Africa

Extreme Heat Will Make Parts of the Middle East and Africa Uninhabitable by 2050

New research shows that temperatures are set to skyrocket in parts of the Middle East and Africa, making human habitation next to impossible. In a region that’s home to 500 million people, that could trigger a climate-exodus of epic proportions. These new climate projections, compiled by researchers from the Max Planck Institute, tell an incredibly…

Climate Change George Dvorsky May 2

Today, Kenya Is Torching 5 Percent of the World’s Stockpiled Ivory

Earlier today, Kenya set ablaze 105 tons of stockpiled ivory in a measure designed to discourage the poaching of elephants and rhinoceros in the country. The blaze is the biggest of its kind in history. The ivory and horns from this burn are believed to come from 6,500 elephants and 450 rhinos, poached for their…

Tech News Andrew Liptak Apr 30

Plane Debris Found in Africa Could Be the Second Recovered Piece of MH370

CNN reports that a piece of plane wreckage found off Mozambique in southeastern Africa likely belongs to lost plane Malaysia Airlines 370. Over the weekend, a piece of a Boeing 777 was found washed ashore Mozambique, and it’s already on its way to Malaysia for examination. As CNN points out, aviation experts say this debris…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Mar 2

A Simple Vaginal Ring Can Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection

This plain-looking silicone ring is more useful than it looks. Doped with an experimental antiretroviral drug, when worn in the vagina by women in sub-Saharan Africa it was shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by as much as 61 percent. The ring is part of a large study called ASPIRE, which is designed…

Health Jamie Condliffe Feb 23

Ugandan Government Blocks Facebook, Twitter on Election Day to Stop ‘Lies’

Ugandans are voting in a presidential election today. They’re also dealing with a social media blackout orchestrated by the government. For President Yoweri Museveni, nothing says “democracy” like sweeping censorship of the electorate. Here’s hoping he fucking loses. This election is mired in rigging allegations. Museveni’s primary competitor, Kizza Besigye, has openly questioned whether the…

Social Media Kate Knibbs Feb 18

Earth Looks Downright Alien in This New Photo From the Space Station

This photograph, snapped by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, looks like it may have been taken over some Martian canyon or Jovian moon, but it was captured as the International Space Station coasted far above strange rocky features in Africa. Kelly, who will be returning to Earth in March after spending an entire year in space,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jan 4

Marlon James’s Next Book Will Be ‘African Game Of Thrones‘

Jamaican author Marlon James is best known for his book A Brief History of Seven Killings, which earned him the prestigious Man Booker Award earlier this year. When asked about his next book, he told Man of the World Magazine that he’s going to “geek the fuck out” with his own fantasy series. The first…

io9 Andrew Liptak Dec 12

This Satellite Image Looks Like Some Kind of Impossible Staircase

This mind-bending image looks like something out of Inception, but in fact it’s a view of fields in the south Khartoum area of Sudan. How the hell do they grow anything on that? Just joking, of course: while the fields may look like a Penrose staircase, we are actually looking straight down at the land,…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe Nov 27

Here’s The Trailer For Jongo, A Johannesburg-Set Superhero Show

This looks like a really awesome television show, recently previewed at DISCOP AFRICA 2015. Jongo is a television series set to premiere in 2016 in South Africa, following a young man who gains supernatural abilities after discovering an alien crystal. Jongo is set in Johannesburg, following Eli King after he finds a crystal left to…

Television Andrew Liptak Nov 15

Digging New Wells in Africa Could Run Its Aquifers Dry Way Too Soon

The digging of wells in Africa has often been thought of as the solution to helping rural women walking to get water, but they may cause more harm than good. NGOs often punt the digging of wells as the solution to the long distances women in rural areas travel to collect water. These wells do…

Tech News Gaathier Mahed Oct 28

This Modular Hi-Tech Buoy Is Helping Africa to Monitor Its Coasts

A hi-tech buoy that provides real-time data can play a key role in helping South Africa manage its coastal waters. It could also be deployed beyond the country’s waters. Devised and tested virtually using 3D computer simulation technology, the buoy will feature locally sourced components as opposed to the current fully imported flotation systems. The…

Tech News Dirk Muller - The Conversation Oct 22

In Nigeria, Solar-Powered Fridges at Outdoor Markets Save Food From Spoiling

In developing countries, an unbelievable 45% of food goes bad because of a lack of cold storage. It’s an especially big problem during transportation from farms to outdoor markets, where food sits in the scorching sun for hours on end. But one startup has a solution: solar-powered refrigeration stations that could save the livelihoods of…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Oct 19

Zimbabwe Drops Charges Against Lion Murderer Walter Palmer

“All his papers were in order.” Zimbabwe has announced that it will not be charging American dentist Walter Palmer in the illegal killing of #CecilTheLion. The hunt’s guide, though, is being prosecuted. Palmer was the subject of social media outrage in July when he shot and wounded a famous lion just outside Hwange National Park.…

Tech News Wes Siler Oct 12

These Hero Rats Are Trained to Sniff Out Land Mines and Tuberculosis

An international NGOtrains rodents to find buried bombs and a deadly respiratory disease. Meanwhile, I’ve taught my dog how to carry three tennis balls in his mouth at once. More than 59 countries—a third of the world—are contaminated with ground explosives leftover from past wars. In 2012 alone, 1,066 people were killed by such explosives,…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Oct 9

A Princess’s Plan to Bring Light to the 620 Million Africans Without Power

Many people living in Africa need electricity, but don’t have it. Luckily, something of a solar power revolution is afoot in Africa, triggering a wave of innovation from solar energy entrepreneurs. One of them is a princess descended from an ancient Mossi warrior, who stresses that the best way to combat this problem is by…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Oct 7

This Year the Medicine Nobel Prize Went to a Pair of Parasite Poisons

The 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine just went to three scientists who found parasite-killing chemicals that are now important tools for fighting human diseases. But the chemicals in question weren’t created in a lab: one is produced naturally by a bacterium, the other by a plant used in a traditional Chinese herbal recipe…

Tech News Diane Kelly Oct 5

Facebook Is Going to Send Free Internet Across Africa From Satellites

Facebook has announced that it’s teaming up with French-based satellite provider Eutelsat Communications to beam free internet to 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The deal will see the companies use “the entire broadband payload on the future AMOS-6 [geostationary]satellite” along with gateways and terminals on the ground, providing high gain spot beams of data that…

Social Media Jamie Condliffe Oct 5

Simply Counting Births and Deaths Could Solve Health Inequity in Africa

In Africa, only four countries record more than 75% of their births and deaths. This creates an unequal system and impacts on how governments plan for these citizens. For many African countries and especially among poorer communities, when people die there is no trace in any official legal record or statistic. It is common for…

Health Samuel Oti Oct 2

Beautiful Video Describes How Tanzanian Hunters Turn Ecology Researchers

If you need to understand the depths of the wilds, there’s nobody better to turn to than someone that lives and breathes the environment. This beautiful video tells the story of an African hunter who decided to stop killing animals — and help scientists find them instead. It tells the story of Ruben, describing his…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Sep 23

The Insane 1920s Plan to Dam the Mediterranean and Form a Supercontinent

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris recently announced plans to buy a Greek island to give refugees from the Middle East and Africa a country of their own. Though he referred to his proposal as a “crazy idea” on Twitter, Sawiris is serious. As a radical solution to providing land for the peoples of a war-torn continent,…

Tech News Ricarda Vidal Sep 17

Extreme Heat Will Make Parts of the Middle East and Africa Uninhabitable by 2050

Today, Kenya Is Torching 5 Percent of the World’s Stockpiled Ivory

Plane Debris Found in Africa Could Be the Second Recovered Piece of MH370

A Simple Vaginal Ring Can Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection

Ugandan Government Blocks Facebook, Twitter on Election Day to Stop ‘Lies’

Earth Looks Downright Alien in This New Photo From the Space Station

Marlon James’s Next Book Will Be ‘African Game Of Thrones‘

This Satellite Image Looks Like Some Kind of Impossible Staircase

Here’s The Trailer For Jongo, A Johannesburg-Set Superhero Show

Digging New Wells in Africa Could Run Its Aquifers Dry Way Too Soon

This Modular Hi-Tech Buoy Is Helping Africa to Monitor Its Coasts

In Nigeria, Solar-Powered Fridges at Outdoor Markets Save Food From Spoiling

Zimbabwe Drops Charges Against Lion Murderer Walter Palmer

These Hero Rats Are Trained to Sniff Out Land Mines and Tuberculosis

A Princess’s Plan to Bring Light to the 620 Million Africans Without Power

This Year the Medicine Nobel Prize Went to a Pair of Parasite Poisons

Facebook Is Going to Send Free Internet Across Africa From Satellites

Simply Counting Births and Deaths Could Solve Health Inequity in Africa

Beautiful Video Describes How Tanzanian Hunters Turn Ecology Researchers

The Insane 1920s Plan to Dam the Mediterranean and Form a Supercontinent

5 Things We Noticed During NASA’s Historic Lunar Flyby

Trump’s War on American Cybersecurity Ramps Up With Planned $700 Million Cuts to CISA

Artemis 2 Day 7: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

10 Years Ago Today, ‘Star Wars’ Changed Its Future With the First Look at ‘Rogue One’

Mysterious VHS Tapes May Herald the Release of a New Boards of Canada Project

‘Exit 8’ Is a Satisfying, Scary Twitch Stream Come to Life

Sam Altman Says It’ll Take Another Year Before ChatGPT Can Start a Timer

SpaceX Starship V3 Engine Goes Up in Flames at Texas Site

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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