In some African countries, more than 50% of women regularly use skin-lightening products. In South Africa, the rate is 32%, while in Nigeria it’s 77%. This dwarfs rates in other regions of the world. The health consequences are not trivial. Over-the-counter skin lightening creams and pills have been linked to severe skin discoloration, organ damage,…
Academia isn’t strong on gender equality. Women are under-represented throughout, in the research workforce and even more so as leaders in scientific organisations. This is true for science academies (prestigious bodies within national science systems) and scientific unions (international organisations representing disciplinary communities). Women today make up nearly a third of the global research workforce….
HIV remains one of the biggest public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounts for approximately two-thirds of about 40 million people living with HIV globally. Young people continue to account for a large share of new infections, with an estimated 370,000 new infections occurring among those aged 15-24 in 2024 alone. This…
Every minute your kidneys are hard at work, filtering around 200 litres of blood, removing waste, balancing salts and fluids, and regulating blood pressure. This happens without any conscious effort on your part. But when your kidneys begin to fail, the consequences are devastating, including fatigue, fluid buildup and heart complications. Some people eventually need…
Global efforts to limit climate change require deep cuts to carbon emissions. However, global emissions are still growing. Currently, we emit roughly 42 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use and land use changes every year. To achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement, which included a long-term commitment to limit global warming…
In rural sub-Saharan Africa, access to clean drinking water often depends on a simple technology: the handpump. These manually operated systems pump water out of the ground for more than 184 million people. Yet despite their importance, research has found that at least 100,000 handpumps out of the 500,000 to 1.3 million in use in…
Sharks in the Bahamas are consuming substances including caffeine, painkillers and even cocaine, according to a new study by marine scientists who say it could potentially impact the animals’ health and behavior. The research team, made up of marine biologists and scientists from a variety of international programs, analyzed blood samples from 85 sharks of…
According to the researchers, dozens of hazardous substances were detected, with some synthetic fibres showing particularly high levels of chemical signatures. A new study has found that widely used hair extensions contain multiple hazardous chemicals, including substances linked to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive harm. The research, conducted by scientists at the Silent Spring Institute,…
Cassava is a starchy, tuberous root, introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese traders centuries ago. It is a nutrition lifeboat for over 800 million people worldwide. Sub-saharan Africa contributes over 63% of the world’s total cassava production. Nigeria alone grows over 20% of the world’s cassava, which is also the continent’s second most important staple…
The British government announced Tuesday that it would stop issuing education visas to nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and work visas for Afghans as part of its broader clampdown on asylum seekers. The Home Office said there had been a surge in asylum applications by students from those countries and almost 135,000 asylum…
