Africa’s forested areas – an estimated 14 % of the global forest area – are continuing to decline at an increasing rate – mostly because of human activities to convert forest land for economic purposes.
Tag: Africa
Climate-smart cows could deliver 10-20x more milk in Global South
A team of animal scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is set to deliver a potential game changer for subsistence farmers in Tanzania: cows that produce up to 20 times the milk of indigenous breeds.
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.
The swan song of African hydropower?
The attractiveness of new hydropower is decreasing fast, both due to the increasing economic competitiveness of solar panels and to the increasingly uncertain effects of climate change on river flows.
Rutgers Scientist’s Research Provides Insight Into COVID-19 Immunity
Exposure to common cold-causing coronaviruses may contribute to pre-existing immunity to COVID-19, according to a new study involving a Rutgers research scientist.
Kordofan giraffes face local extinction if poaching continues
Poaching of two Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffes per year could result in extinction in just 15 years within Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park without intervention. These are the alarming new findings of a University of Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society-led study published in the African Journal of Ecology.
Study Offers Guidance for Improving Access to Oncology Drug Treatments in Sub-Saharan Africa
Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health researchers review treatments that could improve outcomes for patients in a region where cancer rates are rising significantly.
New Genetic Technology Developed to Halt Malaria-Spreading Mosquitoes
Using CRISPR technology, scientists have engineered a new way to genetically suppress populations of Anopheles gambiae, the mosquitoes that primarily spread malaria in Africa and contribute to economic poverty in affected regions.
Knowledge powerhouses urged to join pioneering Africa-led mission to level up global research and restore Africa’s rightful place
Global institutions are today being called on to back a bold, transformative plan for Africa to take its rightful role in research alliances, driving forward social justice, advancing science, and supercharging global scholarship.
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.
Rutgers Experts Aim to Uncover Barriers to Conducting HIV Research in Africa
Rutgers Institute for Health researcher, Dr. Ashley Grosso, receives grant from NIH to conduct study on barriers to HIV research in Africa.
GW Expert Available: U.S. Evacuates More Americans From Sudan
The U.S. began evacuating more American citizens from Sudan over the weekend, one week after U.S. forces airlifted dozens of diplomats and other personnel out of Sudan’s capital city, according to The Washington Post. The fighting in Sudan erupted last month…
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.
New studies push back evidence for open habitats in Africa by more than 10 million years
Using rigorous and detailed collection methods, a University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led research team was able to place the remains of fossil apes, such as Morotopithecus, within detailed habitat reconstructions.
GW Expert Available: U.S. VP Harris Starts Visit to Africa in Ghana
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pledged a new era of partnership with Africa during a speech in Ghana this week as part of her weeklong visit to the continent, which includes visits to Tanzania and Zambia. According to the AP, VP…
Shining a light on stigma and discrimination in epilepsy
Stigma leads to discrimination and can affect all aspects of a person’s life. Dr. Bruna Nucera talked with Mary Secco from the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) about addressing stigma through listening to people with epilepsy and their lived experiences.
High stakes and high risk in Nigeria landmark election
On Saturday, Nigerians will head to the polls for a fiercely-competitive presidential election in Africa’s largest democracy. Rachel Beatty Riedl, director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and a scholar of Sub-Saharan Africa political systems, is available for interviews…
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.
GW Expert Available to Discuss Morocco & France’s Cultural Ties Ahead of World Cup Matchup
WASHINGTON (Dec. 14, 2022)—Today Morocco faces off against France in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals. Morocco is the first African and Arab nation to ever reach this stage of the World Cup and the game is a post-colonial match-up, as…
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.
Same Boat Different Stops: Culinary and Cultural Connections in the African Atlantic World
New York Times best-selling author Dr. Jessica B. Harris will connect crops that originated on the African continent to culinary and cultural links in the American Hemisphere
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.
Six-Country African Study Shows COVID-19 Can Be Dangerous in Pregnancy
A new study involving hospitalized women in 6 African countries from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology showed that pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 had 2X the risk of being admitted to the ICU and 4X the risk of dying than pregnant women who didn’t have COVID-19.
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.
Cornell program promotes African links, diversity in plant sciences
The Cornell University Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa, a program that brings master’s students from sub-Saharan Africa to Cornell to complete doctorate degrees in horticulture, has now added a second assistantship for African Americans.
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.
Improving soil carbon measurements empowers African farmers
Researchers test new, inexpensive device to provide critical information
Warfare, not climate, is driving resurgent hunger in Africa, says study
After years of progress on food security, some nations see sharp reversals
An action agenda for Africa’s electricity sector
A new scientific article outlines how to undertake the much needed expansion and modernization of Africa’s electricity sector.
New insights on flowering could boost cassava crops
Two new publications examining cassava flowering reveal insights into the genetic and environmental factors underpinning one of the world’s most critical food security crops.
Why Lockdown in Africa Does Not Work as a First COVID-19 Pandemic Response
In an African pandemic it is more productive to consider lockdowns, after using other non-medical measures first, Especially in countries with high levels of poverty and corruption, says Prof Nicholas Ngepah, a Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
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.
Danforth Center and international partners unveil landmark insect resistant cowpea for Nigerian farmers
Nigeria has achieved a major milestone in the history of agricultural research and development with the commercial launch of Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea.
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.
FISHING IN AFRICAN WATERS
Industrial fleets from countries around the world have been increasingly fishing in African waters, but with climate change and increasing pollution threatening Africa’s fish stocks, there is a growing concern of the sustainability of these marine fisheries if they continue to be exploited by foreign 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.
Cataloguing genetic information about yams
New collection of resources will help yam breeders and farmers
In Ethiopia, Mother’s Wealth More Protective Against Child Marriage Than Father’s
For a girl in Ethiopia, her mother’s wealth can protect her from becoming a child bride – but if a father prefers child marriage, his own wealth may increase the likelihood that she will be married before 18, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study.
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.
Researchers help inform cassava breeding worldwide
Scientists in Cornell University’s NextGen Cassava project have uncovered new details regarding cassava’s genetic architecture that may help breeders more easily pinpoint traits for one of Africa’s most vital crops.
Online archive explores non-European contributions to Victorian exploration
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has launched a new digital humanities site to provide access to long-neglected materials relating to people like Jacob Wainwright, a member of the Yao ethnic group in east Africa, who worked with famed explorer David Livingstone.
Story Tips: Predicting fire risk, solid state stability check and images in a flash
ORNL Story Tips: Predicting fire risk, solid state stability check and images in a flash