Climate change: A growing number of Africa countries turn to mangrove restoration to tackle carbon emissions
In a bid to protect coastal communities from climate change and encourage investment, African nations are increasingly turning to mangrove restoration projects, with Mozambique becoming the latest addition to the growing list of countries with large-scale mangrove initiatives. Mozambique follows efforts across the continent – including in Kenya, Madagascar, Gambia...
Men’s health: Sexologists say after Covid, the joystick stops firing due to low blood flow, reduced hormones
For a respiratory disease, Covid-19 causes some peculiar symptoms. It can diminish the senses of smell and taste, leave patients with discoloured “Covid toes” or even cause a swollen, bumpy “Covid tongue.” Now scientists are examining a possible link to an altogether unexpected consequence of Covid-19: erectile dysfunction. A connection...
From surveillance to search-and-rescue, consumer drones have given Ukraine the edge in its defence against Russia
In the snowy streets of the north Ukrainian town of Trostyanets, the Russian missile system fires rockets every second. Tanks and military vehicles are parked on either side of the blasting artillery system, positioned among houses and near the town’s railway system. The weapon is not working alone, though. Hovering...
Researchers in advanced stages of developing nose spray vaccines they hope can quash Covid variants
The relentless evolution of the Covid-causing coronavirus has taken a bit of the shine off the vaccines developed during the first year of the pandemic. Versions of the virus that now dominate circulation – Omicron and its subvariants – are more transmissible and adept at evading the body’s immune defences...
AI on the cusp of generating fluent language from data processed by emerging technologies, but for the better
Machine-learning algorithms that generate fluent language from vast amounts of text could change how science is done – but not necessarily for the better, says Shobita Parthasarathy, a specialist in the governance of emerging technologies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In a report published on April 27,...
Ethiopia launches national dialogue to stop people from going to the battlefront, heal wounds of war
As an 18-month civil war grinds on, Ethiopia is gearing up for a national dialogue aimed at bridging the country’s many fault lines. But key rebel groups have not been invited, and opposition figures are accusing the government of trying to orchestrate the process. The commission tasked with overseeing the...
With robots outperforming astronauts in space travel , debate is shifting to ownership of ‘outer worlds’
How much do we need humans in space? How much do we want them there? Astronauts embody the triumph of human imagination and engineering. Their efforts shed light on the possibilities and problems posed by travel beyond our nurturing Earth. Their presence on the moon or on other solar-system objects...
Hospitals in Tigray ask patients to bring old clothes for use as gauze during surgery after Ethiopian war ‘killed’ health system
After nearly 18 months of conflict between the federal government and Tigray rebels, the health system of the beleaguered region has “totally collapsed”, according to health officials and doctors there. Interviewed by phone health workers in Tigray said shortages are so acute they are using expired drugs to treat chronic...
Brain’s ability to think, write poetry, fall in love and envision higher spiritual realm are a mystery to the mind
Neuroscientists have long aspired to understand the intangible properties of the mind. Our most treasured cerebral qualities, like the ability to think, write poetry, fall in love and even envision a higher spiritual realm, are all generated in the brain. But how the squishy, pinkish-gray, wrinkled mass of the physical...
Asexual lizards: Scientists puzzled by all-female species, now studying the pros and cons of sex
Many organisms dedicate their entire adult lives to finding a mate and producing offspring. The rhythms of sex govern the actions and choices of so many animals that it seems to be a rule of biology: Sex is important. But life’s multifariousness yields some exceptions. A small percentage of animals...
