The amazing flowers growing in pavement cracks and why you shouldn’t pass them by: Jose V Diaz/Shutterstock In spring and summer flowers pop up spontaneously in lawns, playgrounds, fields and even cracks in the pavement. But what do you see: weeds or wildflowers? You might feel a little frustrated when you see wildflowers growing in …
Mpox vaccines: where they come from and what stands in the way of distributing them in Africa: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared the latest outbreak of mpox in Africa a health emergency. An epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to neighbouring …
How The Bear sets up stereotypes of tough male and emotional female chefs – and then tears them down: This article contains spoilers for the second series of The Bear. The Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White said in 2019: “The real positive with men [in professional kitchens is] they are not as emotional, and they …
Kenya’s protests are different this time: 3 things that make it harder for government to crush them: On 25 June 2024, a youth-led protest primarily composed of Gen Zs, as they are popularly referred to, stormed Kenya’s parliament. Legislators voted to pass the Finance Bill 2024 in its third and last reading ahead of presidential …
Snakebites can destroy skin, muscle, and even bone – exciting progress on drugs to treat them: The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 million to 2.7 million people are envenomed by snakes annually, resulting in upwards of 138,000 deaths. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, snakebite annually kills between 20,000 and 32,000 people, though a 2022 paper …
African countries can’t resolve their debt crisis under a system rigged against them: The debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a critical juncture. Twenty are in, or at risk of, debt distress. Three pivotal elements significantly contribute to this. Firstly, the rules governing the international banking system favour developed countries and …
Lagos’ slum dwellers are excluded from decisions that affect them. 3 ways to change that: Lagos is a city of two halves: money dripping in the corridors of corporate offices, and stagnant water dripping in the slums that are home to over 20 million. Residents of informal settlements grapple with the daily challenges that come …
South Africans tasted the fruits of freedom and then corruption snatched them away – podcast: Five years after his momentous election as South African president, Nelson Mandela stepped down after one term in office in 1999. Thabo Mbeki, his deputy, took over the mantle of the post-apartheid transition. Mbeki would lead the country for the …
African wild dogs will soon have their own sperm bank – how artificial breeding will help them survive: Scientists from the Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals have been working in southern Africa for over 15 years to protect endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). They’ve now decided to freeze sperm from as …
Lagos bans single-use plastics – why I think Nigeria should have taxed them instead: Waste pollution is a huge problem in Nigeria, with serious impacts on the environment. In response, the Lagos state government has banned styrofoam (a type of plastic widely used as food containers) and other single-use products. Following a three-week moratorium for …
Fake academic papers are on the rise: why they’re a danger and how to stop them: Fake academic articles can cause significant harm. Nora Carol Photography In the 1800s, British colonists in India set about trying to reduce the cobra population, which was making life and trade very difficult in Delhi. They began to pay …
Deepfakes in South Africa: protecting your image online is the key to fighting them: Deepfakes pose serious dangers. Arkadiusz Wargu?a/iStock Leanne Manas is a familiar face on South African televisions. Towards the end of 2023 the morning news presenter’s face showed up somewhere else: in bogus news stories and fake advertisements in which “she” appeared …
80% of premature baby deaths happen in poorer countries. Five simple measures that can help save them: Worldwide in 2020 a baby died every 40 seconds because of complications of prematurity. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years old. The burden of preterm birth is heavier in in low- …
Spiders really may be more scared of you than you are of them: Spiders often act passively in response to humans. Jimmy_Chan/Shutterstock Spiders have evolved creative strategies to allow them to thrive in habitats across the globe. The one thing that seems to elude them though, is the ability to charm the humans that they …
Wolves return to Europe: what to do about them is a people problem – podcast: Wolves are making a comeback across Europe. As their populations grow, 65,000 livestock are killed each year by wolves. Now, moves are underway to change the protection status of the wolf in the European Union. In this episode of The …
Which zoo animals are most active in winter and what times are best to see them?: Amur tigers are evolved for winter weather Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock The temperature has dropped, the nights have drawn in. The winter holidays have started, families are gathered – so where can you go to fuel the imagination and get some …
Apple, Tesla and Nvidia were among 2023’s ‘magnificent seven’ stocks – here’s what to expect from them all in 2024: In the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, a group of seven gunfighters protect a village from bandits. Only three survive to ride out of town at the end of the movie. The odds look much …
Teaching prisoners to start businesses can help them return to society: When people are released from prison back into society, they can find themselves in an unknown world for which they are ill-equipped. They need stability and security to get their lives back on track – yet often have nowhere to go. They also tend …