How mysterious microbes might have triggered evolution of life on Earth
At some point in evolution, scientists say some archaea assigned the cell-division job to a different set of proteins. This is where cell biologist Buzz Baum’s latest work comes in. Evolutionary biologist David Baum’s group has been studying the archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius – a protein. In this case, the scientific...
Hearts of darkness: Tales of well-paid UN staff preying on poor Congolese women
Months of media investigations into the vulturous behaviour of United Nations humanitarian corps deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo has brought to the fore the rot in philanthropy for people in distress in Africa. According United Nations media agency The New Humanitarian and Thomson Reuters Foundation World Health Organization’s...
Why has Kenya president obscured details of $3.8 billion railway contract with China?
As you are aware, in May 2014, the government of Kenya signed a $3.8 billion contract with China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) for the construction of the standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi and on to Naivasha. According to news reports, 85 per cent of the construction cost...
Uganda legislature bans same-sex unions with a new law after 8 years of haggling
The Ugandan Parliament has enacted a sexual offenses law that criminalises same-sex relationships and unions, bringing to an end a controversial a standoff that has lasted eight years. Now people who violate the new law risk up to five years in jail if President Yoweri Museveni assents to it. The...
China’s Covid vaccines go global: If no option is offered, they’re a good choice
The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering approving two of China’s Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use, potentially opening the door to wide distribution in lower-income nations through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) initiative. A successful outcome in the coming weeks might boost global confidence in these vaccines, say scientists....
Trade: Under 1752 Murder Act, anatomists in UK accessed corpses of murderers only
At the height of the French Revolution in the late 1700s, a boy sat on the steps of the Notre-Dame cathedral playing a lilting tune on his wooden recorder. Parisians hurried by, occasionally casting a glance towards the child, perhaps throwing a few coins his way. But what may have...
Mars lift off: First flight on another planet as Ingenuity drone takes off
NASA has pulled off the first powered flight on another world. Ingenuity, the robot rotorcraft that is part of the agency’s Perseverance mission, lifted off from the surface of Mars on April 19, in a 39.1-second flight that is a landmark in interplanetary aviation. “We can now say that human...
Driving while under influence of drugs, like alcohol, has become pervasive
As drug abuse has become prevalent, so, too, has the crime of driving while under the influence of drugs. Today, a police officer who observes someone driving erratically but finds no alcohol in their breath must decide if the putative offender is ill, tired, distressed or whether they are under...
Yes, work without play makes John a dull boy, so what’s in play that turns him on?
Anyone who has ever chucked a tennis ball in the general vicinity of a border collie knows that some animals take play very seriously. The intense stare, the tremble of anticipation, the apparent joy with every bounce, all in pursuit of inedible prey that tastes like the backyard. Dogs are...
‘Screening of emotions harmful to lives of suspects in criminal investigations’
In an experiment on how determine truth from lies, some volunteers were told to try to blend into the crowd and not look “suspicious,” because people would be trying to identify them. The other half of the group were given a regular cell phone to transport with no instructions to...
