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Interpreting the South African government’s mixed messages on nuclear power
South Africa can't afford new nuclear infrastructure with state funds in these times of budget shortfalls and ballooning debt. GettyImages On 14 June the South African Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy issued a controversial statement initiating a process that could lead to the construction of new nuclear power station.Continue Reading
Africa waited for solutions to past health crises: will it be different for COVID-19?
A researcher holds a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at the National Primate Research Center of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Chaiwat Subprasom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently noted that “researchers are working at break-neck speed” to understand SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They areContinue Reading
Climate change: why farmers are among our best guides for making sense of topsy-turvy weather
May 2020 was the driest on record in England and the second driest in Wales. Rainfall was about 17% of the average for May, and it was also the sunniest calendar month on record, with 266 hours of sunshine, surpassing the previous record of 265 hours in June 1957. ThisContinue Reading
Africa’s scientists set out their COVID-19 research priorities
By setting out the continent's research priorities, scientists can focus better on what needs to be done. Maliutina Anna/Shutterstock In April 2020, about two months after the African continent recorded its first case of COVID-19, the African Academy of Sciences undertook an extensive survey of its members. This allowed hundredsContinue Reading
Academic freedom is sacrosanct. But so is ethical responsibility
shutterstock In 1990 CODESRIA, Africa’s premier social science council, organised a conference in Kampala, Uganda, on academic freedom. The conference was against the backdrop of mounting harassment of academics on the continent. They were subjected to travel restrictions in some countries, arrest, detention, and sometimes even assassination. The idea ofContinue Reading
The media often conflates malicious criticism with genuine critique: why it shouldn’t
GEORGES GOBET/AFP via Getty Images This is an edited extract from Tell Our Story: Multiplying Voices in the News Media by Dale McKinley and Julie Reid. “If journalism is a force of immense influence – and I think it is, and should be – then it surely deserves scrutiny.” TheseContinue Reading
Pasha 70: Why have I been having weird dreams during the pandemic?
shutterstock Sleep is incredibly important for the body and mind. When we sleep our immune system makes antibodies, which help fight off pathogens. That’s obviously vital during a health crisis. But many people have been having disrupted sleep and weird dreams in recent times. In today’s episode of Pasha, DaleContinue Reading
Is swine flu going to be the next pandemic?
The world has been worried about pandemic diseases for many years. Before COVID-19, attention was focused on influenza viruses as the most likely cause. A recent paper reminds us that the threat from flu remains very real. It reports that a swine flu virus is circulating in China that hasContinue Reading
Coronavirus: it is morally indefensible for a nation to keep life-saving drugs for itself
The world eagerly awaits new vaccines and drugs to combat COVID-19. To deal with a global pandemic, the production of new treatments needs to be scaled up towards supplying the whole world – and as quickly as possible. Borderless open and collaborative science and the free exchange of knowledge andContinue Reading
Forget JobSeeker. In our post-COVID economy, Australia needs a ‘liveable income guarantee’ instead
Kelly Barnes/ AAP There are now less than three months to go before the expanded JobSeeker payment is due to end. As a result, there is a growing political debate about what should happen to the unemployment payment that was roughly doubled in April. Read more: How to improve JobKeeperContinue Reading