Billions poured into Covid vaccine facilitated multiple tests at the same time
The slowest part of vaccine development isn’t finding candidate treatments, but testing them. This often takes years, with companies running efficacy and safety tests on animals and then in humans. Human testing requires three phases that involve increasing numbers of people and proportionately escalating costs. The Covid-19 vaccines went through...
Fast quest for coronavirus vaccines and what it means for other diseases
When scientists began seeking a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in early 2020, they were careful not to promise quick success. The fastest any vaccine had previously been developed, from viral sampling to approval, was four years, for mumps in the 1960s. To hope for one even by the summer...
How researchers are making do in the time of Covid
One of the astonishing aspects of the human response to the coronavirus pandemic has been how quickly scientists pivoted to studying every facet of the virus in order to mitigate the loss of life and plan for a return to normalcy. At the same time, a lot of non-coronavirus research...
Men have to stand up as allies of women at work
Men who thought the Covid-19 “she-cession” was misnamed should take a look at the recent figures from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. After disproportionately losing jobs during the early shutdown, women are now leaving the workforce at nearly four times the rate of men. With so many women laid...
Former Portuguese colonies to get $490 million for economic stimulus
Portuguese-speaking African countries will receive $490.2 million for the Lusophone Compact Guarantee Programme (LCGP or the Compact) to boost business development initiatives in African Development Bank’s non-sovereign portfolio. The programme, which consists of former Portuguese colonies in Africa is designed for new non-sovereign operations (NSOs) in Lusophone countries of Africa....
African bank approves $7m for mini-grid investment
The African Development Bank has approved a $7 million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) for countries to set up a mini-grid acceleration initiative to meet the needs of the continent’s fast-evolving renewable mini-grid industry. The Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Programme (AMAP), which aims to boost energy...
US environmental agency in urgent need of repair after four-year Trump mess
For many scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the past four years working in President Donald Trump’s government have felt like an eternity. Largely sidelined, they could only watch as his administration dismantled science advisory panels, disregarded scientific evidence and weakened pollution regulations. Expectations are high that the...
Angola oil minister poised to take over Opec presidency
The election of Angola to the rotating presidency of the conference of ministers of Opec is expected to thrust Angola Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas Diamantino Pedro Azevedo to the forefront in the efforts to stabilise the volatile oil market in the new year. The assumption of the...
Mozambique on track to becoming a hub for natural gas development in Africa
Mozambique is a country full of amazing opportunities. I have had a chance to engage with the energy industry in the country and also with a lot of local companies, civil society and young people. It was exciting to talk with young people who understand that innovation and hard work...
First ever peek inside Mars reveals a crust with three cake-like layers
NASA’s InSight mission has finally peered inside Mars – and discovered that the planet’s crust might be made of three layers. This is the first time scientists have directly probed the inside of a planet other than Earth and will help researchers to unravel how Mars formed and evolved over...
