Irony of DR Congo owning world’s largest mineral deposits, yet ranks among poorest nations on Earth
The huge mining agency where Albert Yuma Mulimbi is chairman was nationalised and renamed under President Mobutu Sese Seko after Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960. Gécamines once had a monopoly on copper and cobalt mining and, by the 1980s, was among the top copper producers in the world....
Astronomers discover another Earth-sized exoplanet in ‘habitable zone’ that’s closest yet to our world
Astronomers have discovered a world only a little bit bigger than Earth, whirling around a bright star about 31 parsecs from our planet. The world, known as TOI 700 d, orbits in its star’s ‘habitable zone’ – the region in which liquid water could exist. Astronomers know of only a...
Afghan academics feel marooned and abandoned by international community after Taliban takeover
Four months after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, academics say they feel marooned, and abandoned by the international community. With limited prospects for research, many scientists have left or are still trying to find routes out, so they can continue their careers. Researchers say they have been stripped of...
New independent review finds evidence of endemic racism at prestigious London university
Evidence of racism and inequality at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) – prestigious 120-year-old research university – has been reported in an independent review that was commissioned by the institution last year. The LSHTM says it is “determined to do better” after the review found that...
Cash transfers: Free money discourages work, rewards bad choices, creates a culture of dependency
Kenya’s political elite have listed cash transfers to poor households to ameliorate up to two million people pushed into financial doldrums by a dysfunctional economy, made worse by coronavirus pandemic and effects of climate change. The cash transfer proposal – bait for votes – has been well-received by the electorate...
Germ warfare: No animal host of Covid has been pinpointed, China now suspected to have lab engineered coronavirus
A lab leak in Wuhan is still thought to be the most likely origin of Covid because an animal host has not been found after two years of searching, top scientists believe. Dr Alina Chan, a specialist in gene therapy and cell engineering at MIT and Harvard, said there was...
Poverty is on decline world over, governments eager now to use science to hasten erasure of absolute want
Among the many casualties of the coronavirus pandemic are the poorest of the global poor. Not only are they the ones who are usually hit hardest by the virus, but they’ve also borne the brunt of virus-induced wreckage in the world’s economies. Before the pandemic hit the past four decades...
Poverty is on decline world over, now governments eager to use science to fast-track erasure of absolute want Among the many casualties of the coronavirus pandemic are the poorest of the global poor. Not only are they the ones who are usually hit hardest by the virus, but they’ve also...
How wonder drug Viagra accidentally became source of male happiness; targeting Alzheimer and cancers
The story of how magical pill Viagra became – accidentally – a revered source of happiness for men continues with another ‘accident’ on the horizon after scientists discovered that the Blue Pill has the potential to prevent the onset of Alzheimer by nearly 70 per cent for six years. The...
Latest research findings seem to dash hopes that Covid vaccines in use can repulse Omicron variant
Early lab results suggest existing vaccines could be less effective against the fast-spreading coronavirus variant, but boosters should improve immunity. The fast-spreading Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant is highly likely to compromise some of the protection from vaccines, suggest the first laboratory studies of Omicron’s ability to evade immunity. But the preliminary...
