insert_link Environment Chimpanzees stayed in an ‘invisible cage’ after zoo enclosure was enlarged – South African study By Luke Mangaliso Duncan, University of Warwick Captive chimpanzees are one of the most popular species kept in zoos because of their charismatic appeal and similarity to humans. They are the closest living relatives of humans because of the shared genes and behavioural and psychological similarities. Zoos are ethically bound to care for the animals they house. Many provide environments that care for animals’ welfare needs. However, the […] todayMarch 22, 2024 18
insert_link Africa School’s out: how climate change is already badly affecting children’s education The education of students in countries like Sudan is already being negatively affected by the extremes of climate change. Richard Juilliart/Shutterstock By Caitlin M Prentice, University of Oslo; Francis Vergunst, University of Oslo; Helen Louise Berry, Macquarie University, and Kelton Minor, Columbia University Schools across South Sudan have been ordered to close as a heat wave of 45°C sweeps across the country. In recent years, severe flooding has […] todayMarch 22, 2024 27
insert_link Africa Pangolins in Africa: expert unpacks why millions have been traded illegally and what can be done about it By Olajumoke Morenikeji, University of Ibadan Pangolins are fascinating creatures known for their unique appearance and distinctive scales. They are mammals belonging to the order Pholidota and are native to Africa and Asia. Due to their primary diet of ants and termites, pangolins are often referred to as “scaly anteaters”. The African pangolin species are dispersed throughout southern, western, central and east Africa. Pangolins face rapid […] todayMarch 22, 2024 44
insert_link Africa Duckbill dinosaur discovery in Morocco – expert unpacks the mystery of how they got there By Nicholas R. Longrich, University of Bath Why are fossils of duckbill dinosaurs, a North American family, found in North Africa? Dinosaurs couldn’t just walk there. Sixty-six million years ago, when duckbills suddenly appear in Africa’s fossil record, the world’s land masses formed a series of islands. A seaway divided eastern and western North America; Europe was an archipelago. South America, India, Australia and Madagascar were all island […] todayMarch 22, 2024 26
insert_link Environment 76% of Africa’s energy could come from renewable sources by 2040: here’s how By Christiane Zarfl, University of Tübingen and Rebecca Peters, University of Tübingen Over half of Africa’s people – about 600 million – lack access to even the bare minimum of electricity. The tough question to answer is how access can be extended without adding to global warming by relying on fossil fuels. We – a team from Rwanda and Germany who work in the field of renewable […] todayMarch 19, 2024 42
insert_link Africa New ecoregion proposed for Southern Africa’s threatened ‘sky islands’ By Ryan Truscott There is an “inland archipelago” of mountains stretching across southern Malawi and northern Mozambique — a chain of hard granite inselbergs lifted high above the surrounding landscape as it weathered down over millions of years. These “sky islands”, as they’re also known, are topped with high-altitude grasslands and evergreen forests and watered by cool moist winds from the Indian Ocean to the east. A group […] todayMarch 18, 2024 36
insert_link Environment Toilet paper: Environmentally impactful, but alternatives are rolling out By Petro Kotzé Toilet paper is so common in some countries it’s only noticed when it’s not there, as exemplified by the panic buying that prompted shortages when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Thought to be in use in China since the sixth century, inventor Joseph C. Gayetty patented the first U.S. commercial “medicated paper” in the 1850s. Since then, demand has soared in many places, bolstered by rising population, […] todayMarch 18, 2024 75
insert_link Environment Snakebites: we thought we’d created a winning new antivenom but then it flopped. Why that turned out to be a good thing A Bothrops asper is prepared for its venom to be milked to use in making antivenom. Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group By Christoffer Vinther Sørensen, Technical University of Denmark; Andreas Hougaard Laustsen, Technical University of Denmark; Bruno Lomonte, Universidad de Costa Rica, and Julián Fernández, Universidad de Costa Rica Snakebites kill over 100,000 people each year, and hundreds of thousands of survivors are left with long-term disabilities such […] todayMarch 18, 2024 44
insert_link Environment Sewage leaks put South Africa’s freshwater at risk: how citizen scientists are helping clean up By Jim Taylor, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Mark Graham, University of KwaZulu-Natal Across South Africa, sewage systems are leaking and contaminating the country’s freshwater. Involving the affected communities can help prevent this pollution hazard, as a group of 15 citizen scientists in KwaZulu-Natal province have shown. Their community water monitoring programme, working with municipal authorities, has managed to prevent raw sewage from flooding into rivers. The young, unemployed […] todayMarch 15, 2024 34
