Studying engineering is tough: 6 insights to help university students succeed: Support and a sense of community are among the ways that students build academic resilience. ASphotowed/iStock/Getty Plus Engineering courses are a popular choice among South African university students. But these courses are also gruelling and the attrition rates are high. The Council on Higher …
What caused Morocco’s earthquake? A geologist studying the Atlas mountains explains: The epicentre of Morocco’s devastating earthquake on 8 September was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 71km south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jesús Galindo-Zaldivar, who has been carrying out research on the formation of the Atlas mountains and the …
I’ve spent 50 years studying one seabird colony fight its way back from near extinction – now it faces new threats: A guillemot nesting on a cliff ledge on Skomer Island, south Wales. Andrew Astbury/Shutterstock Over the past few decades, Skomer Island off the south coast of Wales has witnessed a remarkable resurgence in its …
I’ve spent years studying happiness – here’s what actually makes for a happier life: Pexels/ajay donga It’s one thing to know what makes people happy, but quite another to live a happy life oneself. I didn’t get a true taste of happiness until I quit my decade-long career as a happiness academic, packed all I’d …
James Webb: telescope uncovers chemical secrets of distant world – paving the way for studying Earth-like planets: Artist impression of WASP b and its star NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Olmsted (STScI) Since the first planet orbiting a star other than the Sun was discovered in 1995, we have realised that planets and planetary systems …
We’ve been studying the same people for 76 years – this is what we’ve found out about Alzheimer’s disease: This article is part of the Insight’s Uncharted Brain series. In March 1946, just months after the end of the second world war, James Douglas began a pioneering and extraordinary study. Based on a representative sample …
Pregnancy in space: studying stem cells in zero gravity may determine whether it’s safe: Weightlessness affects how our cells develop and divide. MarcelClemens/Shutterstock Space is a hostile, extreme environment. It’s only a matter of time before ordinary people are exposed to this environment, either by engaging in space tourism or by joining self-sustaining colonies far …
Why African scientists are studying the genes of African species, and how they do it: The red mangrove is among the species already selected for genome sequencing. Busara/Shutterstock DNA is the blueprint of life. All the information that an organism needs to survive, reproduce, adapt to environments or survive a disease is in its DNA. …
Ruby clouds and water behaving strangely – what we found when studying an exoplanet’s dark side: An artist's impression of the dark side of ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b. Credit: Patricia Klein / MPIA, CC BY-SA Since astronomers discovered the first planet orbiting a star other than the Sun, we have found many worlds that are very …
What studying history at school can do for Nigerians: History is better taught to young, impressionable minds from an early age. Hannibal Hanschke/picture alliance via Getty Images History was removed from the Nigerian school curriculum in 2009 – supposedly because students avoided the subject, graduates didn’t have job prospects and teachers were scarce. But Nigerians …
Predicting droughts and floods: why we’re studying 19th-century ocean records: Alybaba/Shutterstock Floods have caused unprecedented damage in Europe recently, while in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, the equivalent of a year’s worth of average rainfall fell in just three days. In stark contrast, extreme heat and droughts have spawned wildfires and caused hundreds of deaths …
Why studying arts like acting or dance can better equip business students for the post-COVID world: COVID has seen the idea of caring for your employees take on a whole new meaning. As workplaces reopen and companies deal with the socio-economic fallout of the pandemic, leadership specialists increasingly stress the importance of maintaining this focus …
Studying maths post-GCSEs aids brain development – should it be compulsory?: Teenagers who stick to maths beyond the age of 16 have greater levels of certain brain chemicals that are critical for cognitive development, according to new research from the University of Oxford. The researchers, led by cognitive neuroscientist Roi Cohen Kadosh , found that …
Turing scheme: when it comes to studying abroad, money isn’t the only concern: Studying abroad for even a short period can lead to tangible social and economic benefits pxhere.com The Turing scheme, launched on March 12 by the UK government, is touted as a replacement for the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, to which UK students no …
Diving in the icy depths: the scientists studying what climate change is doing to the Arctic Ocean – The Conversation Weekly podcast: The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than any other place on Earth. Kevin Xu Photography via Shutterstock In this week’s episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, two experts explain how …
How studying fruit flies might help us prevent age-related hearing loss in humans: Around one in three people over 65 is affected by hearing loss. Vova Shevchuk/ Shutterstock Hearing loss is a common age-related ailment, affecting nearly one in every three people over the age of 65. The World Health Organization expects that by 2050, …
I asked Tanzanians about studying in China: here’s what they said: Tanzanian students sometimes felt isolated R.M. Nunes/Shutterstock Over the past three decades, China has turned into a major study-abroad hotspot for thousands of African students. In 2018 it hosted over 60,000 African students, making it the second most popular destination for African students abroad, …
Why studying African birds’ varied migration patterns is so important: A white-throated swallow, one of several intra-African migratory birds. MartinMaritz/Shutterstock Bird migration comes in many flavours – and, as with ice cream, “vanilla” is the one people are most familiar with. This is the process of flying from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, …