Category: Technology

Feeding Africa’s growing population is a big development challenge for governments, policy makers and agriculture experts. Adding to the challenge is the high level of food loss and waste that most small-scale farmers experience. The African Postharvest Losses Information System reports indicate that countries in Africa waste more than 30% of fresh fruits and vegetables […]

To everything there is a season, and for the flu, it’s wintertime. Flu cases peak between December and February, and the flu vaccine is your best defense. Getting the vaccine means you will be less sick even if you get a breakthrough infection. However, your immune system is in a constant race against the flu […]

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales for 2020, 1.6 million adults aged between 16 to 74 have experienced sexual assault by rape or penetration (including attempts), since the age of 16. But the vast majority didn’t report it to the police. And, in the tiny fraction of cases that do make it […]

It’s hard to imagine that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the fourth industrial revolution can be part of the same conversation. But, as a briefing paper by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) points out: Over 70% of the 136 SDG targets could be enabled by technology applications already in deployment. […]

Carolina chickadees are small, boisterous year-round residents of the southeastern United States. They are regularly found with much larger tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches and various woodpecker species. In these mixed flocks, chickadees are almost always the subordinate individuals, outcompeted by their larger flockmates. Why, then, do chickadees regularly join these flocks? Might they have a […]

For many centuries we have bathed in communal waters. Sometimes for cleanliness but more often for pleasure. Indeed, in ancient Greece, baths were taken in freshwater, or sometimes the sea – which was thought of as a sacred place dedicated to local gods and so was considered an act of worship. But it was the […]

Ask most people what they picture when thinking about natural “carbon sinks” – ecosystems that absorb and store greenhouse gases – and they’ll probably describe a forest. Reforestation is a common feature of climate change plans. But there’s another equally important, often overlooked type of natural carbon sink: peatlands. These are a particular type of […]

Don’t let the textbook diagram of a simplified two-dimensional cell fool you – within this tiny structure of life is a complex universe of molecular machinery that is continually being built, put into motion and eventually broken down. Cells use the thousands of different proteins within them as tools to shape their internal environment. In […]

Humans weren’t the only beings doing it tough with mental health issues during the pandemic. Our pets suffered too – particularly dogs, who are known to pick up on and share our own anxiety and stress. In 2022 owners reported increased fear in their dogs towards both other dogs and unfamiliar humans, as well as […]

Some people are annoyed when they encounter a fresh pile of dung while out on a walk in nature. Others are excited because it points to the recent visit of a particular kind of animal. But some scientists, myself included, may just be disappointed that the dung isn’t fossilised. That’s because coprolites – fossilised scat […]