Quitting smoking cigarettes before the age of 35 years enhances life expectancy, says new research
Despite dangers inherent in smoking cigarettes, the pastime still remains a popular activity. New research findings detail how quitting the habit is associated with reduced mortality risk. Researchers are now working to understand the full health impact of smoking. The clear message is: smoking cigarettes is a habit that is...
East Africa on high alert as Uganda grapples with rising incidence of Ebola that’s already killed 43 people
More than a month after an Ebola outbreak was declared in Uganda, infections continue to climb and the World Health Organisation has upped its Ebola risk assessment for both the country and wider region since it reached the capital, Kampala. Rather than Uganda having contained the virus, “the risk can...
Egypt COP27: Why governments should set attainable targets for clean energy to cut carbon emissions by 2025
It’s been a year since global leaders renewed their climate pledges at the landmark summit in Glasgow, UK. Next week, they’ll convene again in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, during the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) to carry on negotiations aimed at reining in global warming. But...
One for the road: Why moderate to heavy alcohol drinkers aged 20 to 39 years are prone to stroke
In a new study, researchers have found that moderate and heavy alcohol use are linked to a higher risk of stroke after analysing the relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke risk among young adults in Korea. As a result, the researchers and health experts recommend that young adults reduce their...
How ‘food sexism’ has turned Nigeria into a pariah nation where land access is restricted by patrilineal inheritance
Last year, Nigerian farmer Odam Obat lost about two thirds of her cassava crop to devastating floods at her home in the Niger Delta – a densely populated but erosion-prone region on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. To avoid such a loss again, she decided this year to...
Malaria outbreaks in Africa linked to arrival in East Africa of Indian species of insecticide-resistant mosquito
Compelling evidence has emerged that a malaria outbreak in Ethiopia this year was caused by the arrival in eastern Africa of an insecticide-resistant species of mosquito (Anopheles stephensi). The finding complicates disease-elimination efforts in Africa – where 95 per cent of the world’s malaria infections occur – and has worried...
US court set to dump affirmative action, which may radically affect Blacks student admission to university
The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in two cases that could change the landscape of higher education in the country. The eventual outcomes will determine whether Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill are allowed to use race...
Medical research findings raise hope of ‘love hormone’ being used to repair memory loss in humans
A new study by medical researchers at the Tokyo University of Science has found that a cell-penetrating oxytocin derivative administered in the nasal passages of memory-impaired mice reversed the rodent’s cognitive impairment. Consequently, the results have raised hope that oxytocin, also known as ‘love hormone’, can be used to restore...
Forever war: US pledge of $15 billion to Ukraine, $8 trillion spent in Iraq keeps war industry on the roll
Ukraine is obviously a powder keg. With each passing day, in fact, the war there poses new threats to the world order. Only recently, Vladimir Putin’s Russia intensified its attacks on civilian targets in that beleaguered land, while threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons and adding Ukraine’s neighbour Belarus to...
How Middle East uses earnings from oil exports to buyers choking in carbon emissions to invest in clean energy
The world’s green spotlight is tilting towards the Middle East as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prepare to host the next two major world summits on climate change. Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh resort will be the site of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27),...
