Colorectal Cancer Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa Receiving Inadequate Care; Survival After Diagnosis Poor, New Study Shows

In new findings led by researchers at the American Cancer Society, Martin-Luther University in Germany, and many other institutes worldwide, fewer than one in 20 patients diagnosed with potentially curable colorectal cancer received standard of care in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa’s plans for improving epilepsy care: Action Amos

ILAE spoke with Action Amos about plans and strategies for improving epilepsy care across Africa. Leveraged by the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders (IGAP), four “trendsetter” countries are taking a variety of approaches to engage governments and ensure the participation of people with epilepsy in all of their initiatives.

Stellenbosch University selects Symplectic Elements to support and streamline research outputs submissions to the DHET

Digital Science is pleased to announce that Stellenbosch University (SU) has selected Symplectic Elements from Digital Science’s flagship products to support its goal of advancing knowledge in service of society.

Empowering people with epilepsy to lead the way in reducing stigma

Stigma affects all aspects of epilepsy care. It affects the lives of people with epilepsy when they are not given equal access to education, employment, and social opportunities. In a US study, one-third of respondents identified stigma—not seizures—as the most difficult part of living with epilepsy.

Moffitt Cancer Center Joins Weill Cornell Medicine and University of North Carolina to Improve HIV-Related Cancer Care Abroad

Moffitt Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have received a $3.5 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to improve screening and preventative treatment of cervical cancer for women living with HIV in low-resource countries.

African School of Physics Brings New Opportunities

The 7th African School of Fundamental Physics and Applications (ASP) will be held in-person at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, 2022. Teams of leading physicists from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and universities and other institutions across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa will introduce more than 70 African graduate students to physics theories, experiments, and technologies.

University of Kentucky-led project awarded $2.5 million by NSF to study climate change, biodiversity

A study led by the University of Kentucky has been selected for funding by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) “Biodiversity on a Changing Planet” program, an international, transdisciplinary effort that addresses major challenges related to climate change. The five-year project has been awarded nearly $2.5 million.

Phillip A. Hough, Ph.D., Selected for Fulbright Global Scholar Award

Phillip A. Hough, Ph.D., was selected for a Fulbright Global Scholar Award, based on his important sociological research in rural Colombia. The award will provide him with the opportunity to study the plight of coffee-producing farmers living across the “global coffee belt” regions of Latin America, Africa and East Asia.

Does environmental stress drive migration?

While climate-driven migration has been deemed a major threat in public discourse and academic research, comprehensive studies that take into account both environmental and social factors globally have been scarce. Now, with the help of machine learning, a research team led by Aalto University has drawn a clearer picture of the factors involved in migration for 178 countries.

IHV Researchers Receive $6.5M to Create African Big Data Hub Designed to Address Public Health and Pandemic Preparedness

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV), a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, have received $6.5 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to streamline big data collection in Nigeria and South Africa in addressing public health needs of the COVID-19 and HIV pandemics.

With short course of TB prevention for people living with HIV, completion soars

People who are HIV positive and living in high tuberculosis-transmission regions of the world are much more likely to finish a TB-prevention regimen lasting just three months – half as long as the standard treatment, a large clinical trial in Africa has found.

Global Virus Network (GVN) Adds Senegal’s IRESSEF As Newest Member to Mitigate Viral Threats

The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 63 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 34 countries comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans, and the Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation [Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training], or the IRESSEF, announced the addition of the IRESSEF as GVN’s newest Center of Excellence.

Finding pathways for sustainable development in Africa

A new project funded by the Belmont Forum will develop novel tools and capacities to understand and manage interlinkages between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and support sustainable development pathways for African countries.

How Did 500 Species of a Fish Form in a Lake? Dramatically Different Body Clocks

Despite the dramatic difference between day and nightlife, how fish exploit different times of day has not been studied systematically. Scientists explored alterations in the circadian timing of activity and the duration of rest-wake cycles in Lake Malawi’s cichlids and identified the first single nocturnal species. Timing and duration of rest and activity varies dramatically, and continuously, between populations of Lake Malawi cichlids, providing a system for exploring the molecular and neural basis underlying variation in nocturnal activity.

HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE READY FOR NUCLEAR-POWERED ELECTRICITY?

A new study in the journal Risk Analysis suggests that countries representing more than 80 percent of potential growth in low-carbon electricity demand—in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa—may lack the economic or institutional quality to deploy nuclear power to meet their energy needs. The authors suggest that if nuclear power is to safely expand its role in mitigating climate change, countries need to radically improve their ability to manage the technology.

WHAT MOTIVATES NATURAL RESOURCE POLICYMAKERS IN AFRICA TO TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE?

Climate services are vital tools for decision makers addressing climate change in developing countries. Science-based seasonal forecasts and accompanying materials can support climate risk management in agriculture, health, water management, energy, and disaster risk reduction.

But in East Africa, natural resource managers have been slow to use climate information services, partly because they are difficult to understand and may not feel relevant for their local planning purposes. A new study published by the journal Risk Analysis suggests that one way to encourage policymakers in East Africa to use climate services more often is to appeal to the motivational factors that influence their professional actions on climate change.

Eminent expert available on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

As the African Continental Free Trade Area  (AfCFTA), the largest free trade area in the world, approaches its one-month implementation milestone on February 1, your audiences may benefit from insights from Professor Landry Signé, Ph.D. on the AfCFTA and its emergence for continental and global trade in…

The secret social lives of giant poisonous rats

A new study confirmed that the rabbit-sized rodent sequesters poison from the bark of Acokanthera schimperi, known as the poison arrow tree, into specialized fur for defense. The researchers also discovered an unexpected social life—the rats appear to be monogamous and may even form small family units with their offspring.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Researchers Receive $5 Million NIH Grant to Study HIV and HPV Cancers in Africa

A team of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a five-year, $4.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a research center to investigate HIV- and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers in Africa.

New Study Shows How Climate Impacts Food Webs, Poses Socioeconomic Threat in Eastern Africa

For the first time, a research team has obtained high resolution sedimentary core samples from Lake Tanganyika. The samples show that high frequency variability in climate can lead to major disruptions in how the lake’s food web functions. The changes could put millions of people at risk who rely on the lake for food security. The team says the findings are a critical building block toward research-informed policymaking in the Lake Tanganyika region.