Washington, United States | AFP | People in North and South America, a large part of Europe and Africa may get a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse overnight from January 20 to 21, the last such event until 2022. For those in Europe and Africa, the total eclipse will …
Read More »New app gives throat cancer patients their voice back
Prague, Czech Republic | AFP | Vlastimil Gular’s life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his …
Read More »Scientists boost plant yield by 40% through ‘genetic hack’
Washington, United States | AFP | For years, researchers at the University of Illinois have been trying to find out whether it is possible to genetically modify a crop to boost its growth. In results published in Science on Thursday, they confirmed they had been successful in making tobacco plants …
Read More »‘Smart’ uniforms track Chinese students in truancy fight
Beijing, China | AFP | Schools in southern China are using chip-powered “smart” school uniforms to track their students in a bid to tackle truancy and boost attendance, according to state media. The uniforms use chips to monitor the location of students and can record their exit and entry into …
Read More »COMMENT: Building Africa’s scientific talent
Discovering them means rethinking the entire education system in Africa around three priorities COMMENT | DANIEL MUNDEVA | Ten years ago, South African physicist Neil Turok made a bold prediction: the world’s next Einstein will be from Africa. A decade later, it is worth considering whether the continent is any closer …
Read More »Scientists create bee vaccine to fight off ‘insect apocalypse’
Helsinki, Finland | AFP | Scientists in Finland have developed what they believe is the world’s first vaccine to protect bees against disease, raising hopes for tackling the drastic decline in insect numbers which could cause a global food crisis. Bees are vital for growing the world’s food as they …
Read More »Dream of augmented humans endures, despite sceptics
Paris, France | AFP | Brain implants, longer lives, genetically modified humans: for the prophets of transhumanism — the scientifically assisted evolution of humans beyond our current limitations — it is just a matter of time. But many scientists insist that some problems are not so easily solved. Sooner or …
Read More »Cell-by-cell DNA science is ‘Breakthrough of 2018’
Tampa, United States | AFP | The US journal Science on Thursday coined as “Breakthrough of the Year” for 2018 new technologies that reveal how DNA cues individual cells to grow through time. Experts say these methods will transform science over the coming decades, allowing an ever clearer picture of …
Read More »Eradicating malaria
Scientist develop vaccine technique that could block mosquitoes from transmitting disease Kampala, Uganda | WEI-CHIAO HUANG & JONATHAN LOVELL | Is it possible to eradicate malaria? It is a question with which many researchers have grappled, and many ideas have been proposed. The reason malaria has garnered so much attention is …
Read More »East Africa may lose its crown as ‘cradle of mankind’
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Archaeologists in Algeria have discovered stone tools and cut animal bones that may be up to 2.4 million years old, bringing into question East Africa’s title as the cradle of humanity, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science. The artifacts — more ancient …
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