Covid hybrid immunity studies show vaccination after infection offers stronger virus resistance
Many studies of hybrid immunity haven’t followed naive vaccine recipients for as long as those who recovered from Covid-19, and it’s possible their B cells will make antibodies that gain potency and breadth with more time, additional vaccine doses or both, researchers say. It can take months for a stable...
Turning adversity into opportunity: How female refugee scientists cope in foreign lands
Unsurprisingly, female refugee scientists can face extra challenges – including gendered, cultural and socio-political barriers to academia. At the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA), a London-based charity that helps academics to continue their work at one of 124 partner universities and institutions in the United Kingdom or in other...
Keeping the faith in face of adversity: Trials and triumphs of refugee scientists
The Institute of International Education (IIE), a non-profit organisation based in New York City that supports international researchers, estimates that thousands of displaced scientists from nations such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen are now living as refugees elsewhere. Its figures are based on refugee counts, pre-war higher-education data from the...
Israeli start-up technology firm, Air, unveils flying vehicle to be used ‘like cars’
Israeli start-up Air on Tuesday unveiled its first “easy-to-operate” electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it aims to sell directly to consumers predominantly in the United States starting in 2024. Air has been working with the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) for two years and expects to obtain...
How splits in one of South Sudan’s ruling SPLA factions may refuel war in Malakal oilfields
Malakal’s conflict in South Sudan has been frozen in place for years: a consequence of the Padang Dinka’s influence in Juba, which is partly due to their success in keeping Upper Nile’s oil fields – one of the government’s few foreign exchange earners – running. But a split within First...
Ethiopia launch new airstrikes, as UN slashes presence in rebel-controlled Tigray region
New airstrikes hit the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, residents said Wednesday, as video showed injured people with bloodied faces being rushed to vehicles and thick black smoke rising in the sky. Ethiopia’s government said it targeted facilities to make and repair weapons, which a spokesman for the rival Tigray...
In a flashpoint South Sudanese town of Malakal, women peacemakers try to bridge the divide
More than 18 months into a power-sharing government between South Sudan’s rival leaders, local conflicts still simmer, undermining a fragile peace accord. But in the northern flashpoint town of Malakal, a group of women peacemakers is trying to reverse that narrative by healing ethnic divisions to head off another bout...
Study: Recycled lithium batteries as good as new, raise hope of reduced environmental pollution
Lithium-ion batteries, with their use of riskily mined metals, tarnish the green image of EVs. Recycling to recover those valuable metals would minimise the social and environmental impact of mining, keep millions of tonnes of batteries from landfills, and cut the energy use and emissions created from making batteries. But...
Facebook: Whistleblowers can have their say, but Big Tech will always have their way and money
Truth be told, predicting the future isn’t my strong suit (and I have a trophy to prove it) – but here’s one prediction I make with full confidence: The latest Facebook revelations, courtesy of whistle-blower Frances Haugen, will have zero impact on regulation. No new laws, no new regulations, no...
EPL: Chelsea setback after target says he prefers joining Man United over the Blues
Chelsea have been hit with yet another massive setback in their quest for a new defender as their primary target has reportedly asked for another move. The Blues failed to secure Jules Kounde’s signature in the summer. That was only a minor hitch, as reinforcements at the back weren’t an...
