird behaviour in the region. Its …
South Africa’s surveillance law is changing but citizens’ privacy is still at risk: In a ringing judgment for the right to privacy, the South African Constitutional Court declared sections of the country’s main communication surveillance law unconstitutional in February 2021. The court gave parliament three years to pass a new law remedying the areas of …
Changing the age of consent is not the solution to protecting young people from unhealthy relationships with adults: Pandagolik1/Shutterstock Comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of abuse, including sexual assault and rape, by four women. The allegations – which Brand denies – include the sexual assault of a woman who says she was …
How ducks, geese and swans see the world – and why this puts them at risk in a changing environment: The blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) is a species endemic to New Zealand. Graham Martin, CC BY-NC-SA Each year, millions of birds fly into power lines, wind turbines and the other man-made structures that litter the …
IYF Celebrates Women In Tech – Skills For Success Is Changing The Gender Landscape In Information Technology: Digital technologies have created new spaces for interaction and enabled new ways to connect, share experiences, work and build communities. It is estimated that by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa alone more than 230 million jobs will require digital …
South Africa’s great white sharks are changing locations – they need to be monitored for beach safety and conservation: South Africa is renowned for having one of the world’s biggest populations of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Substantial declines have been observed, however, in places where the sharks normally gather on the coast of the …
World Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but Spain’s #MeToo moment shows things are changing: Winning the women’s World Cup was a significant moment for Spanish football. Spain is now one of only two teams who are world champions in both the male and female competitions (Germany is the other). This momentous …
World’s beaches are changing because of climate change – green thinking is needed to save them: Coastlines – the interface between land and sea – lie at the frontline in the battle against climate change impacts. Globally, almost 1 billion people now live within 10km of a coastline and the same number live in areas …