Light is the science of the future – the Africans using it to solve local challenges: Light-based technologies have wide practical applications. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY Light is all around us, essential for one of our primary senses (sight) as well as life on Earth itself. It underpins many technologies that affect our daily lives, …
Drought and farming: how women in South Africa are using Indigenous knowledge to cope: Africa’s small-scale farmers make up nearly 80% of all farms in the agriculture sector. In South Africa, there are about 2 million small-scale farmers, predominantly Black and based in the eastern summer rainfall region of the country. A small-scale farmer produces …
Ghana needs to stop households from using firewood: what must be done: Cooking on firewood and coal increases air pollution and ill health. Some of the dangers include stunted growth in children and undernutrition in children and adults. Babies who’ve been exposed to charcoal and firewood smoke while in the womb can have reduced birth …
Five disinformation tactics Russia is using to try to influence the US election: The White House’s recent exposure of Russian attempts to influence this year’s US presidential election will come as little surprise to anyone who followed disinformation tactics during the last US election. During the 2020 campaign, the Kremlin used its state-sponsored media outlets, …
How we’re using ‘chaos engineering’ to make cloud computing less vulnerable to cyber attacks: Armadillo Photograp Cloud computing has emerged as a crucial element in today’s technology, serving as the backbone for global connectivity. It empowers businesses, governments, and individuals to employ and construct cloud-based services and forms the foundation for a huge range of …
Malawi’s school kids are using tablets to improve their reading and maths skills: Malawi introduced free primary education in 1994. This has significantly improved access to schooling. However, the country – which is one of the poorest in the world – still faces a high learning poverty rate of 87%. Learning poverty is a measure …
Gaza war: Israel using AI to identify human targets raising fears that innocents are being caught in the net: Death by algorithm: increasingly AI is being used to identify targets, as in Gaza. TSViPhoto/Shutterstock A report by Jerusalem-based investigative journalists published in +972 magazine finds that AI targeting systems have played a key role in …
History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future: The Death of Julius Caesar, an 1806 painting by Vincenzo Camuccini. Wikipedia American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” I’ve been working …
Using your phone at work can help to balance your home life – new research: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock You might not think twice about using your phone while you’re at work. Maybe you need to send a quick message to a family member or a friend, or catch up on the news. Then there’s that dental …
Brandalism: the environmental activists using spoof adverts to critique rampant consumerism – podcast: Amid the flurry of billboards promoting cut price deals in the run up to Black Friday, some activists have slipped in the odd spoof advert. By subverting public advertising space, they’re risking legal action to try and make serious points about the …
Can HIV be cured using gene editing? We will soon find out: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock HIV, the virus that causes Aids, was first identified in 1983. To catch this virus was initially a death sentence, but today, thanks to antiretroviral drugs, it can be kept in check. However, there is still no cure. A small biotech …
Just Stop Oil attack the Rokeby Venus: how the group is using the suffragettes’ disruptive tactics to shape public opinion: Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass on the Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez at the National Gallery in London. This, you might be surprised to hear, is not the first time this …
South Africa’s literacy crisis: our app could help young readers by using home language and English: Educational technology, while no silver bullet, can be a tool for learning. Wirestock Literacy changes lives: in Unesco’s words, it “empowers and liberates people, … reduces poverty, increases participation in the labour market and has positive effects on health …
Is someone using your pictures to catfish? Your rights when it comes to fake profiles and social media stalking: Ekateryna Zubal/Shutterstock If you’ve ever used a dating app, you’ve probably experienced the disappointment of meeting someone who doesn’t look quite like their photos. You may have even been a victim of catfishing, where someone creates …
How we’re using evidence to tackle net zero, slow economy and new hybrid working – sign up for Conversation partnership events and reports: Shutterstock Civil servants around the world are wrestling with a vast web of incredibly complex social problems. From meeting net zero targets in cash-strapped economies, with often low levels of political support, …
Sho Madjozi: the pop star using traditional culture to shape a fresh identity for young South Africans: South African rapper Sho Madjozi is a bold and colourful presence in pop culture, as famous for her catchy lyrics as for using traditional clothing and dance in a fresh way. The musician, actress and poet is also …
Seven tips for using the back-to-school mindset to help you stick to your goals: The back-to-school period is one of many temporal landmarks you can find throughout the year. chesterf/ Shutterstock Even if it’s been many years since you were last in school, you might still associate this time of year with that “back-to-school” mindset …
How linguists are unlocking the meanings of Shakespeare’s words using numbers: Rose Marinelli/Shutterstock Today it would seem odd to describe a flower with the word “bastard” – why apply a term of personal abuse to a flower? But in Shakespeare’s time, “bastard” was a technical term describing certain plants. Similarly, associating the word “bad” with …