Some women have become pregnant through anal sex – and other extremely rare methods of conception: Sometimes, pregnancies occur under extremely rare circumstances. fizkes/ Shutterstock Unless you skipped sex ed class, you probably have at least a basic understanding of how babies are made. An egg (ovum) needs to be fertilised by sperm during a …
Rare megamouth shark found in east Africa for the first time – why so little is known about it: A rarely seen megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was recently spotted in east Africa for the very first time. It was recorded in a market in Zanzibar, where it was being sold after being captured and killed. …
Developmental amnesia: the rare disorder that causes children to forget things they’ve just learned: Developmental amnesia can affect children throughout their adult lives too. Gorodenkoff/ Shutterstock Even though it came out more than 20 years ago, many people still remember Finding Nemo thanks to one of its beloved main characters: Dory. The blue fish is …
Libyan desert’s yellow glass: how we discovered the origin of these rare and mysterious shards: The pieces of Libyan desert glass that formed the basis of the study. Author provided The Great Sand Sea Desert stretches over an area of 72,000km² linking Egypt and Libya. If you find yourself in a particular part of the …
Painted messages in Angola’s abandoned liberation army camps offer a rare historical record: Lilian Ngoyi, one of the leaders of the 1956 women’s march against apartheid, is immortalised on an abandoned building. Justin Pearce In Angola’s Malanje province, the buildings of Camalundu stand abandoned amid open fields. On one of them, the fragmented words “IAN …
Five rare and unusual psychiatric syndromes – including one where people believe they are dead: Most people are familiar with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but some conditions are so rare that many psychiatrists won’t come across a single case in their professional lives. Here I present five of the rarest – …
Want to help protect rare birds in nesting season? Keep your dog on its lead: SGM/Shutterstock There are few sights more joyful than a dog bounding through the countryside. But for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife, the experience is quite different. Letting a dog off its lead can disturb several species without the owner even …
Being declared dead when you’re still alive – why these very rare events occur: Inked Pixels/Shutterstock An 82-year-old woman who was recently pronounced dead at a New York nursing home was later discovered to be alive by funeral home staff. This follows a similar incident in Iowa where a 66-year-old woman with early-onset dementia was …
Rare genetic disease may protect Ashkenazi Jews against tuberculosis – new study: Tuberculosis, humanity’s greatest infectious killer, is caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs but can also affect many other organs in the body. In 2021, around 10.6 million people worldwide fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) and 1.6 million people died from the …
The Whale: Brendan Fraser’s comeback offers rare representation of the fat queer male body on screen: The Whale debuted at the 2022 Venice Film Festival to a six-minute standing ovation for its Academy Award-nominated lead, Brendan Fraser, who has returned to the big screen after a considerable hiatus. Fraser’s fame was amplified in the 2000s …
DNA in the water shows South African scientists where to find a rare pipefish: The estuarine pipefish is not easy to find – it camouflages itself amid seagrass. Louw Claassens Keeping track of the world’s wildlife populations is fundamental to conservation efforts in the face of the continued deterioration of global biodiversity. But some species …
Rock stars: how a group of scientists in South Africa rescued a rare 500kg chunk of human history: A helicopter, net and a long-line cable – as well as a skilled pilot – were key to the 'rescue' operation. Richard Webb Scientific breakthroughs can happen in the strangest ways and places. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin …
Dengue in France: tropical diseases in Europe may not be that rare for much longer: Itsik Marom/Shutterstock Dengue, a viral infection spread by mosquitoes, is a common disease in parts of Asia and Latin America. Recently, though, France has experienced an outbreak of locally transmitted dengue. Dengue symptoms can include a fever, headache, joint pain, …
A South African university publisher makes it to 100. A rare and important event: Image by Liz Whitter courtesy of Wits University Press In the past month, my email has served up two contrasting examples of the state of scholarly publishing in African countries. The one was an invitation to celebrate the centenary of South …
What happened to the AstraZeneca vaccine? Now rare in rich countries, it’s still saving lives around the world: PhotobyTawat/Shutterstock The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, was one of the first vaccines available for use in the UK and around the world during the COVID pandemic. More than two billion doses …
A cool Port Elizabeth image: CEN Caseville MI 1909 RARE VIEW Caseville founded at Mouth of the Pigeon River Town originally called Pigeon River Settlement later known was Port Elizabeth & Elizabethtown2 Image by UpNorth Memories – Don Harrison Image automatically curated and published by www.free-mail.co.za – CLICK HERE to learn more about WP Robot …
A nice Port Elizabeth image: CEN Caseville MI 1909 RARE VIEW Caseville founded at Mouth of the Pigeon River Town originally called Pigeon River Settlement later known was Port Elizabeth & Elizabethtown Image by UpNorth Memories – Don Harrison Image automatically curated and published by www.free-mail.co.za – CLICK HERE to learn more about WP Robot …
A cool South African City image: A rare sighting–two prides, less than ten feet away, Pilanesburg Image by olderock1 The others were a bit further away. One walked across the road right in front of our car! as we held our breath and watched in awe. Pilanesberg Game Reserve, the fourth largest park in South …